Pittsburgh International Airport (Washington, Gettysburg, Delta: ski resort, for sale, purchasing)

[Geeo]

This is good to hear. I think that we had about 100 non-stop destinations (give or take a few) when USAir was the hub here. These new destinations take us up to about 70, which is double from just a few years ago.

Granted, these flights are not on big jets like in the hub days, since we were mostly a transfer point then. But evidently the market is there for these direct flights on small planes.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

I learned this one the hard way. Somehow it flew under the (my) radar that United suspended PIT to SFO nonstop service for Jan & Feb. I travel there sometimes for work and had no idea. The lack of nonstop West Coast service outside of LAX is a major downer, but I guess Pittsburghers just don't travel that far west often enough to make nonstop service worth it to carriers. Here's to being even more tired than I already was on those out-and-back west coast jaunts

United direct flights from Pittsburgh to San Francisco to go on hiatus | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[AaronPGH]

^ Yeah. I was living out there for a few months in 2014 and going back and forth for work constantly, it was a big PITA. I don't understand the lack of service to the bay area.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

^ Yeah. I was living out there for a few months in 2014 and going back and forth for work constantly, it was a big PITA. I don't understand the lack of service to the bay area.

It's only suspended for two months. I just booked a ticket for that route, flying in March.

[PITairport]

I did not see this coming so soon:

TOURISM COMPANY TO LAUNCH NONSTOP FLIGHTS FROM CHINA TO PITTSBURGH

Pittsburgh Airport @ Pittsburgh Airport


Ms. Cassotis is on a roll.

[krogerDisco]

Originally Posted by PITairport

I did not see this coming so soon:


Pittsburgh Airport @ Pittsburgh Airport


Ms. Cassotis is on a roll.

Wow, can planes really fly that far without refueling? And are they hoping to send tourists to Pittsburgh and possibly elsewhere in the US? Or are Pittsburghers supposed to visit China?

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/tra...ersion=pgevoke

Sounds like it supposed to cut both ways. China might be disappointed as Pittsburghers seem to be mostly homebodies.

[punctus_contra_punctum]

Originally Posted by punctus_contra_punctum

Yes, that is the only club at PIT. In fairness, the only clubs the new terminal has ever had were the multiple USAirways clubs (now one Admirals club) and the British Airways Lounge back when they flew to Pittsburgh. The old terminal had several other clubs; I can dimly recall the TWA and Eastern clubs there, and there were probably others.

Going back a bit in time, but a bit more good news on the airport front. A new lounge has opened at the airport, "The Club at PIT." It is part of a third-party (not owned by an airline) chain of clubs operating in the US and UK.

The club opened on Monday (June 12th) in a temporary space between C54 and C56, while they build out a permanent new facility across from C52. They will be the club for Condor business-class passengers, Priority Pass members and will also be open to the public for $40.

It is not new service to the west coast or London, but it is a nice little addition to the airport. Kudos to The Club and the Airport Authority for another improvement in amenities. Two years ago I was concerned about losing the only remaining lounge; instead of losing the AA Admirals Club, we managed to picked up a new one.

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by PITairport

I did not see this coming so soon:


Pittsburgh Airport @ Pittsburgh Airport


Ms. Cassotis is on a roll.

That's crazy. Pittsburgh is a large enough market for a direct East Asia flight?

Is there a nearby major ski resort or something?

[punctus_contra_punctum]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

That's crazy. Pittsburgh is a large enough market for a direct East Asia flight?

Is there a nearby major ski resort or something?

Personally I doubt Pittsburgh can support a direct flight to Asia on its own, but the flight to China is not 'real' scheduled service but a charter run by a tour company; I'm not convinced that they will even sell tickets to the general public, but I could well be wrong on that. (There are some small nearby ski resorts, but certainly nothing that would attract an international traveller.)

That said, I should note that Portland, OR has roughly the same MSA population as Pittsburgh, and they have year round service to both Asia and Europe. Admittedly much of this is driven by The Swoosh, but in my mind it demonstrates that there is room for further international service from Pittsburgh, with Heathrow clearly the key missing piece.

[RogersParkTransplant]

Well, Pitt and CMU both have long histories of working with academic partners in China, and we get a ton of students from there. One of my grad students told me Pitt has a big reputation in China; apparently a fair number of their high-ranking politicians have degrees from us, and we have all sorts of special fellowships and grants to promote the study of Chinese topics.

I don't know if all this is reason for direct flights to Beijing, but it's worth keeping in mind when you compare us to other cities of comparable size but less contact with China in particular.