OPINION: Don't Let Southwest Airlines Tell Us How To Rebuild KCI

March 11, 2014
Consider the last airline that Kansas City officials listened to when they were building an airport in the late 1960s and early 1970s. That was TWA ... "

March 11--The top leaders of Southwest Airlines insist they need a big seat at the table when city officials make a multi-hundred-million-dollar decision about what to do with Kansas City International Airport.

And a few weeks ago, city officials agreed, saying the Aviation Department would work with Southwest and other airlines on a plan for how to upgrade the airport. It could be done in a year or two.

But wait a minute.

Sure, Southwest is easily the biggest carrier at KCI. For now.

But that might not be the case in, say, a decade. Or even five years. The aviation industry changes very quickly.

So while Southwest needs to be listened to, the airline in no way should be allowed to dictate what improvements are made at KCI in the future. Don't let the airlines' self-interests dictate what happens there.

Consider the last airline that Kansas City officials listened to when they were building an airport in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

That was TWA -- as this Star story noted on Sunday -- which insisted that the new KCI must be built to deliver "customers from the parking lot to their seats on the aircraft."

Yes, the approach worked for a few years, until airports had to dramatically change security procedures when skyjackings became the norm. And airlines imposed even more restrictions on passengers after Sept. 11.

TWA, of course, eventually lost its status as a main carrier at KCI and went out of business.

Now, it's also true that TWA's ideas from the 1960s still resonate with many people: KCI is a convenient airport in many ways.

But the airport does require upgrades, and the question is whether Southwest Airlines and others that serve Kansas City really have the best interests of the city -- or of the airlines -- when they come forward with their improvement projects at KCI.

The citizens group -- which meets Tuesday for several hours -- that's reviewing this issue is expected to give its recommendation to Mayor Sly James and the City Council by late April.

It will be an important point during the consideration of KCI's future. And it should be used to help the airlines and the Aviation Department work on the future configuration of the airport.

Perhaps all of this will work out in the best interests of the public.

The airlines and the committee could develop excellent ideas that voters eventually could support, providing hundreds of millions of dollars for the upgrades.

Or, the airlines could mount a campaign for changes that are more in their self-interests, and should be rejected by city officials.

To reach Yael T. Abouhalkah, call 816-234-4887 or send email to [email protected]. Twitter @YaelTAbouhalkah.

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