Dec 20, 2017 News and Record H. Scott Hoffmann. In aviation industry shorthand, our airport is GSO. If you go online to book a flight to or from our airport, typing in Greensboro gets results. The airport is located in Greensboro, which is the largest city in the Piedmont Triad region. So Piedmont Triad International Airport has always been an awkward name for the airport in Greensboro. But will Central North Carolina International Airport be any better? The airport authority has decided it will. That will be the new name beginning Jan. 1, little more than a week from now. Airport authority members, appointed by area governments, say they’ve been discussing this change for months. But quietly, without public input. So public reaction, not surprisingly, is ... unenthusiastic. Area economic developers are more positive, making the point that Piedmont Triad remains an undefined territory as far as the rest of the country and world is concerned. Fair enough. At least Central North Carolina pins the location to a state. The name change redirects the focus from geology — Piedmont — to geography. Within North Carolina, it’s a shiftier issue. N.C. Central University is in Durham. So is the Central North Carolina chapter of the American Red Cross. The Land Trust for Central North Carolina is based in Salisbury and covers 10 counties — not including Guilford or Forsyth. The Central North Carolina Council of the Boy Scouts of America serves seven counties — Rowan, Cabarrus, Stanly, Union, Anson, Richmond and Montgomery. So, while travelers landing at Central North Carolina International Airport will at least know what state they’re in, they may not be much closer to realizing they’ve arrived in the heart of the Triad’s largest cities of Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem. Sitting in Greensboro, we’d like to see our city’s name associated with our city’s airport. People know cities, some better than others. They fly to New York, even though they may land in Newark, N.J.; to Detroit, despite the fact that Detroit’s airport is in Romulus, Mich.; to Cincinnati, whose airport is in Hebron, Ky.; or, if they must, to Atlanta’s airport, which holds passengers hostage in darkened terminals beyond the Atlanta city limits. Greensboro is the third-largest city in the country’s ninth-largest state. Its airport also ranks third in size, behind two that carry the names of specific cities: Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham. RDU is located between Raleigh and Durham, so sharing those names makes sense. Piedmont Triad International Airport is a public facility governed by a regional authority. Its members are appointed by Guilford and Forsyth county commissioners and Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem city councils. Putting just one city, Greensboro, in the name of the airport would leave out the other entities. Including them all would create a name that’s too long. This dilemma led to the Piedmont Triad International Airport compromise 30 years ago, which leaders now conclude has been unsatisfactory. The new compromise is too long and unsatisfactory. Whether it’s a little more marketable remains to be seen. It will be a challenge. Could a better name have been selected? Certainly, more people — professionals and amateurs — could have been asked for suggestions. Public contests are often held to name sports teams. The public was asked for ideas when the Triad — not Central North Carolina — was preparing its bid to land Amazon’s HQ2. Our airport, by whatever name, is poised for growth. Passenger traffic was up this year, with fares on many flights lower than what are available in Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham. Also, travel hassles are fewer than at larger airports. Honda Aircraft and Haeco Americas are just two companies that have successful operations here, and an aviation-related industrial site is ready for development — in Greensboro. There probably wasn’t a pressing need to rename the airport, and there’s unlikely to be public consensus that the best new name was selected.