Bradley Airport board of directors brainstorms new names
At a meeting Thursday, board members started brainstorming new names in hopes of increasing the airport's name-recognition and luring more travelers.
The topic comes up occasionally and no one has officially decided to change the airport's name.
But board members say the issue is more urgent now that Bradley is offering daily nonstop service to Amsterdam on Northwest Airlines and competing for passengers with Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, N.Y.
On Thursday, someone jokingly suggested "Air Frantz," after L. Scott Frantz, the board chairman, who often flies himself to the airport for meetings.
More serious suggestions included "Bradley-New England International Airport" and just "New England International Airport."
"I'm just trying to get your juices going," Frantz told board members at the brainstorming session.
Changing the airport's name could cost millions because Bradley would need new signs, logos, stationery and advertising.
Potential objections could come from the family of Lt. Eugene Morris Bradley, after whom the airport is named.
Bradley, an Army Air Corps member and Oklahoma native, was killed in a training accident on Aug. 21, 1941, at what was then a military airfield.
Board members wouldn't be legally required to consult Bradley's family about a name change, but said they'd do it anyway.
Thomas Palshaw, an Ellington resident who published a history of the airport in 1998, said he has never been able to locate any of Eugene Bradley's relatives. He said he expects veterans groups would object to any name change.
Any change would need approval from lawmakers. The board discussed a name change as recently as 2004, but never did anything about it. Among the suggestions were naming the airport for former Gov. Ella Grasso.
Bradley board member David Kilborn said colleagues should consider names that evoke the airport's position in the region. It serves both Hartford and Springfield, Mass.
"Bradley really is the gateway to New England," he said.
Even if the name is changed, Bradley can probably keep its call letters, BDL.
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