McCullum Field gets new name (Atlanta, Dawson: 2014, neighborhoods, tenants)

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by AfternoonCoffee

Per the AJC link you provided:

"Beginning June 25, the county airport name will change to Cobb County International Airport McCollum Field, signaling that customs inspections services are available for international traffic."

Sounds like the plan is to attract the flights with the facility and "name change"...

Are you suggesting there are some minimum legal standards that haven't been met?

maybe not legal, but the minimum standard of having international flights.

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by OuiOui

Please elaborate?

Atlanta's second airport - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by cqholt

maybe not legal, but the minimum standard of having international flights.

You're making the false assumption that no scheduled international flights means no international flights

[OuiOui]

Originally Posted by gt6974a

Atlanta's second airport - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ok. So there are no plans to actually close Dobbins? Because that would really be terrible. I'm sure the folks in Cobb/Paulding/Bartow/Cherokee who work at Dobbins/Lockheed aren't pine'n(?) for it to be the new hub.

[AfternoonCoffee]

Originally Posted by cqholt

maybe not legal, but the minimum standard of having international flights.

Ohhh, so is your argument that at least one flight that departed from an airport outside of the US should have to land at McCullom Field and go through the new customs facility before they can tack on the word "International"??

...Is that the point of this thread??

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by AfternoonCoffee

Ohhh, so is your argument that at least one flight that departed from an airport outside of the US should have to land at McCullom Field and go through the new customs facility before they can tack on the word "International"??

...Is that the point of this thread??

Yes.

[billl]

Originally Posted by AfternoonCoffee

Ohhh, so is your argument that at least one flight that departed from an airport outside of the US should have to land at McCullom Field and go through the new customs facility before they can tack on the word "International"??

...Is that the point of this thread??

Originally Posted by cqholt

Yes.

Yeah....
I'm done.

[cwkimbro]

Oh geeeez....

Here we go again... The same Cobb vs. Atlanta / OTP vs. ITP BS caused by defensiveness and short-sightedness.

For Pete's sake guys there are only two international airports in Georgia and only one in Atlanta.

Someone explain to me why we should continue to force charters, personal aircraft, air taxis, and special purpose cargo aircraft to use the busiest airport in the world just to access the Atlanta area because it came from an international destination or a weekend trip to the bahamas?

It seems like a pretty good idea. I mean we are essentially talking about a little room, a holding cell and a guy sitting at a desk to stamp a passport or inspect packages.


That aside...

A few notes on Dobbins. People are using a few small words, which carry a big meaning. If Atlanta gets a second airport and it happens to be Dobbins consider the following points:

-It wouldn't be a "hub."

-This is not a push by Delta! Delta does not want a second hub or a second non-hub commercial airport in Atlanta. It wants to keep as much monopoly pricing power it can in the region. They have power in ATL. If they operate out of a second airport, it is merely to compete with other airlines trying to take business away from Delta by differentiating product for people who would rather fly into another aiport/area. They would rather keep all their eggs in one basket to keep the hub operating efficiently.

-Other airlines would love a second airport for commuter and flights to major destinations and flights to their hubs (ie. Southwest, American, United). It is a way to take on Delta's dominance in Atlanta. They might not be able to have a hub here, but they can compete for people who would rather stay away from Harstfield, go to a smaller airport, or are flying to the northside of town.

-Dobbins/Lockheed doesn't have to cease to be everything it is for it to happen. The Air Force and Lockheed will probably always be there, especially Lockheed as long as they get government contracts. The real question is if the Air Force side of things scale back operations more than they already have, they will not be using the runways frequently and it could easily become a commercial-air force reserve airport hybrid since the runway operations are scaled back. The airport currently handles about 7000 takeoffs or landings a month. Much of them are training for reservist and are things that can easily be shifted to other bases in the South away from such a large metropolitan area. A 2005 report suggested shutting down many of the previous operations for the Air National Guard and shifting them to other bases. There has always been speculation/pressure to look as shifting the training operations too. I'm assuming the Air Force would keep a presence there to work with Lockheed and possibly to handle moving equipment in and out of the Atlanta area on a as-need basis.

But anyways... at this point there are no solid plans for this. It is merely a vague idea that has been thrown out in public discourse and early planning options amongst many other ideas.

[MattCW]

A commercial airport at Dobbins will never happen. Too many people too close, not only for the safety aspect, but for the NIMBY aspect, and for once, I agree with them! The odd Air Force movement is ok, but even 2, 3, 4, more? scheduled flights every day? Not going to happen.

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by MattCW

A commercial airport at Dobbins will never happen. Too many people too close, not only for the safety aspect, but for the NIMBY aspect, and for once, I agree with them! The odd Air Force movement is ok, but even 2, 3, 4, more? scheduled flights every day? Not going to happen.

Although it will probably never happen due to Delta, the NIMBY aspect is pretty silly in my opinion. The 737's & A321's likely to fly out of there are much quieter than any military jets. I live on the Brookhaven/Chamblee border, and when the giant C-5A's approach Dobbins the entire NE side rumbles!