Sioux City embraces airport identifier: SUX

The Daily Iowan reports that Sioux City's Gateway Airport has come to terms with its "unflattering" three-letter acronym, SUX, by incorporating it into its promotional campaign.

City leaders have scrapped plans to do away with the Sioux Gateway Airport's unflattering three-letter identifier - SUX - and instead have made it the centerpiece of the airport's new marketing campaign.
The code, used by pilots and airports worldwide and printed on tickets and luggage tags, will be used on T-shirts and caps sporting the airport's new slogan, "FLY SUX." It also forms the address of the airport's redesigned Web site - www.flysux.com.

Link (Via State 29)

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jphilby

A perfect example of: Don’t damn — embrace.

I’m not from Iowa, but inherited a 78 record bearing this song:

Our land is full of ripe-ning corn,
Yo-Ho, yo-ho, yo-ho
We’ve watched it grow both night and morn,
Yo-Ho, yo-ho, yo-ho
But now we rest, we’ve stood the test.
All that’s good we have the best
I-O-way has reached the crest,
Yo-Ho, yo-ho, yo-ho

We’re from I-O-way, I-O-way.
State of all the land,
Joy on ev-’ry hand.
We’re from I-O-way, I-O-way.
That’s where the tall corn grows.
Cory

My brother-in-law is flying there in a few weeks. I *will* get the t-shirt! I must!
Lizzle

Mumbai’s airport code is still BOM, from back when the city was still called Bombay. Few things are more uncomfortable-making than hauling luggage with great big “BOM” tags all over it through unsympathetic airports.
Colonist

SUX was the cite of the tragic plane crash of Flight 232 on July 19th 1989, which was later remade into a TV movie “Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232.”

Sioux City is the cite where the first person died on the Lewis & Clark expedition. His name was Sgt. Floyd and there is a large obelisk in his honor that one can see when driving into the town.

Regardless, it SUX that it’s so expensive to fly there.
Toastpoints

I love that one of the FAA’s five proposed alternatives was “GAY”. I seriously wish I could have been there when that document arrived. “Are these guys kidding? We want to get rid of SUX and they suggest GAY???”

Not that there’s anything wrong with it…
Colonist

It’s better than GWU- the most expensive university in the world!
Peter Swimm

I can’t wait for the “SUX to be you” sweatshirts.
ElGuapo138

Think SUX is bad? Then you don’t want to know the airport code for Fukuoka, Japan!
devophill

So, that means GAY is still available? Somebody needs to snap that one up!
Anonymous

Also in the world of airport abbreviations, does anyone else chuckle everytime they see one of northwest airlines planes with the big NWA on the side?