Pittsburgh Airport traffic down seven of the last eight months! (credit rating, bankrupt)

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by pman

it certainly wasn't worth building

hindsight is always 20/20

[pman]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

hindsight is always 20/20

of course, that line is also used by people who can't admit mistakes. that may or may not be the case here.

[AaronPGH]

And nobody could have predicted 9/11 or what it did to the airline industry either. I'm not saying there weren't some red flags from the beginning, but overall it seemed like the right move at the time.

[SteelCityRising]

Instead of flying out of PIT we just drive to our vacation destinations. Sure, it takes MUCH longer, but we avoid the hassle of security and the relatively high price of most airline tickets at our airport. Even when factoring in tolls, gasoline, and wear and tear on the vehicle we typically end up ahead financially by driving. I know we can't drive to Prague, Johannesburg, or Brisbane, but then again we're more on the budget of places like St. Louis, Boston, or Atlanta anyways for vacations. If airline tickets prices were just a tad cheaper, then we'd actually fly and utilize PIT.

[pman]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

And nobody could have predicted 9/11 or what it did to the airline industry either. I'm not saying there weren't some red flags from the beginning, but overall it seemed like the right move at the time.

9/11 had very little to do with US Airways bankruptcy. The airlines weren't profitable before 9/11, industry change was imminent. more than 9/11, it was Bush stopping the bailouts combined with southwest growth that finally forced change on the industry. OTOH, it seems like things could have been different if allegheny county had been willing to eat some of the loss when US Air went bankrupt and lowered the landing fees but I'm not an insider

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

It just seems like a huge waste when we have a world-class airport built for 30 million passengers a year that is being barely utilized. Maybe it's lighting a fire under PIT's ass though...

I've flown a lot over the last few months from PIT and 'hardly used' is not a description that seems appropriate for the airport. No doubt under capacity, and I'm sure someone here will know that number ...

[Geeo]

The planning for the new airport started around 1968, when it was still Allegheny Airlines and was the dominant carrier in Pittsburgh. At the time the old terminal was starting to burst at the seams. The county purchased hundreds and hundreds of additional land out there for the future.

Allegheny Airlines was a regional airline that changed its name to USAir and expanded its focus to become a national airline. They starting using Pittsburgh as a hub, since this was where their major operation was and it made sense. As they added routes nationwide, they added them from Pittsburgh. Airline traffic grew fast during the late 70s and early 80s under CEO Ed Colodny as USAir routes reached across the country, adding new cities from Pittsburgh and by funneling traffic from small cities in the northeast and midwest through Pittsburgh.

The old aairport terminal was becoming a crowded and confusing mess as additional wings were added on helter-skelter. It made sense, then, that when USAir wanted a new airport with the promise of even more flights and employment, a new state-of-the-art terminal complex was planned and built based on the needs of the major airline. The design was second to none - with the airside terminal in the middle of the runway confirguration, planes were able to get in and out of the terminal fast and save fuel.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Instead of flying out of PIT we just drive to our vacation destinations. Sure, it takes MUCH longer, but we avoid the hassle of security and the relatively high price of most airline tickets at our airport. Even when factoring in tolls, gasoline, and wear and tear on the vehicle we typically end up ahead financially by driving. I know we can't drive to Prague, Johannesburg, or Brisbane, but then again we're more on the budget of places like St. Louis, Boston, or Atlanta anyways for vacations. If airline tickets prices were just a tad cheaper, then we'd actually fly and utilize PIT.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

I like driving to Boston, as I do usually a few times a year now. It's familiar, and it takes maybe 2-3x as long as a plane ride but no hassle. Money might be a wash, depending. Sometimes you can get plane tix to BOS really cheap (sub-$200 roundtrip), but when you make it 2 people you can probably still drive for about the same price.

Heck, I enjoyed my two drives to Florida this year.

Sometime I will have the time and budget for, I dunno, Australia and New Zealand. Then I will grit my teeth and board a plane again, I suppose. Still hoping for some TSA reform before then. I'm sitting on some United miles that were once meant to cover the plane trip, although I don't know anymore if I have enough. Actually used some a couple years ago for a last-minute domestic on 10/10/10. That was fun and totally worth it, flew to Vegas, drove to Grand Canyon North Rim. Decided to go the night before.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

While we're talking about the TSA, how many of you guys have seen them on the T? I used to see them weekly when I worked downtown along with "DHS Police". I was under the impression that DHS Police could only be used on federal property (aka the 2 new T stops funded with federal dollars) but apparently they are riding the T all over. So while you folks are avoiding airports to sidestep the TSA keep in mind they're in our damn light rail system too. Don't get me started on VIPR teams.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by greg42

That was fun and totally worth it, flew to Vegas, drove to Grand Canyon North Rim. Decided to go the night before.

Spontaneity. A man after my own heart!