Pittsburgh-Cleveland International Airport?

[PghUSA]

Pittsburgh has for the last two decades had one of the top 3 terminals and one of the BEST high capacity runway systems (while JFK, LGA, PHI, IAD and others go down during blizzards Pittsburghs runway design and wide open spaces continue operations and provide landing rights to those planes turned away from the east coast) in the world, has always been a "cadillac" of airports. Unfortunately it came with "cadillac" type landing fees and airport fees to pay for all that debt accumlated during design . . . U.S. Airways unionized labor force was also not helpful on costs (many carriers while at Pittsburgh during blizzards or overcrowding in the NE corridor would contract out with the maintence crews employed by USAirways and be forced to pay those fees).

With the monopoly that USAirways had on the airport (the ability to squeeze out competitors and then jack up prices again) long gone and the arrival of Southwest (and expansion of Southwest) and Independence, HootersAir and AirTran in recent years and the news that JetBlue is strongly considering Pittsburgh flights as early as this fall, Pittsburgh is now becoming a giant in origination/destination that it once was in hub traffic (10 million+ enplanements in its heyday).

Question is will Pittsburgh no that it is cheap and the best, not just the best, become the International Airport for Cleveland, Eire, Morgantown, Wheeling, Columbus, Altoona, and maybe even Harrisburg, Toledo, and maybe Buffalo?

Something interesting to think about.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stor.../30/story3.html

Airport expands parking to accommodate growth

Pittsburgh International adds 1,100 spacesJennifer Curry Pittsburgh Business Times

Pittsburgh International Airport is making room for more cars in its extended parking lot because more people from Pittsburgh are flying out of the airport.

It will add approximately 700 spots in a $4.5 million expansion project that should be completed by mid-November, Allegheny County Airport Authority spokeswoman Joanne Jenny said. The authority also added 400 spots in April by shifting part of the employee lot to extended parking. With US Airways' flight and personnel reductions at the airport, fewer employee spots are necessary. The two expansions will bring the airport's extended parking total to 8,200 spots.

Airport Authority CFO Mike Scureman said during an authority board meeting earlier this month the airport's 2005 parking revenue had reached $6.8 million by the end of April, compared to $5.4 million at the same time a year before. Also, for the month of March, Pittsburgh International's extended parking lot averaged more than 90 percent of its capacity.

[mjcatl2]

There is no doubt that Pittsburgh and the airport will benefit in long run. Unfortunately, USEless Air hasn't bottomed out yet and I hate for more people to lose jobs, but it's going to happen. However in the long run, Pittsburgh will have not only a great airport, but a competitive one as you touched on.

[urbanophile]

Question is will Pittsburgh no that it is cheap and the best, not just the best, become the International Airport for Cleveland, Eire, Morgantown, Wheeling, Columbus, Altoona, and maybe even Harrisburg, Toledo, and maybe Buffalo?

Something interesting to think about.

Good thinking. PIT has capacity in loads. It should be marketed as a central international airport for the region with connecting flights onwards to these other destinations.

The fact is, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, and Buffalo (and surely those smaller destinations) would never be able to sustain substantial international service on their own. As it stands, of those cities only Cleveland has non-stop service to Europe and even then its only to London-Gatwick and only seasonal on a 757. Everyone else flyign to Europe from those cities has to transfer through some other city.

With its capacity, Pittsburgh could make a pitch for international service with domestic carriers serving those other cities with feeder routes. The only problem is that it is doubtful other carriers would be willing to go through that trouble.

As for Harrisburg and Toledo, I think those are far out of the potential catchment area for Pittsburgh. Harrisburg is PHL territory and Toledo is DTW.

[PghUSA]

^^that's true about Harrisburg and Toledo, Harrisburg really is even closer to BWI in my estimation. With the weakening of the USAirways stranglehold on Pittsburgh though some might choose to skip the Northwest monolopy going on in Detriot and the SW or USair/SW monopolies going on in PHL and BWI and choose PIT for greater selection.

I don't think we'll ever be the market for Toledo or Harrisburg but to ad there and get a few hundred a year wouldn't be too shabby.

Pittsburgh does have the potential to be a major regional player, be interesting to see how it turns out.

[urbanophile]

^^that's true about Harrisburg and Toledo, Harrisburg really is even closer to BWI in my estimation.  With the weakening of the USAirways stranglehold on Pittsburgh though some might choose to skip the Northwest monolopy going on in Detriot and the SW or USair/SW monopolies going on in PHL and BWI and choose PIT for greater selection.

Harrisburg is probably closer to BWI but I beleive it is US Airways' territory so, by virtue of that, it gets placed in the PHL sphere. Also, I don't consider BWI a true full service airport since its primary airline is Southwest as opposed to one of the full service carriers with international, business, and first class service.

I'm actually surprised PIT isn't making much of a pitch to steal Continental's hub from CLE. True, CLE is expanding, but it'll never be as good of a facility as PIT. That said, CO doesn't really have much of an operation at CLE so the gain wouldn't be that much.

Southwest, Jet Blue, etc. are good, but to raise Pgh's business stature, a major full service carrier is needed. While US Airways is in Pgh, I have serious doubts as to them remaining after the merger. It simply wouldn't make sense anymore for them. I guess the only logical choice after CO would be Northwest since they have no presence in the Northeast. I don't see them setting up a hub but perhaps a focus city?

[PghUSA]

Great news just out on Pittsburgh!

With the lessening of USAirways anaconda death grip Pittsburgh is seeing a big spike in orginiation/destination traffic which unlike "hub" traffic is increasing airport revenue on long term parking and rental car airport fees. This increase in fee collection across the board (landing, hotel, rental cars, parking) is allowing one of the world's GREATEST airports, to shed its one time label as also one of the world's MOST EXPENSIVE to operate in.

The good news just keeps on coming!

Traffic up at Pittsburgh airport; landing fees down

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

By Mark Belko, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

With local passenger traffic surging, airlines are paying less to operate at Pittsburgh International Airport.

With traffic and revenue running ahead of 2005 budget projections, the Allegheny County Airport Authority has cut landing fees charged to airlines by 33.9 percent, terminal fees by 26.5 percent and ramp fees by 25.7 percent. . .

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05158/516953.stm