That's because the city's airport has long been saddled with a somewhat unfortunate FAA code, "SUX." Officials have been trying to change it for decades, petitioning the FAA for a new name in 1988 and 2002. Federal aviation officials have offered some alternatives -- GWU, GYO, GYT, SGV and GAY (which, uh, could have its own set of issues) -- but the airport's board turned them down.
Now, though, the city is changing course, embracing its moniker with a sort of no-publicity-is-bad-publicity kind of thinking. They're selling hats and t-shirts that say "FLY SUX," and they've launched flysux.com.
Personally, I think it's a great idea. The city is capitalizing on a bad situation to create an irreverent but very memorable brand.
But for me, it begged a question about a somewhat similar situation on the West Coast: Has anyone ever accused Los Angeles airport officials of being lax?
