Bob Hope Airport considers changing name to boost passenger traffic

BURBANK, Calif. (KABC) -- Bob Hope Airport is considering changing its name in order to help boost passenger traffic. The airport in Burbank, much like John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, includes no reference to its location, which some officials say causes confusion.

Dan Fegar, Bob Hope Airport's executive director, says they've lost two million passengers a year since 2008, so they've decided to re-brand the name because it's simply too confusing.

"The name Bob Hope Airport, while it might be the name of a star that some people remember, it certainly doesn't give any geographic identity to the airport," said Fegar.

He wants to call it the Hollywood Burbank Airport.

"The name Hollywood is something people all over the country and all over the world recognize," said Fegar.

The airport was called the Hollywood Burbank Airport from 1967 to 1978. It then became the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport.

The airport got its current name after Bob Hope died in 2003.

Airport officials say passengers now confuse it with John Wayne Airport in Orange County, which just this week cut the ribbon on the Bob Hope USO Orange County inside the John Wayne Airport.

They say some believe Bob Hope Airport is in Palm Springs since Hope was so closely tied to the area.

"If they're making the reservations and they see Bob Hope Airport, they say I don't want to go to Palm Springs, that's two hours away from where I'm headed," said Fegar.

New signs are expected to go up in Burbank throughout next year.

"I really like Bob Hope, I think he's a great person. But I think because times have changed that Burbank Hollywood is more explicit to people," said traveler Ahearne Delpero from Sacramento.