Think about airports for a minute. What is the common thing about every airport you've ever visited in the United States? Yes, increased security, but more importantly, there always seems to be construction. Constant construction.

The airports I fly through multiple times a year include:

• Lambert St. Louis International Airport
• Denver International Airport
• Albany International Airport
• Syracuse Hancock International Airport
• Tampa International Airport
• Detroit Metro Airport

There are probably another half dozen I'll hit once a year, but those make up the bulk of my travels. In all the airports I visit there are always construction projects going on. They could be adding a terminal, rehabing a parking garage or even adding a hotel. The airports are in a constant state of flux and never seem to settle down. I've always presumed this construction was to increase capacity, but not in all cases.

It was with great interest I came across an article by Daniel Kelley in the Suburban Journals. Daniel's story focused on the how Lambert St. Louis International airport was changing from a hub based airport to a origin destination airport. They call these airports OD for short.

We've talked about the seismic changes in the local airport scene before, but this story was confirming that the airport management was giving up hope of ever being a hub.

Later in the story Daniel quotes Ray Mundy, transportation studies professor for the University of Missouri St. Louis:

Airports had only experienced growth since the 1950s. Lambert, like other airports throughout the nation, had leveraged their future on continued growth. Everything else, including terminal appearance, was left to the wayside. Airports were betting everything they had on their air capacity.

This is an interesting observation, which was spurred by the attacks on 9-11. The airline industry was turned around, flipped upside down and slammed into a wall. Professor Mundy also says:

I do think we have turned the corner and made the psychological realization that they should not try to be the best hub or the best cargo airport, but the best OD airport possible,

Understand that what he's saying is we've lost. The effort to make your airport into a hub for passengers or cargo isn't going to pay off in the long run. It's better to focus on what you have left than try to expand to meet anticipated future need that may never arrive.

Does this mean the construction cycle will stop for OD airports? Probably not according to Airport Director Kevin Dolliole as reported by Daniel:

Some of the immediate renovations will include replacing damaged windows in the East Terminal, installing new solar film to windows in the Main Terminal, renovating the closed-in parking garage and upgrading the curbside landscaping on the departure level

Change focus from form to function and dress the place up. I'm all for that as long as I can get to where I need to.