Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenBoot
I believe their was a previous discussion on this subject; city size (especially city proper) has very little to do with how many passengers a specific airport services annually.
Kornbread is correct - there are many factors involved with why an airport is busier than another (and city size is no where near the top of that list).
|
I have to wholeheartedly agree with GoldenBoot's assessment of Kornbread's analysis on this one. While not possessed of anything more than a rudimentary grasp of economics, I would guess that GMP very much goes to the core of this issue. The total value of goods and services generated within a given area is the fundamental measure of business activity in that locale. If Austin's GMP is greater than SA's, it simply means that business there produces more value than business here, whether one likes it or not.
As far as airline PAX are concerned, I suspect that SA at one time got much more tourism traffic than Austin, but that has begun to change according to what the SA Convention and Visitors Bureau was saying before they morphed into VisitSanAntonio. We know total traffic at Bergstrom has surpassed that of SA Int'l., and that is most likely because they have been getting more business traffic for years and now may be getting more tourism traffic, as well. SA was always characterized as more "laid back" than Austin, and it may be that you can be too laid back for your own good in terms of remaining competitive on certain levels.
With regard to being competitive, there has been a lot of good discussion on this forum about whether SA should or should not worry about comparisons with other cities. I think that has a lot to do with one's perspective. All cities have things that make them unique, but of course, if everyone is truly unique, then we get out in the weeds about who is more unique or most unique, and the arguments become almost meaningless.
When we talk about how we can improve SA the suggestions invariably go to transportation, education, medical care, environment, energy, recreation, urban enhancement and a host of related topics. But when we focus on how to improve in a specific area, it is frequently done in the context of trying to achieve that which is already accomplished somewhere else, and that can't be done without comparisons. Examples are lamenting the fact that we are the largest city without a mass transit system or the largest without an NFL franchise. How can you debate toll roads without finding out what their consequences have been in cities that already have them? We can measure progress on a personal level by noting where we are now and where we were before, or by where we were before and where everyone else has managed to get. No matter what our goals are, attaining them will almost certainly involve applying some framework of standards and values and that may well necessitate taking inspiration from those who have been successful when and where we have not.
San Antonio... THE DRIVING DEAD