THEY ARE CATCHING ON. USA Today picks up the Milwaukee-as-Chicago's-third-airport story.

"Nobody really wants to compete with Southwest," [AirTran CEO Bob] Fornaro says. "But the upside is they'll bring a lot of loyal Chicagoans with them. That will raise the profile of Milwaukee among Illinois residents who might not have considered the airport before."

It could also raise the profile of Milwaukee as an alternative airport for greater Chicago, much as Southwest has done for Baltimore to greater Washington, D.C., or Providence to greater Boston, says Kit Mueller, a 36-year-old technology consultant from Chicago.

Mueller, who says he travels up to 30 times a year for a combination of both work and pleasure, is a convert to Milwaukee.

Unlike the northern Illinois residents most Milwaukee airlines seek, Mueller actually lives in The Loop in central Chicago — about 90 miles from Mitchell airport. Still, he says, he prefers Mitchell over O'Hare, saying the ride to Milwaukee on Amtrak's Hiawatha line doesn't take him any longer than Chicago's Blue Line "El" train to O'Hare.

"I've been somewhat the evangelist of late," Mueller says. "Whenever we're talking travel, I'm like, 'Always check Milwaukee,' " he says, though he adds Chicago's downtown Midway is still his airport of choice.

Mueller says some people think he's crazy "at first" when he tells them he prefers Milwaukee.

"But two people have actually come with me" to Mitchell, he says, claiming they warmed to the idea after giving it a chance.

And that's with limited food service (a trolley service of soft drinks and bag snacks is offered on a few trains) and timings based on 79 mph train speeds. Glenview to Milwaukee Airport in 35 minutes, and a station at Gurnee with ample parking and a shuttle service to Great America and Gurnee Mills offer yet more upside potential.

Having Mueller's endorsement is fine, but he isn't the target Chicago audience for Mitchell and its airlines.

"While Milwaukee is only 70 miles from O'Hare and 90 miles from downtown Chicago, those aren't the important numbers," says Mitchell director [Barry] Bateman. "For the majority of our customers who live in the high-income, frequent-traveler northern Illinois tier, Milwaukee is only a 45- to 50-minute drive on the interstate — the same amount of time it takes them to drive to O'Hare."

There are days, however, when 94 doesn't go that fast. I suspect, further, that AirTran and Republic (hello, Herman?) won't complain about passengers transferring from the trains. Swift of foot is Hiawatha. With each stride two miles he will measure.