Comments by "Sean" (@sean2015) on "Pilots: $6 billion LaGuardia Airport rebuild puts convenience, comfort ahead of safety" video.

  1. I'm sure you're a good pilot but clearly you know nothing about politics, or human psychology. Building or extending runways is not like filling in potholes. Airport authorities have to deal with environmental regulations and opposition from neighboring communities (NIMBYs). The whole process can take years or even decades. If you'd like a dozen or so real-life examples of what I'm talking about, respond to this message and I'll be more than happy to enlighten you.
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  2. True, runway length is always even more critical for departing aircraft than it is for landing aircraft.
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  3. jfsa380 Midway Airport is NOT a valid comparison since it is used almost exclusively by Southwest Airlines, which only operates (smaller and lighter) B737s. A more valid comparison would be Boston's Logan Airport. One of Logan's most-used runways is Runway 9/27 which (like the runways at LaGuardia) is only 7000 feet long. Like LaGuardia, Logan is at sea level but unlike LaGuardia, it has a lot of international carriers and more long-distance flights (which require more takeoff space). Yet, Logan manages just fine.
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  4. Midway is not a valid comparison because only Southwest uses it and their fleet is all Boeing 737s. Also, ANY type of runway extension is always going to encounter fierce opposition from local communities. Doesn't matter if you extend the runway into a river or an ocean.
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  5. Thank you for bringing this up and I mentioned the same thing in previous comments. Building, extending or even making modifications to a runway is not the same as filling a pothole. The biggest obstacle is opposition from NIMBYs. The process can take many years even if it's successful. Most of the pilots being interviewed here probably live close to a major airport themselves, and any of them would scream bloody murder if they found out that the local airport authority was proposing to extend/build a runway.
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  6. Phil Montejano except that Key West doesn't have snow and ice covering the runway, which was one of the causes of the Southwest crash in 2005
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