Flight Reductions @ Pittsburgh Int'l (Delta, Rome: rent, how much, maintenance)

[RockLobster]

The continued reduction by USAIRWAYS at PIT of flights and more importantly the massive reduction and loss of nonstop destinations is making our modern air facility not the most easy to fly in and out of. In it's hey day USAIRWAYS operated 600 flights a day out of Pit. Most medium and large markets nationwide were serviced by non stop flights from Pittsburgh. London, Paris and Frankfurt were international markets served through Pittsburgh. Soon USAIRWAYS will be down to 120 flights a day. All International flights are long gone and most non stop major business destinations on the west coast have been elimnated. And while Southwest, Delta, Jetblue and some others have added flights the overall selection of point to point air service has really taken a hit. Cleveland and even Columbus have more options for non stop service. Has this turn towards a much smaller air service offering @ Pit caused anyone major headaches business wise ?? Fingers crossed Southwest and others add flights as USAIRWAYS continues to vanish in Pittsburgh.

[South Range Family]

Pittsburgh doesn't have enough originating passengers to justify any more flights. If they were there, Southwest, and Jet Blue would be swooping in there to pick up the slack.

For years Burghers complained about the high fares we were charging in Pit. They failed to realize that was the price of having a hub, and convenient non-stop flights going just about anywhere they wanted to go. They didn't know that every airline does the same thing in their hub cities. They got their wish that USAir would go away. Now they complain that they can't go anywhere non-stop.

They lost more than flights though, Pittsburgh lost thousands of high paying jobs along with those flights. In a few more years all of maintenance will be gone from Pit. You won't see a big bird anywhere near that airport, and I'll be spending my time in the Charlotte or Phoenix forums. I hope everybody is happy that they got those cheap Southwest flights they were wishing for.

[RockLobster]

In order to enjoy PHX or CLT you guy's had better smooth out the worse rankings for customer service, continual employee troubles and have to love those rising fuel cost's... You have your work cut out..

[Sideblinded]

I flew to Chicago (O'Hare) over Merorial Day weekend from Pit. We moved from IL and honestly US air was "spot on" time both for arrival & departure time on BOTH legs. I was shocked and not ready at Pit. My shoes were still on etc.. We were 2nd in line for security. I do not recall being anything less than 50 in line for security at O'Hare.

In my short experience; Pittsburgh is an easy sub/hub for direct flights.

We used to drive a bit further than O'hare when we lived in IL. Milwaukee, WI.

[Seattle Guy]

Originally Posted by South Range Family

Pittsburgh doesn't have enough originating passengers to justify any more flights... Burghers complained about the high fares we were charging in Pit. They failed to realize that was the price of having a hub, and convenient non-stop flights going just about anywhere they wanted to go.

It's great to fly to Pittsburgh now that there is some real competition there and that Pittsburgh's leaders stopped worrying about a few people who wanted to fly to Paris or Rome directly from Pittsburgh.

[RockLobster]

Question -- Do you think that it would be crazy for the county-city,state, etc, to be willing to pay a subsidy or lend financial assistance to an airline (s) for non stop service to say London or Paris from Pittsburgh? Would there be any positives for dishing out gov't support for such service out of Pit ?

[Gerbil]

I want to see international flights return to our airport, but I think there are better cities to choose than London or Paris. We should look closely at the city's international business connections, and choose a place that makes sense based on that. There are a lot of international businesses here, and off the top of my head I am pretty sure a lot of them are German. Maybe that Frankfurt flight should be the first to come back.

[JoeP]

I hope everybody is happy that they got those cheap Southwest flights they were wishing for.

Nobody wished for this. That's assinine. USEless Airways had the new airport built for them and then they ask for more, and then what does the region get in return? 120 flights and thousands less jobs.

Don't even begin to point fingers at residents who scratched their head at a $1,100 flight to the west coast when they controlled the airport.

[RockLobster]

Gerbil, think your on about Frankfurt. I know the Bayer folks really have been upset on the loss of that flight a while back. Without having hub traffic @ Pit I wonder if we generate enough Int'l traffic for such markets. Some cities and regions have tried the subsidy way of luring in an airline to start up service. But in this day of giving out money and tax breaks for almost everything I certainly would hope the market would support such...

[South Range Family]

Originally Posted by RockLobster

Question -- Do you think that it would be crazy for the county-city,state, etc, to be willing to pay a subsidy or lend financial assistance to an airline (s) for non stop service to say London or Paris from Pittsburgh? Would there be any positives for dishing out gov't support for such service out of Pit ?

Yes, that would be crazy. No government entity should subsidize a private company. If the demand isn't there to make a profit, there's no need for the service. Airlines are just like any other company. They will take any and all free money from the government, and then they will turn around and ********* you anyhow.


USEless Airways had the new airport built for them and then they ask for more, and then what does the region get in return? 120 flights and thousands less jobs.

We paid for that airport in more ways than one. Ask about the high landing fees, the high rent we paid for the hangars, maintaining the baggage belt system, and paying for all of the airport security. That's what a dominant airline does at a hub.

We also had and endless list of CEO's that robbed and pillaged the airline while the dedicated employees did their job every day, no matter how much we got crapped on.