LITTLE ROCK — When someone suggests Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport needs another runway or an airline should make six flights a day to their favorite city, it’s impossible to argue that those things oughta happen.
The money issues are too big and complicated to convince the airport or an airline to do those things in a newspaper column.
What’s a newspaper guy know about any of that anyway? That’s right. Not much.
But sometimes readers suggest simple fixes.
Like Bella Vista resident Shirley Willis, who knows pilots and flight attendants landing at XNA are fond of saying the touch down is in Fayetteville.
“I wish the airlines would quit announcing it as Fayetteville,” Willis writes.
“Delta is bad about it, even if you remind the attendants.
And it is sometimes hard to find your flight on the flight boards because it can be listed any number of ways.”
The Guru has written about Fayetteville-happy flight attendants and airport flight information boards that say a flight is going to “Fayetteville” or “Fayetteville XNA” in the past, and he’s had only a little luck getting airlines to focus less on Fayetteville, a city that’s 20 miles from XNA.
American Airlines, for instance, used to list flights for sale on its website as going to “Fayetteville.” In 2007, the airline changed it so now flights are listed as going to “Bentonville/Fayetteville.” It’s not perfect, but at least it causes passengers to ask, “Which city is it?”
The travel websites of Expedia and Orbitz say “Fayetteville AR (XNA),” but Hotwire draws The Guru’s praise for its “NW Arkansas Regional, AR (XNA).”
Willis, however, mentioned Delta Air Lines so The Guru sent a note to Delta spokesman Susan Elliott, pointing out that XNA is in Highfill and the nearest big city is Bentonville.
“Thanks for your note,” Elliott wrote back. “I am copying in my colleague Gina Laughlin who works with our flight crews for her awareness.”
“Is that note to Gina L.
all you intend to do?” The Guru responded. “Ultimately, what will Gina do with this information?”
Elliott didn’t respond, and most of the airlines haven’t responded when The Guru raised this issue in the past.
In 2008, John Boozman, who’s a U.S. senator, asked airlines to say Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport without the Fayetteville mention. Delta said it would notify its flight attendants and pilots of the issue.
So it’s left to the armies of XNA passengers who have landed in the little town of Highfill to fix this, one flight at a time.
The Guru’s pledge is that he’ll point out this Fayetteville mistake every time he hears it. If 50 other passengers walking off the same plane choose to mention this blunder, it’ll have nothing to do with the fact that The Guru called them to action. But if other passengers should mention this as they exit a plane, it’ll be hard for flight attendants to forget what they’ve heard.
No need to be snotty, either. They’ll get the hint, one disenchanted grumble at a time.
Robert J. Smith’s column about people on the move in Northwest Arkansas appears each Monday. He can be reached at [email protected].
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 06/27/2011