Stewart Wants to Be Called 'New York Airport' — But It's Over 60 Miles Away
What do you do if you have an airport with growing international traffic and a runway long enough for the world's biggest passenger jet, but you are far from major cities and don't have great ground transportation? Easy: You make yourself more attractive by changing your name to something better known than "Stewart International Airport" — for example, adopting the name of the closest metropolis, New York City. Too bad it's more than 60 miles north of Midtown Manhattan.
On Thursday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the airport as well as NYC's other three — Newark, La Guardia and Kennedy — voted to change the name of Stewart International Airport (SWF) to something else, although it hasn't decided yet to what. The airport is about an hour and a half (with low traffic) north of New York City and just made a big leap in relevance last year, when Norwegian started trans-Atlantic flights from SWF to Europe.
That's a long way from the 1930s, when the Stewart family donated land for what became known as "Stewart Field." Now local authorities are hoping to market the airport as a metropolitan area facility and change the name to New York International at Stewart Field. At least according to Orange County Chamber of Commerce President Lynne Cione.
"It's 88 years later," she said. "We have computers; we need to be geo-located. It's very important for people to know how close we are to New York City."
Stewart Airport Commission Chairman Louis Heimbach disagreed, stating that a name other than New York International at Stewart Field should be considered because "Stewart is not a field," he said at a press conference.
"It was a field in the 1930s when it was a grass place and it conjures up barnstormers. Stewart Airport is bigger than LaGuardia and Newark combined. It has one of the longest runways in your system so I think that would be a disservice to call it 'field' and I don't think people from Europe or coming any place in the civilized world wants to land in a field these days," Heimbach added.
The man has a point, although "bigger" is relative — Stewart may be very large in surface area, but it's tiny in passenger numbers. SWF had 45,000 passengers in November 2017, while LaGuardia alone moved 2.5 million.
Another big reason that the airport may change its name has to do with Legos — yes, the toy bricks.
Legoland New York spokesman Phil Royle was also at the meeting, because Legoland recently unrelieved plans to open its newest park in Goshen, which is only 16 miles from SWF. Royle said the airport does need to be associated with New York because Legoland plans to bring "2.5 million more visitors to the Hudson Valley from spring 2020," he said. "They need an airport that is internationally recognized that is marketing in the right way that they can land into," Royle said.
The board of the Port Authority also voted on Thursday to spend $30,000,000 to build a new facility separating domestic and international passengers, as mandated by federal regulations. The real expense to make SWF truly viable for New Yorkers may have to go into infrastructure, though, to make the airport reachable more easily.
H/T: MidHudsonNews.com
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.