Pittsburgh International Airport Ranked One Of The Best Yet Again

[gg]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I am heading to London on one of these flights at the end of April.

Sounds good. I hope they make a go of it. The Paris flight was a big deal an it lasted I think 10 years. Pretty good run.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by gg

Sounds good. I hope they make a go of it. The Paris flight was a big deal an it lasted I think 10 years. Pretty good run.

I believe the plane they are using is a miserable one, where they put 3/3/3 setup on what used to be a 2/4/2, so they are cramming in an extra seat which I have heard makes for a miserable flight. I will report back if I survive it.

[gg]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I believe the plane they are using is a miserable one, where they put 3/3/3 setup on what used to be a 2/4/2, so they are cramming in an extra seat which I have heard makes for a miserable flight. I will report back if I survive it.

I looked a little around at the flights. Economy is around $1200. Upgrade a little it is $1,500ish and so-on. Maybe the extra $300 is worth it on a long flight like this? This is when it is nice to be short and thin. I am neither of those, so for me I might have to upgrade a little.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by gg

I looked a little around at the flights. Economy is around $1200. Upgrade a little it is $1,500ish and so-on. Maybe the extra $300 is worth it on a long flight like this? This is when it is nice to be short and thin. I am neither of those, so for me I might have to upgrade a little.

That price for a flight to London is outrageous. You can fly nonstop from Philly to London for only $482, $600-700 from DC, and $735 from Toronto and Cleveland. Baffling why it's so much more expensive here. All of those prices for from Google for going in late May.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by gg

I looked a little around at the flights. Economy is around $1200. Upgrade a little it is $1,500ish and so-on. Maybe the extra $300 is worth it on a long flight like this? This is when it is nice to be short and thin. I am neither of those, so for me I might have to upgrade a little.

I got mine for around $840 or so, but paid extra to get a seat choice. BA also has video on demand data boxes under the aisle and window seat which takes up room for your feet, so it adds to the misery.


Ive basically resigned myself to being miserable on the flight over, but there is only so much you can do. I upgraded my hotel in London because I will actually be sleeping there and spending time there, and am just going to endure the flight.

[bradjl2009]

Not exactly Pittsburgh related, but as I've seen some pointing out to trolls who blamed WOW leaving Pittsburgh on the city itself, and not the fact that the company was coming close to severe financial issues. The airline has gone belly up and cancelled all future flights.

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

That price for a flight to London is outrageous. You can fly nonstop from Philly to London for only $482, $600-700 from DC, and $735 from Toronto and Cleveland. Baffling why it's so much more expensive here. All of those prices for from Google for going in late May.

You cannot fly non-stop to London from Cleveland. In fact, now that Icelandair pulled out, there are no non-stop flights to Europe from Cleveland. PIT will have two. This is a normal summer price for a non-stop to London Heathrow (the most prestigious airport) in a city with no other competition on the route. The flight will be packed with business travelers whose companies would rather pay that much to get them there nonstop versus losing time with a connection.

NYC, Philly, DC, and Toronto all have many carriers competing for the same route so it drives down prices. British Airways isn't coming to Pittsburgh to run a yard sale on fares for no reason.

[acenturi]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

That price for a flight to London is outrageous. You can fly nonstop from Philly to London for only $482, $600-700 from DC, and $735 from Toronto and Cleveland. Baffling why it's so much more expensive here. All of those prices for from Google for going in late May.

It's virtually impossible to compare airline pricing in general terms.
Round Trip Pricing depends on the Season, Competition (PIT has none / PHL does) and Demand for a specific flight/aircraft, which can change from minute to minute. For example (at today's BA prices - Economy Standard), PHL-LHR-PHL 7/19-7/26 (High Season) is $1150 (777) and $1429 (747) - PIT-LHR-PIT 7/19-7/26 is $1349 (BA787-8). So one big factor is the number of seats available on the specific aircraft (BA 777-747 on PHL-LHR), versus the much smaller 787-8 aircraft on PIT-LHR. Obviously the PHL 747 has significantly less availability in Economy than the 777 aircraft on those dates, so the Fare is higher, which is likely the same rationale for the PIT 787 flight's relatively high fare.

You can bet BA is unlikely to continue PIT-LHR after the subsidy expires unless fares can be retained at/near levels achievable in similar markets. This is typically a problem in medium size cities during lower travel seasons, particularly those with little/no connecting traffic. One method to support the flight year round is with commercial contracts from large Pittsburgh corporations. In this case those with offices in Europe.