Editor:

I don’t understand the problem with the AABC and the proposed airport expansion. First, you don’t have to hire consultants to the tune of millions of dollars to figure out what the airport needs. All you have to do is fly in and out of the airport on a regular basis. First, the idea of passengers using public transportation is absurd. It works for some people, but you can’t get all that luggage on a bus, and cabs to the airport aren’t cheap. You also don’t need lots and lots of flights, as Aspen can only hold so many people, but you must have at least two airlines to offer some competition, and you have to figure out a way to get the airplanes in and out of here when the weather is bad. No I don’t want to die, but it seems to me with all the technology we have planes should be able to fly when the weather is marginal. When they can’t, the airport has to be more user friendly. Not another DIA, but we do need decent food and more comfortable places to hang out. Seriously, is that too much to ask?

And finally, yes, we do need improvements on the private side of the airport. Thanks to decisions made over the years by our elected officials, more and more wealth is coming into the valley and they need a place to land and park their planes. I’m not talking about rich people who bitch about our small airport; I’m talking about “wealth.” If we don’t do this we may kill the goose that drops golden eggs all over this town and into the coffers of nonprofits.

Hey, we don’t need huge improvements to make our airport better, but we must have compromises that make it a more pleasant place for all those concerned.

Sheldon Fingerman
Aspen