Southwest Airlines has announced that they will be cutting 6 flights a day out of their El Paso routes. They have 26 flights currently each day.
That means fewer people will be flying into and out of our airport. Some will argue that the remaining flights will be more full. That is probably true but will not make up for the decreased capacity and convenience.
Passenger traffic is already down 4.4% from last year. Southwest represents about 50% of the daily flights at the airport. Six flights out of 26 is about a 23% decline.
Meanwhile our city’s chief financial officer tells us that it’s all good. New and de-proved told us about a presentation she made to city council supporting the spending of $45 million to build a new airport parking garage for the rental car companies. Her projection was that we would see a 1% annual increase in car rentals.
This will also affect the hotel occupancy taxes that are supposed to pay for the new ball park.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
The funny part is that anyone would actually be surprised by any of this…On another note, isn’t it interesting that the local “media” (and I use that in the loosest sense of the word because they really are not) have their collective noses so far up the arses of the mayors of Fosterville that it is up to local bloggers like Brutus to point these things out?
Whatever happened to the reporter from the posing-as-a-newspaper El Paso Times that used to hang out here and try to defend his fish wrap? Surely he could at least get a few ideas for columns from the entries here.
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Well, the mayor is hosting a tour group of site selection consultants, the people who recommend where businesses should locate. Maybe that will hype the HOT to pay the bonds on the stadium? It sure isn’t going to be our academic standing.
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