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PROUD

From Our Founder
by Robert J. Wichlinski

I was disappointed to discover that Pan Am is pulling out of Gary/Chicago Airport.  In case you had not heard, June 30^th will be the last day Pan Am flies out of Gary with passengers headed to Florida.  So ends the latest chapter in the effort to establish passenger service at Gary/Chicago airport.

Those in power assure us that Pan Am’s departure does not signal the demise of the passenger service effort.  That this is merely “a bump in the road” and that pursuit of the goals outlined in the airport’s master plan will continue.

I was personally affected by Pan Am’s decision given the fact that my family had planned to fly Pan Am down to Florida for our summer vacation.  What an opportunity, we reasoned, to pile up the kids, the clubs, and our gear and travel minutes from our home to an awaiting aircraft.  We reconciled the issue of increased ticket cost by the mere fact that tension often associated with family air travel was all but eliminated by travelling from Gary.  The image of departing for the airport an hour before our flight, of the kids meandering about the terminal without care up to the moment we had to board the aircraft, increased comfort on the plane, and the expectation that our belongings would actually reach the same destination as our family held great promise.  That image is now shattered.

It is my sincere belief that a whole bunch of us in the region would jump at the chance to avoid O’Hare and Midway, if only flights to major destinations would have been made available by Pan Am.  Florida was certainly a great start, but further offerings never really materialized.  I think people would have and could have overcome the issue of ticket prices, flight schedules, and secondary airports, if only Pan Am could have continued to add more destinations and more aircraft to its mix.  Sadly, that never materialized and contributed to the demise of passenger service.

What remains is a top shelf, scaled down version of a “big time” air terminal with no aircraft and no passengers.  If you have not visited the facility, you really should.  The folks at Gary/Chicago did a great job outfitting the place with all the services we’ve come to expect in a passenger airport.  Truly, you can’t fault the airport’s effort to establish passenger service.  They did everything required to make the travel experience comfortable, convenient and safe.   I don’t think you can even find fault with local support for use of the service.  If the carrier had the financial wherewithal to enhance it’s offerings, I think the effort would have been a resounding success.

I guess it all comes down to the stranglehold “the big players” in the airline industry have on where we go, how we get there, and how much we pay.  To be certain, the airline industry cannot be characterized as an open, free market subject to the forces of supply and demand.  The control of the industry by “the big boyz” is absolute…make no mistake about that.  By rights, Gary/Chicago airport should be bustling with activity.  Given the congestion at O’Hare & Midway and the simple fact that the commute to either airport is nothing short of a “character builder,” our airport should be attractive to some carrier, but it is ignored and dismissed despite the significant investment that has been made to support passenger service.  Our airport is a beautiful home, great location, affordably priced, ready for immediate occupancy, but without takers.  And no one is willing to come out and state the obvious.  That unless forced to do so by legislative mandate, the airline industry will do nothing to support Gary/Chicago, and in fact will do everything within their power to quell such an effort by any of their own.  Call it what it is… industry-specific redlining.

The folks at Gary/Chicago airport indicate that they will continue their pursuit of passenger service.  I can only hope that the cards are not stacked so significantly against us, that no matter how great the investment, no matter how great the effort Gary/Chicago will be effectively “locked out” of the market.  Where’s a U.S. Senator when ya need one.  I think they used some of my tax dollars to bail out the airline industry following the events of 9/11…is it asking too much to expect something for my money?  I guess we should not expect the airline industry to recognize and support us, when we can’t even get our elected representatives to do so.

As always, I can be reached via e-mail at b@219.com

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