What's in a name? Maybe a lot more travelers at HGR, airport officials say

Hagerstown Regional Airport is on track to have one of its most successful years ever for commercial flights, and airport officials told the Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday that with a few marketing tweaks, they believe they can draw travelers from an even wider area.

But the commissioners weren't prepared to commit to the proposed changes, particularly since — in addition to new logos and target markets — one of them is to change the name of the airport.

In fact, airport Director Neil Doran, Public Works Director Andrew Eshleman and Danielle Weaver, director of Public Relations and Marketing, didn't get through their presentation before the commissioners started raising questions.

Commissioner Derek Harvey wanted more time to mull a decision, and worried that the proposal might be premature since the airport currently has passenger flights to only three destinations.

But Commissioners Wayne Keefer and Jeff Cline adamantly opposed the name change — from Hagerstown Regional Airport to Hagerstown-Washington Regional Airport — because it doesn't include "Washington County."

Why change the name?

Doran noted that the area's population is beginning to shift west.

"Consultants have pointed out that as the airports closer to Washington and Baltimore become saturated, more opportunities may be open for Hagerstown or Manassas (Va.) to step into population trends," he said.

Trouble is, while the airport is now within a two-hour drive of about 11 million people, many of them are unaware of Hagerstown or Washington County, he said. But they do recognize Washington, D.C.

Adding "Washington" to the airport's name could suggest both Washington County and Washington, D.C., which could raise the airport's visibility among potential travelers to and from the region.

But their report recommends avoiding the phrase "Washington County" because there are other "Washington County" airports across the country. And more than half the states have a "Washington County."

Other airports across the country have employed such strategies with success, Doran said. While Chicago has two main airports — O'Hare International and Midway International — smaller regional airports have incorporated "Chicago" into their names to attract more travelers.

Similarly, Allegiant Airlines customers traveling to Disney World from Hagerstown's airport travel to "Orlando-Sanford International Airport." The airport isn't known as "Sanford Airport" because the attraction is, well, Orlando.

Keefer and Cline weren't convinced.

"I appreciate the effort to update our branding," Keefer said. "I like the logo in general. I think it's fine. I'm not completely sold on the idea of removing the name 'County,' I have to say … I understand and I absolutely agree with all of the statistics that we're getting more of a push westward into our county where our community is growing and expanding. But I want to fight as hard as I can to make sure Washington County doesn't look like Washington, DC. And I see those pressures all the time.

"I don't want to reinvent Washington County; we're proud of being the first county in the country named after George Washington. And I just, I don't want to see that slip away."

"I'm not going to be in agreement with taking 'Washington County' off," said Cline.

Eshleman then pointed out that the airport name doesn't currently include "Washington County."

In fact, it hasn't included "Washington County" for about 25 years.

The name was changed from Washington County Regional Airport to Hagerstown Regional Airport in 1998, according to the timeline on the airport's website, "to avoid confusion with the many Washington Counties across the country."

In the end, the commissioners opted to revisit the issue in about a month.

"We didn't get the information until an email last week, and then they present it here and we're calling for a vote; this is a lot of stuff," Cline told Herald-Mail Media.

He probably wouldn't have voted for anything Tuesday, Cline said, because there was a lot to consider.

"I'd like to hear more information," he said. "This is a big deal; the airport's very important to this community. And I wasn't ready to vote on any of that today."

A little time needed to digest?

Doran told Herald-Mail Media he wasn't discouraged that the commissioners didn't act Tuesday.

"We gave them a lot to read, a lot to digest," he said. "They're being wise" to take their time, he said, and he doesn't think it will slow down the airport's marketing plans.

Further, Doran said the proposed changes could be done with the marketing budget the airport already has, and wouldn't require any new money.

"I never wanted cost to be a barrier," he said.

The airport's three-letter location designation code, HGR, would not change, he said.

But in addition to the new name, the rebranding plan would include a new HGR logo and a marketing strategy focusing on Frederick and Montgomery counties in Maryland and Loudoun County, Va. Montgomery and Loudoun counties are two of the wealthiest counties in the country and are within the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Doran said a team of airport staff and consultants had "looked at this hard for months, and this was the consensus result. I hope (the commissioners) will consider that effort. It's the best recommendation we can offer right now."

Backstory: What's next for the Hagerstown Regional Airport? We're about to find out

Take flight: What's the cheapest, fastest way to get to Orlando? It might very well be through HGR

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Will they or won't they? County mulls Hagerstown airport name change