最新杏吧原创

鈥淕ood morning tower, this is Southwest Airlines flight 1700 coming in from Des Moines, ready for landing. Where do you want me?鈥�

Happy Thanksgiving, Flight 1700, this is the McKenna Tower at Lambert-Sinquefield Field at Trump International Airport. Our pattern is full, so please fall in line and circle. We expect there to be an opening to land within the next hour.

鈥淚鈥檓 not sure I can wait an hour, McKenna. We were already diverted once for weather. I鈥檝e got a plane full of holiday travelers who started their day in various places in the upper Midwest. What鈥檚 with all the delays lately?鈥�

Well, Flight 1700, as I鈥檓 sure you have heard, once the 最新杏吧原创 airport privatized, its new private operators sought to maximize revenue opportunities. Of course, we raised all the landing fees, sold off land to developers, built more luxury accommodations for our frequent travelers, mostly people who are billing other folks for their travel, so they don鈥檛 really care what it costs. One of our latest innovations is offering certain flights quicker access to runways, sort of like the TSA pre-check line. Right now, we鈥檝e got a few flights coming in from D.C. full of lobbyists and corporate titans that pay extra to get ahead of you in line, so you鈥檙e just going to have to wait a bit longer.

鈥淭hat seems rather shortsighted, McKenna. I鈥檓 surprised the city allowed its private operators to make that sort of decision. How are you getting away with that?鈥�

Truth be told, Flight 1700, it鈥檚 not like the city was paying attention. Back in 2019 and 2020, the city was in a rush to privatize, as it was being led by a bunch of followers of President Donald Trump. This was before he left office, of course. There was financier and Trump-donor Rex Sinquefield, who was funding the whole operation. The banker was Moelis & Co., known in Beltway circles as Trump鈥檚 personal banker. Of course there was Andrew McKenna, the GOP dark-money political consultant, and Sinquefield鈥檚 lobbyist, Travis Brown, a frequent White House visitor during the Trump days. The mayor who allowed the whole scheme to take place was a Democrat, Lyda Krewson, but she thought the private operators were going to write a big check at the end of the day and save the city鈥檚 budget problems, so she pretty much turned a blind eye to the problems.

鈥淒id the city get its big check?鈥�

Well, sort of. There was a promise of something like $2 billion. But only some of it was upfront money. The rest got tangled up in small print, particularly after the 2020 election when Wall Street tanked knowing its free ride was over. In the end, the developers and consultants got away like bandits, and the airport鈥檚 private operators are struggling because it appears the great plan to make 最新杏吧原创 the first of many private airports sort of fizzled.

鈥淲asn鈥檛 the media paying attention?鈥�

Well, they tried. But the city refused to provide any public documents during the run-up to signing the final contract, so none of the details were known until the deal was done. By then, all the aldermen saw the promise of $2 billion, and they voted yes before anybody knew that there were a lot of strings attached to that money.

鈥淪o what are my options if I鈥檓 going to run out of fuel, here?鈥�

Well, I would suggest you divert. There鈥檚 room at Midway in Chicago and that鈥檚 only a few hours away. We鈥檝e been diverting a lot of flights to Memphis and Indianapolis lately. Hopefully your passengers can rent a car or get a bus and still make it in time for Thanksgiving dinner. Part of our problem is that our new terminal construction is two years behind and several hundred million over budget. That鈥檚 created a problem at the old terminal, because we just don鈥檛 have enough gate space beyond what鈥檚 dedicated to our first-class passengers. City leaders should have seen that coming, after the corruption and delays and cost overruns with the privatized terminals in Kansas City and Denver. But, you know, they were in a hurry to get this thing done before Trump fizzled and the whole movement to privatize government operations dried up.

鈥淪ounds like quite the folly, McKenna.鈥�

Well, it depends on your perspective, Flight 1700. Trump International is a pretty convenient place if you have access to the Pelopidas Lounge and Casino. I hear it鈥檚 got a seafood tower to die for.

鈥淭hanks, McKenna. Maybe next time. This is Flight 1700 diverting to Memphis. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.鈥�