Letter: Do we really need longer runway?

Without a reliable airline, why build the Hilton Head Island Airport runway extension?

Talk to anyone who tries to regularly fly in or out of the Hilton Head airport and you’ll find that they are going to Savannah more often because you simply can’t count on American. Its own website shows that 55 percent of all flights to and from Hilton Head are late, and 26 percent are canceled.

The number of flights has been dramatically reduced over the past few years. I would suspect that American says it’s due to a decrease in demand. No wonder, given the incredible lack of service and dependability. It’s almost as if American is trying to entice customers to go to Savannah by performing so poorly in and out of Hilton Head.

So, do we really want to extend the runway when we can’t count on the airline serving Hilton Head? We need a proven commitment by American that they want to service our market.

This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Letter: Do we really need longer runway?."