It SUX To Be You

Sioux City, Iowa has given up the fight and has embraced the FAA identifier for the city's airport. That would be Sioux City - SUX.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - City leaders have scrapped plans to do away with the Sioux Gateway Airport's unflattering three-letter identifier — SUX — and instead have made it the centerpiece of the airport's new marketing campaign.

The code, used by pilots and airports worldwide and printed on tickets and luggage tags, will be used on T-shirts and caps sporting the airport's new slogan, "FLY SUX." It also forms the address of the airport's redesigned Web site — http://www.flysux.com/.

Sioux City officials petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration to change the code in 1988 and 2002. At one point, the FAA offered the city five alternatives — GWU, GYO, GYT, SGV and GAY — but airport trustees turned them down.

Airport board member Dave Bernstein proposed embracing the identifier.

"Let's make the best of it," Bernstein said. "I think we have the opportunity to turn it into a positive."

Bernstein makes an excellent point: the designator is very memorable. You may not know your own city airport designator, but I'll bet you will always remember Sioux City's. I've been chuckling over this the whole time I've been working on this post. I know I mentioned at some point that the State University College at Oswego (New York) had parking stickers that read "SUC at Oswego" which led to much hilarity amongst the student body.