The Valley’s commercial airport has an identity crisis that is being solved with a split personality.
Two names will do just fine.
Last May, the operators of Bob Hope Airport changed its name to the Hollywood Burbank Airport. This summer they are finally going to make it stick and are already using it on the airport’s website.
This is not a new name, by the way. It was Hollywood-Burbank Airport from 1967 to 1978, when it became the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport.
That name lasted until 2003, when it became Bob Hope Airport.
But the iconic Hope name is not going away. The complex will remain Bob Hope Airport for legal purposes and that is what it will be called by the Federal Aviation Administration, said spokeswoman Lucy Burghdorf.
The name change is a good move, said Leron Gubler, President & CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
“Hollywood is one of the most powerful brand names in the world and adding it to the airport can only benefit the airport. It might boost passenger counts. I think it makes a lot of sense,” he said.
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority knows that business travelers and locals are big supporters of the facility.
Now it will find out if Hollywood resonates better than Hope when it comes to attracting travelers from outside the region.
Hope’s name harkens back the Hollywood’s Golden age, not a sense of a place.
“People didn’t know where our airport was located. They didn’t know it was an alternative to flying into California. It tells people where we are located,” said Burghdorf. Burbank does seem to have geography on its side when it comes to travelers who want to soak up the entertainment scene.
Major studio attractions and Dodger Stadium are close by and so is the real Hollywood.
“It’s just right over the hill,” said Burghdorf.
And the airport is undergoing some upgrades.
Seven airlines serve the airport: Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, SeaPort, Southwest and United.
That means it’s a destination that can pretty much be reached from any point in the country.
For example, JetBlue has a non-stop red-eye flight to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. And other carriers fly to major hubs.
For now, travelers through the facility might not be aware of the name change. The Hollywood Burbank Airport signs probably won’t go up until late June, said Burghdorf.
Then Hope’s name will likely be a thing of the past.
“Our goal is to have it all Hollywood Burbank Airport,” she said.
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