SBJ.net Poll

When you fly, which airport do you use most? Why?

For poll results, click here.

What Readers Think

Springfield

When you add up the gas, parking fees and added fatigue from driving on each end of your trip, it’s just not worth it to fly out of another airport for most destinations.

—Daniel E. Scott, Design Agency and Jericho Development Co.

I support our local airport. I don’t want to drive an hour or two to get home from a flight. But I think it’s ridiculous that it costs more to fly from our home airport as opposed to flying out of Tulsa, St. Louis or Kansas City.

—David Farabee, Deskin Scale Co.

I use the Springfield airport because of the short drive home to Mt. Vernon on the way back. When I head home, I want to get home as quickly as possible. Too many times, from the others, I end up driving till 3 a.m.

Now, if Southwest started flying there, life would be terrific.

—Scott George, Mid-America Dental and Hearing

St. Louis

The cost of flying out of Springfield can double at times the overall cost. When I was flying for business, I would fly out of Springfield, but now, for pleasure trips, I fly out of St. Louis.

—Steve San Paolo, Springfield Catholic Credit Union

Springfield’s airport is too expensive, and the connections are bad. It is cheaper for us to drive into St. Louis, spend the night and be taken to the terminal in the morning. … Our car remains in the hotel’s secured parking lot. Our room costs $89, and we leave the car with them and save the $94.50 that the airport parking would cost. It does take more time, but I would rather spend the $500 on … my vacation than have the convenience of flying out of Springfield. 

—Pat Reiser, Family Violence Center

Cost from Springfield is often prohibitive. I can drive to Kansas City, St. Louis or Tulsa and get a ticket, often for half or less of what it is out of Springfield. I hate the inconvenience of doing that, but … it is worth the drive. I was able to take my daughter with me by driving to KC.

With the airport growing in Branson, all I can say for SGF is you’d better hurry up and get competitive or you are going to have a big, beautiful, EMPTY building.

—Lori Strawhun, Springfield-Greene County Library District

St. Louis has more direct flights to more places, AND it has Southwest Airlines.

—Joel Binkley, Meek’s

Tulsa

Because I believe most businesspeople tend to fly out of SGF, I think the better question would be “Which airport do you use as your most common alternative to SGF?” I personally use Tulsa as my alternative because of the easy drive, plus I have business interests in Joplin so I can accomplish more than one thing on a trip to Tulsa.

—Greg Byler, Pit Stop Consulting

The first reason is price. Owning a home-based travel agency, I am always conscious of finding the best deal. But we enjoy the park-and-fly option, and have been very happy with the choice of hotels offering park and fly, close and convenient to the airport. We find the airport easy to get around in, never having had an unpleasant experience.

—Randy Zickefoose, Sunsational Sunrooms

Current Question

Do you think John Q. Hammons had an unfair advantage in the competition to win development rights for the vacant plot in downtown Springfield? Why or why not?

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