Why Would Anyone Fly Out of Raleigh?

It isn’t as simple as hubris either the kind referring to being out of touch with reality, nor the part about overestimating capabilities.

Compared to similar sized places, people from Raleigh, even elected officials there are compelled it seems to to take an extra flight to get virtually anywhere, compared to residents of similarly sized cities including Durham.

They are always quite vocal in airports and on flights about “flying out of Raleigh.” I’m not quite sure where they catch these flights.

The Raleigh airport closed in 1972 but again I’m not that familiar with Raleigh. The hospital and TV station there have heliports but there isn’t an airport in Raleigh.

Doesn’t seem they would go to Knightdale or Garner and again that wouldn’t be flying out of Raleigh anyway.

Every one of these flights “out of Raleigh” must stop first at RDU, then to make matters worse, they all require a plane change at RDU. To add insult to injury, RDU is co-owned and located midway between Durham and Raleigh and their respective counties.

Folks from Durham have it much easier or maybe we’re missing something. We could try to build in an extra leg by flying out of Lake Ridge here but that would probably involve a biplane.

So we all just drive directly to RDU for our flights or take a cab, transit bus or SuperShuttle. Maybe the Raleigh folks are on to something, but it seems like much less of a hassle.

But we also don’t make a big deal so people can hear that we “flew out of Morrisville,” where RDU is located.

But Raleigh folks don’t appear worried about sounding stupid. They get right out there and tell people they “fly out of Raleigh.”

Five of ten people on each flight in/out of RDU are very puzzled by this behavior. They are visitors to or from one of the communities served by RDU, with Durham drawing the biggest share.

Three out of the other five out of ten are North Carolinians and a bit chagrined. We all sit dumbfounded while the 2.5 out of 10 from Raleigh, make a big deal about having to take that extra flight.

Even the airline crews to and from RDU seem embarrassed for the Raleigh folks, often pretending to be “flying out of Raleigh,” I guess so as to not humiliate these poor folks needing that extra leg to get anywhere.

But I think we owe it to our neighbors living in the big “R” to let them in on our secret. They can save all the time and hassle Durham does by just “flying out of RDU.”

But then again, while hubris can be kind of entertaining, beware of trying to use humor to clue these folks in. Hubris doesn’t often accompany a sense of humor.

Oh well, “ignorance must be bliss, even when it always requires an extra flight?”