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- The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board highlighted Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport as a viable alternative to Chicago O’Hare.
- Mitchell Airport is noted for easier parking and less crowding, but it offers fewer nonstop flights and often has higher ticket prices.
- Milwaukee’s airport is planning a $95 million upgrade to its international terminal to better compete for travelers.
- The editorial suggests that Mitchell’s expansion could help alleviate pressure on the perpetually under-construction O’Hare airport.
Mitchell International Airport has found a new advocate in…(shuffles newspapers), the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board?
A May 11 piece published with the headline “Is Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport a better bet than Chicago O’Hare? A new international terminal might up the ante,” starts by noting it’s an easy drive north on Interstate 94 and served by all major domestic airlines.
“Parking is a breeze, with no Chicago O’Hare-style crowds. There’s even a cool indie bookstore in the terminal,” it reads.
Yes, who doesn’t love checking out Renaissance Books when they arrive at the airport?
But our friendly newspaper neighbor to the south continues:
“The catch? Far fewer choices for nonstop flights than at the airport to the south, and, in most cases, higher ticket prices, though occasionally lower fares can be found.”
The editorial got the attention of Mitchell International officials. They shared bits of the piece on the airport’s social media accounts.
The Tribune goes on to tell its readers about Mitchell’s plans to upgrade its international terminal which has been budgeted for $95 million.
The airport is replacing the old Concourse E with a new terminal to handle up to 400 passengers and serve more international travel.
O’Hare is perpetually undergoing construction. The Tribune said “Milwaukee can help take the pressure off.”
“Critically, its long runways can handle the wide-body jets typically used for transporting cargo. It has complementary infrastructure around it, including warehouse and logistics building lining I-94. And MKE has open land that O’Hare lacks, inviting further development,” the piece reads. “So if the century-old MKE is so great, why hasn’t business taken off by now? Competition, and not just from O’Hare.”
The piece goes on to mention how airports like O’Hare, Chicago Midway Airport, Chicago Rockford International Airport and Indiana’s South Bend International Airport gets business from the Chicagoland area.
The Tribune’s editorial board also mentions that Mitchell’s airport magazine’s “defensive tone” when it points out “the hidden cost of flying Chicago,” which includes everything from “higher parking fees and longer wait times to the ‘painful’ drives home.”
The piece ends with:
“MKE has long-awaited opening to compete aggressively. On behalf of a traveling public that stands to benefit from more options, let’s hope this often-overlooked airport grabs the opportunity.”
