Future Airport Terminal Aims High

Is this being done to get airlines to come back so we get better straight thru flights and connecting flights from the airline hubs? If not, this would be a waste of dollars that could be better spend elsewhere. I've lived here six years, and the cost of flying in and out of here has never been cheap, and anywhere i've ever wanted to go has either required a drive to LA, and now a connecter now in Phoenix to get to Las Vegas.

“People say they don’t want it to lose its quaintness,” Reynolds said.

Do I detect a note of mocking smugness?

Connie, the airline service has been minimal for 30 years because students, farm hands and hotel bed makers don't do a lot of traveling.

Ramsdell gets paid $180,000 a year to collect rents from the few remaining businesses on the airport. Everyone else who works there works for a private employer. That's the real outrage. What's Ramsdell ever done to boost high paying aviation jobs there? Nothing. Net jobs has decreased the entire time she's been in control and we'll soon be paying her $144,000 a year to do literally nothing in retirement...

That's the real crime.

Interesting though is this developement is only $750 per sq ft. Half the price of the court house renovation so I guess we should count our blessings...

Wouldn't be great if we could just hop on a commuter express train to LAX. Same trains could be used to bring in all the commuters who claim we have to destroy the lifestyle in S.B. with high density housing so they don't have to drive so much. Boo Hoo.

Two Coffee Bean and Tea Leafs? It looks like the airport is jumping on the bandwagon to make Santa Barbara look like everyplace else on the planet with these ubiquitous and charmless chains. They've probably signed twenty-year leases by this point, but why did Ms. Ramsdell have to choose boring chain coffee shops when there are so many delightful local places (Jeannine's comes to mind) that would better represent Santa Barbara ? You have to start asking yourself exactly what it is that makes Santa Barbara unique any more. It evidently won't be the airport.

I don't think the SBA airlines lack business. I no longer can get to Sacramento without traveling 5 hours via L.A. Every SBA direct flight to Sacramento, that I took, was completely filled.

It was once explained to me that airline flights made their money on how long they were flying straight, since take-off and landing use so much fuel. I don't know if that's true- or if airlines are just cutting back.

Archie, whoever told you that was blowing smoke. Airlines make their money off seats sold. A sold out plane makes money no matter if it flies to LAX or London.

I agree with RivieraRunner. More sameness everywhere. Coffee Bean and Tea Leafs (and Burger King and Starbucks and on and on) can be found around the world. Now Santa Barbara will be another bland, nameless, faceless, airport. Sad.