Burbank Bob Hope Airport doesn't want to be associated with Los Angeles, but it kind of needs to be to survive
The Burbank Bob Hope Airport's been considering some rebranding options for a while now, in the hopes that by tacking a more familiar location like "Los Angeles" onto the airport's unofficial name, travelers unfamiliar with the region would realize just how close and convenient the airport is to LA.
But the mayor, Bob Hope's family, and some Burbank residents are dead set against having Los Angeles in the name of the airport. The mayor says that "some local residents have told him that they did not want to be associated with Los Angeles," reports the Burbank Leader. One faction are in fact more comfortable with the airport being associated with a neighborhood miles away and have suggested the new name incorporate "Hollywood."
If the goal of the name change is to attract more national travelers to the airport, including Los Angeles in the name would be a really good way to make that happen—a consulting firm hired to help in the renaming found that travelers search for Los Angeles online 671,560 times a month, while Burbank is searched just 73,400 times.
The renaming wouldn't affect the airport's official name, which would legally remain Bob Hope Airport, and that's probably for the best, as the four names the consulting firm ultimately suggested are really dull and kind of silly: Burbank Hollywood Airport, Hollywood Burbank Airport, Burbank Los Angeles Airport, and Los Angeles Burbank Airport.
This isn't the first time Bob Hope Airport's taken on a new identity: The airport's name has been changed six times since 1930.
New names pitched to Bob Hope Airport officials in effort to attract more passengers [BL]
Bob Hope Airport Could Become Los Angeles Burbank Airport [Curbed LA]