Welcome to the Pittsburgh (PIT) Aviation Thread 2022. Please continue your discussion and to post your news below.

Link to previous thread:

PIT Update Discussion Thread - 2021

EuroAtlantic is back with their B772s from HAN via ICN.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/MMZ ... /RKSI/KPIT

Not sure if this is a sub for Cathay, who grounded all their cargo flights for the near term (see separate thread) of if SpiceXpress is still operating in here.


Contour Airlines' PIT flights are toast in a couple days. We barely even got to know you! I think the only way the likes of PIT-IND/MKE will see successful service is when business travel fully recovers and the route is flown by a regional affiliate of an established network carrier. I remember 10-15 years ago both Northwest (who made MKE a focus city) and Midwest Express were flying RJs on PIT-MKE; there were several flights a day. Perhaps MX can take a stab at it when they get better established but I have a feeling their business model will evolve away from its originally stated mission just like what happened at JetBlue and Southwest over the years.

My predictions for 2022

PIT gets KEF back with icelandair 737 MAX or play a320neo
Breeze goes to SAT and SAN
alaska or breeze add PDX
Flair or westjet add PIT

As for mine:
- Amazon adds another route or two
- Continued growth and additions with the overseas cargo operations. Perhaps another freight forwarder or two that would increase the number of carriers and flights.
- Sun Country increases frequency of PIT-MSP flights.
- Condor announces their return for 2023, if not outright restarting this Summer.
- WN makes MIA and/or AUS a more permanent addition.
- G4 adds a new route or two.
- Play announces KEF for 2023.
- AC restarts YUL later in the year.
- UA finally restarts PIT-SFO.

Outliers...
- F9 rediscovers PIT once again and adds a handful of destinations, half of which actually stick.
- Breeze gains some traction and perhaps adds a new route or two.
- Behind the scenes the ACAA works very hard on attracting DHL and Alibaba's logistics network.

That's about all I see happening.

flyPIT wrote:

As for mine:
- Amazon adds another route or two
- Continued growth and additions with the overseas cargo operations. Perhaps another freight forwarder or two that would increase the number of carriers and flights.
- Sun Country increases frequency of PIT-MSP flights.
- Condor announces their return for 2023, if not outright restarting this Summer.
- WN makes MIA and/or AUS a more permanent addition.
- G4 adds a new route or two.
- Play announces KEF for 2023.
- AC restarts YUL later in the year.
- UA finally restarts PIT-SFO.

Outliers...
- F9 rediscovers PIT once again and adds a handful of destinations, half of which actually stick.
- Breeze gains some traction and perhaps adds a new route or two.
- Behind the scenes the ACAA works very hard on attracting DHL and Alibaba's logistics network.

That's about all I see happening.

I think this is a pretty fair assessment. I'm less optimistic with regard to Breeze though. Right now they simply have the wrong mix of destinations. They went for what they could get ACAA support for which I suppose is understandable. Can't see them sticking with what they are running.

flyPIT wrote:

As for mine:
- Amazon adds another route or two
- Continued growth and additions with the overseas cargo operations. Perhaps another freight forwarder or two that would increase the number of carriers and flights.
- Sun Country increases frequency of PIT-MSP flights.
- Condor announces their return for 2023, if not outright restarting this Summer.
- WN makes MIA and/or AUS a more permanent addition.
- G4 adds a new route or two.
- Play announces KEF for 2023.
- AC restarts YUL later in the year.
- UA finally restarts PIT-SFO.

Outliers...
- F9 rediscovers PIT once again and adds a handful of destinations, half of which actually stick.
- Breeze gains some traction and perhaps adds a new route or two.
- Behind the scenes the ACAA works very hard on attracting DHL and Alibaba's logistics network.

That's about all I see happening.

Would be really nice to have nonstop UA service back. Hate connecting in Chicago. I think the airport management team needs to get serious about getting another route to the west coast on a reliable airline.

Delta28L wrote:

I think the airport management team needs to get serious about getting another route to the west coast on a reliable airline.

They've been serious about it for years.


I'll add one more prediction... AA adds PIT-AUS if they add another round of expansion at AUS.

2022 Predictions

-WN or AA to AUS
-UA restarts SFO
-Longshot: Alaska adds PIT-LAX

phatfarmlines wrote:

As a non-Pittsburgher, has construction commenced on the new landside terminal?

It has.

My predictions for 2022:

WN adds SAT or MCI
UA resumes SFO
MX adds SAN
G4 moves into TLH or ILM and adds seasonal service
AS adds seasonal service to PDX

Hope to see pit-slc DL return this summer… you would have to think 90%+ LF comes back

Thoughts on Spirit adding a flight to NYC via EWR or LGA? Yes, it’s a rather short flight but there is no low fare service on this route to any of the three NYC airports. Maybe not a daily flight all the time, but definitely a few times a week should work well.

NJFlyer27 wrote:

Thoughts on Spirit adding a flight to NYC via EWR or LGA? Yes, it’s a rather short flight but there is no low fare service on this route to any of the three NYC airports. Maybe not a daily flight all the time, but definitely a few times a week should work well.

B6 re-adding PIT-JFK nonstop service is also a possibility as B6 would have AA's FF base in both the PIT and NYC markets in addition to B6's FF base in NYC to support the return of B6 PIT-JFK nonstop service.

B6 adding PIT-LAX nonstop service is also a possibility with LAX currently lacking nonstop service from PIT on any non-ULCC's along with B6 having added nonstop service to LAX from some other East Coast cities such as CHS, BDL, RDU, RIC, and PBI.

jplatts wrote:

NJFlyer27 wrote:

Thoughts on Spirit adding a flight to NYC via EWR or LGA? Yes, it’s a rather short flight but there is no low fare service on this route to any of the three NYC airports. Maybe not a daily flight all the time, but definitely a few times a week should work well.

B6 re-adding PIT-JFK nonstop service is also a possibility as B6 would have AA's FF base in both the PIT and NYC markets in addition to B6's FF base in NYC to support the return of B6 PIT-JFK nonstop service.

As much as I would love for B6 to take over PITJFK for AA, that's not happening. After the DOT pulled the plug on the slot exemptions they were giving everybody during the height of the pandemic, AA has resumed both LGA and JFK Eagle service at most if not all the markets they served pre-pandemic. You need to understand the individual marketplaces better and stop thinking about FF bases; business travel will be radically different for the forseeable future. There's tons of places that have or had significant FF bases for various carriers that are irrelevant now. Route planning has nothing to do with FF bases; it has to do with revenue and yield.

Also, B6 flew PITJFK for 6 years between 2006 and 2012 before they dropped it.

Some good predictions for '22!

My thoughts:
- SFO finally returns
- MX adds a flight or two once the A220's arrive. (SAT/SAN/SLC/PDX/MSY would be cool)
- WN gives the MIA/AUS flights a bigger window
- G4 may add another city or two
- Maybe more seasonal service to CUN or another random resort destination in Mexico

Wishful but less likely
- Seasonal service to PDX on AS
- DL bringing back SLC
- DE resuming this year
- ULCC to PHL/NYC to bring fares down

UA3316 (Republic E175) from CLE to BNA diverted to PIT earlier today. It remained at 11,225ft for most of the flight, possibly a pressurisation issue?

NJFlyer27 wrote:

Thoughts on Spirit adding a flight to NYC via EWR or LGA? Yes, it’s a rather short flight but there is no low fare service on this route to any of the three NYC airports. Maybe not a daily flight all the time, but definitely a few times a week should work well.

I'd love to see NK or any ULCC add service to NYC and PHL. However NK has failed in every business market they have tried from Pittsburgh. PIT-DFW/IAH and LBE-DFW/ORD all gone. NK has become very stagnant at PIT.


More negative Pittsburgh economic trends to report on.

According to U-Haul, Pennsylvania in 2021 ranked #48 for migration trends, down from an already bad #41.
https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/About/U- ... 021-26380/

The Pittsburgh region has regained 94.4% of the jobs it had two years ago, dead last in a ranking of what the Allegheny Conference considers "benchmark cities". Even more alarming: "The shortfall between the region’s year-over-year change in employment and the national and benchmark rates has steadily increased
since late spring"
https://pelgp.org/wp-content/uploads/20 ... t-november

Amongst PIT's peer airports (CLE, CMH, CVG, and IND), the Pittsburgh metro trailed all of them in the latest BLS unemployment stats (Oct 21).

flyPIT wrote:

NJFlyer27 wrote:

Thoughts on Spirit adding a flight to NYC via EWR or LGA? Yes, it’s a rather short flight but there is no low fare service on this route to any of the three NYC airports. Maybe not a daily flight all the time, but definitely a few times a week should work well.

I'd love to see NK or any ULCC add service to NYC and PHL. However NK has failed in every business market they have tried from Pittsburgh. PIT-DFW/IAH and LBE-DFW/ORD all gone. NK has become very stagnant at PIT.

WN still has Sunday-only nonstop flights to HOU from PIT on 1/9/2022 and 1/16/2022, and WN PIT-HOU nonstop service is completely dropping off after 1/16/2022.

G4 adding PIT-HOU nonstop service is a possibility, especially if WN doesn't re-add PIT-HOU nonstop service, with UA being the remaining airline serving the Houston market nonstop from PIT.

flyPIT wrote:

NJFlyer27 wrote:

Thoughts on Spirit adding a flight to NYC via EWR or LGA? Yes, it’s a rather short flight but there is no low fare service on this route to any of the three NYC airports. Maybe not a daily flight all the time, but definitely a few times a week should work well.

I'd love to see NK or any ULCC add service to NYC and PHL. However NK has failed in every business market they have tried from Pittsburgh. PIT-DFW/IAH and LBE-DFW/ORD all gone. NK has become very stagnant at PIT.


More negative Pittsburgh economic trends to report on.

According to U-Haul, Pennsylvania in 2021 ranked #48 for migration trends, down from an already bad #41.
https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/About/U- ... 021-26380/

The Pittsburgh region has regained 94.4% of the jobs it had two years ago, dead last in a ranking of what the Allegheny Conference considers "benchmark cities". Even more alarming: "The shortfall between the region’s year-over-year change in employment and the national and benchmark rates has steadily increased
since late spring"
https://pelgp.org/wp-content/uploads/20 ... t-november

Amongst PIT's peer airports (CLE, CMH, CVG, and IND), the Pittsburgh metro trailed all of them in the latest BLS unemployment stats (Oct 21).

I don't think NK is the go to airlines for business travelers. They should stick to vacation destinations.

flyPIT wrote:

Contour Airlines' PIT flights are toast in a couple days. We barely even got to know you!

I got an email from Contour on the 4th stating my reservation for March was cancelled with no further explanation. Route information/booking options have been removed from their website it seems.

flyPIT wrote:

More negative Pittsburgh economic trends to report on.

According to U-Haul, Pennsylvania in 2021 ranked #48 for migration trends, down from an already bad #41.
https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/About/U- ... 021-26380/

I haven't read through the other report you linked to, but the #48 U-haul ranking is an absolutely meaningless statistics unless you work for U-haul. It means nothing about general migration patterns.

PghMath wrote:

flyPIT wrote:

More negative Pittsburgh economic trends to report on.

According to U-Haul, Pennsylvania in 2021 ranked #48 for migration trends, down from an already bad #41.
https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/About/U- ... 021-26380/

I haven't read through the other report you linked to, but the #48 U-haul ranking is an absolutely meaningless statistics unless you work for U-haul. It means nothing about general migration patterns.

It’s one moving company so certainly not all encompassing but regardless coming in 3rd from the bottom isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, is it? Also not sure why one needs to work for U-Haul in order to decipher the data.

Btw, the same survey had the Pittsburgh region as one of the highest scoring areas for in-migration…. About 5 years ago during the height of the shale boom. Those days are obviously over.

PIT-SLC is scheduled to resume Q4 2022 or Q1 2023. It would most likely be on an A319 or the A220.

SLCaviation wrote:

PIT-SLC is scheduled to resume Q4 2022 or Q1 2023. It would most likely be on an A319 or the A220.

Is it in the schedule? Or is this from an article?

Jshank83 wrote:

SLCaviation wrote:

PIT-SLC is scheduled to resume Q4 2022 or Q1 2023. It would most likely be on an A319 or the A220.

Is it in the schedule? Or is this from an article?

From the Air Service development manager of SLC. He says that PIT, DSM, MSN, CLE, and CMH will resume q4 2022 or q1 2023. also IND will resume earlier according to him.

SLCaviation wrote:

Jshank83 wrote:

SLCaviation wrote:

PIT-SLC is scheduled to resume Q4 2022 or Q1 2023. It would most likely be on an A319 or the A220.

Is it in the schedule? Or is this from an article?

From the Air Service development manager of SLC. He says that PIT, DSM, MSN, CLE, and CMH will resume q4 2022 or q1 2023. also IND will resume earlier according to him.

is there an interview? Or public link to what they said?

PITFlyer330 wrote:

SLCaviation wrote:

Jshank83 wrote:

Is it in the schedule? Or is this from an article?

From the Air Service development manager of SLC. He says that PIT, DSM, MSN, CLE, and CMH will resume q4 2022 or q1 2023. also IND will resume earlier according to him.

is there an interview? Or public link to what they said?

No, I emailed them. They said that there is no date set by delta but they plan to resume them

flyPIT wrote:

It’s one moving company so certainly not all encompassing but regardless coming in 3rd from the bottom isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, is it? Also not sure why one needs to work for U-Haul in order to decipher the data.

Btw, the same survey had the Pittsburgh region as one of the highest scoring areas for in-migration…. About 5 years ago during the height of the shale boom. Those days are obviously over.

You don't have to work for U-haul to decipher the data, but I just don't know why you'd care about it unless you do work for them. It's data about where people use their specific rental trucks to move. How many other ways are there to move besides renting a U-haul? Maybe I'm lazy but if I were making a distant move I'd surely not rent a U-haul and do it myself.

I'd look at census data if you want any meaningful migration data, that's all I meant.

SLCaviation wrote:

PITFlyer330 wrote:

SLCaviation wrote:

From the Air Service development manager of SLC. He says that PIT, DSM, MSN, CLE, and CMH will resume q4 2022 or q1 2023. also IND will resume earlier according to him.

is there an interview? Or public link to what they said?

No, I emailed them. They said that there is no date set by delta but they plan to resume them

A DL spokesperson said IND would return "late 2022."

I'd put this in the "I'll believe it when I see it," category. The schedule is out through December, if they truly intended to resume these in late 2022 they would haven't completely removed them from the entire schedule.

I have to agree with Midwestindy on this one. 4Q2022 or 1Q2023 is so far away as to be meaningless in this environment. It's not as if DL has uncertain delivery of 70+ MAX7s this year and has to be sparing with route resumptions.

MIflyer12 wrote:

I have to agree with Midwestindy on this one. 4Q2022 or 1Q2023 is so far away as to be meaningless in this environment. It's not as if DL has uncertain delivery of 70+ MAX7s this year and has to be sparing with route resumptions.

I agree that it's no guarantee to return, but I prefer how Delta is handling this situation. United continues to make PIT-SFO bookable and push out the resumption date, frustrating customers who booked the non stop and now have to connect through ORD.

Midwestindy wrote:

SLCaviation wrote:

PITFlyer330 wrote:

is there an interview? Or public link to what they said?

No, I emailed them. They said that there is no date set by delta but they plan to resume them

A DL spokesperson said IND would return "late 2022."

I'd put this in the "I'll believe it when I see it," category. The schedule is out through December, if they truly intended to resume these in late 2022 they would haven't completely removed them from the entire schedule.

It is removed from the schedule due to them not knowing when they will get more pilots again

SLCaviation wrote:

Midwestindy wrote:

SLCaviation wrote:

No, I emailed them. They said that there is no date set by delta but they plan to resume them

A DL spokesperson said IND would return "late 2022."

I'd put this in the "I'll believe it when I see it," category. The schedule is out through December, if they truly intended to resume these in late 2022 they would haven't completely removed them from the entire schedule.

It is removed from the schedule due to them not knowing when they will get more pilots again

It was cut due to "ongoing travel demand impact from the pandemic" according to the spokesperson. If it was really staffing they wouldn't have taken it completely off the schedule, as staffing is a short-term issue.

flyPIT wrote:

NK has become very stagnant at PIT.

I just checked NK's Spring Break schedules hoping for at least some increases to Florida... but saw both PIT-MCO/FLL are actually reduced to only 1x daily on Tu/We. LAX is down again to only 4x weekly; 5x weekly in the Spring. Florida frequencies have been steady or increased in our peer markets so this is yet another poor showing by our market.

JamesRenard wrote:

UA3316 (Republic E175) from CLE to BNA diverted to PIT earlier today. It remained at 11,225ft for most of the flight, possibly a pressurisation issue?

Pretty sure those YX33xx flight numbers are repo's. Maybe got a message in flight about the company wanting that bird in PIT for either crew or maint reasons

If users have questions about deletions, you need to email us at moderators@airliners.net to ask. Posting about it in the thread is off topic and will be removed accordingly.

✈️ atcsundevil

"Cargo sees a big boost at the airport, and it's not just because more people are shopping online"

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/b ... 2201090054

Good article.

PghMath wrote:

flyPIT wrote:

It’s one moving company so certainly not all encompassing but regardless coming in 3rd from the bottom isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, is it? Also not sure why one needs to work for U-Haul in order to decipher the data.

Btw, the same survey had the Pittsburgh region as one of the highest scoring areas for in-migration…. About 5 years ago during the height of the shale boom. Those days are obviously over.

You don't have to work for U-haul to decipher the data, but I just don't know why you'd care about it unless you do work for them. It's data about where people use their specific rental trucks to move. How many other ways are there to move besides renting a U-haul? Maybe I'm lazy but if I were making a distant move I'd surely not rent a U-haul and do it myself.

I'd look at census data if you want any meaningful migration data, that's all I meant.

A year or two ago, Pittsburgh was a top 10 city where people were moving to, according to U-Haul. The info is interesting but can't really draw any conclusions as they have a specific , niche market.

The saga of Pennsylvania's ongoing stagnation and lost opportunities continues....

Remember from last thread the decision of USS to reverse a $1.5 billion investment in a local steel plant because according to the CEO:

"Over the past two years we have carried the ball down the field as far as possible without the issuance of the permits necessary to begin construction, which we applied for when we announced the project, ten months prior to the onset of COVID-19. We commissioned the manufacturing of the equipment and began site preparations. However, with over $170 million invested and equipment being stored in Pittsburgh-area warehouses, we’re still only at the beginning stages of project execution. By contrast, during this same time period, a competing steel manufacturer in another state announced a new steel mill and will be ready to make steel this year."

Well as expected USS chose a southern state over our region for a new $3 billion investment. But I found this quote, again from the CEO of USS, goes hand in hand with his comment last year:
"The State of Arkansas, Mississippi County, the City of Osceola, Entergy, BNSF, and other parties have all worked to make this the clear choice for a path to the future without roadblocks. We’re not going to make our stakeholders wait to see progress. We intend to break ground this quarter and get to work as soon as permits are in hand"

That was yeaterday. Today there is separate news from Nucor Steel, also discussed in the previous thread:

On the economic development front, finally some potential great news. Nucor Steel (Charlotte, NC) is considering the region for a $2.7 billion state-of-the-art sheet mill steel plant. Other regions under consideration include WV and OH, and I imagine many of the potential sites in those two states could be in PIT's catchment area.
https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ ... nt-pr.html

"Nucor also obliquely referenced a competitor with major steelmaking operations in the Pittsburgh region when it said it would have "a significantly lower carbon footprint than nearby competitors." United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) produces steel at the Mon Valley Works plants in the Mon Valley.

Today, Nucor announced Mason County, WV as the location, and it is nowhere near the Pittsburgh region.

"CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice announced today that Nucor Corporation has selected Mason County, West Virginia, as the location for a state-of-the-art sheet steel mill. The record investment will exceed $2.7 billion, making it the largest in West Virginia history, as well as the largest single investment Nucor has ever made".
https://governor.wv.gov/News/press-rele ... story.aspx


However, there may be a consolation prize on the edge of the Pittsburgh region.

"The company also announced it is considering building a transloading and processing center in the northern part of the state in order to create a broader logistics network to better serve its customers in the upper Midwest and Northeast regions. This facility would create additional jobs in the state."

That facility would be in Weirton, WV which is actually firmly in the PIT catchment area. Congrats to AR and WV.

flyPIT wrote:

The saga of Pennsylvania's ongoing stagnation and lost opportunities continues....

Remember from last thread the decision of USS to reverse a $1.5 billion investment in a local steel plant because according to the CEO:

"Over the past two years we have carried the ball down the field as far as possible without the issuance of the permits necessary to begin construction, which we applied for when we announced the project, ten months prior to the onset of COVID-19. We commissioned the manufacturing of the equipment and began site preparations. However, with over $170 million invested and equipment being stored in Pittsburgh-area warehouses, we’re still only at the beginning stages of project execution. By contrast, during this same time period, a competing steel manufacturer in another state announced a new steel mill and will be ready to make steel this year."

Well as expected USS chose a southern state over our region for a new $3 billion investment. But I found this quote, again from the CEO of USS, goes hand in hand with his comment last year:
"The State of Arkansas, Mississippi County, the City of Osceola, Entergy, BNSF, and other parties have all worked to make this the clear choice for a path to the future without roadblocks. We’re not going to make our stakeholders wait to see progress. We intend to break ground this quarter and get to work as soon as permits are in hand"

That was yeaterday. Today there is separate news from Nucor Steel, also discussed in the previous thread:

On the economic development front, finally some potential great news. Nucor Steel (Charlotte, NC) is considering the region for a $2.7 billion state-of-the-art sheet mill steel plant. Other regions under consideration include WV and OH, and I imagine many of the potential sites in those two states could be in PIT's catchment area.
https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ ... nt-pr.html

"Nucor also obliquely referenced a competitor with major steelmaking operations in the Pittsburgh region when it said it would have "a significantly lower carbon footprint than nearby competitors." United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) produces steel at the Mon Valley Works plants in the Mon Valley.

Today, Nucor announced Mason County, WV as the location, and it is nowhere near the Pittsburgh region.

"CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice announced today that Nucor Corporation has selected Mason County, West Virginia, as the location for a state-of-the-art sheet steel mill. The record investment will exceed $2.7 billion, making it the largest in West Virginia history, as well as the largest single investment Nucor has ever made".
https://governor.wv.gov/News/press-rele ... story.aspx


However, there may be a consolation prize on the edge of the Pittsburgh region.

"The company also announced it is considering building a transloading and processing center in the northern part of the state in order to create a broader logistics network to better serve its customers in the upper Midwest and Northeast regions. This facility would create additional jobs in the state."

That facility would be in Weirton, WV which is actually firmly in the PIT catchment area. Congrats to AR and WV.

USS had bought Big River Steel last year. With the recent expansion there, it's a 3 billion ant as well. This will go next to it it. Nucor has 2 plants up the road a bit and recently finished a hundreds of millions dollar expansion.

Now, I would not be shocked if someone picks up PIT/MEM soon.

WaywardMemphian wrote:

Now, I would not be shocked if someone picks up PIT/MEM soon.

Perhaps, but I don't see USS keeping their HQ in Pittsburgh more than 5-10 years out. But PIT-MEM may finally re-materialize at some time; it is still on G4's route map. FedEx is another large business tie as FedEx Ground is HQ'd in Pgh with a couple thousand corporate employees. It probably drives more travel demand to the MEM region than USS. But business travel needs to return first.

Once the new mill is up and running, that may be it for steel making in Pittsburgh. There is that extra step of bring ore down on a boat and then loading it onto a train for shipment to Pittsburgh. Surviving integrated mill (Gary) doesn't have that train component and cost. Then no need for USX HQ being in PIT.

MohawkWeekend wrote:

Once the new mill is up and running, that may be it for steel making in Pittsburgh. There is that extra step of bring ore down on a boat and then loading it onto a train for shipment to Pittsburgh. Surviving integrated mill (Gary) doesn't have that train component and cost. Then no need for USX HQ being in PIT.

Well, there is still the USS Mon Valley Works belching out pollution. This is the plant that was supposed to get the $1.5 billion upgrade to bring it up to and beyond environmental standards. Due to excessive bureaucracy and regulation - intended to protect the environment - that investment got pulled and now the opposite will be the result. Until that plant closes for good which I'm sure will now be the long-term result. You seriously can't make this up! Just another example of how liberalism always generates the exact opposite of its stated intent.

There is also a large plant on the Allegheny River operated by Allegheny Technologies. That one has (miraculously) been modernized a couple years ago. So while I personally agree the USS HQ will be gone in a few years, sometimes it's tough to figure out the rationale for an HQ location. PPG, Arconic, Howmet Aerospace, and Alcoa are all HQ'd in Pittsburgh and have an R&D facility nearby but none of them produce much of anything here anymore. H.J. Heinz is HQ'd here but doesn't produce anything locally that I'm aware of. Same with pharmaceutical giant Viatris. Many years ago Alcoa moved its HQ from Pgh to NYC for no other reason than the CEO didn't like Pittsburgh. After that wrong got righted Alcoa came back, and subsequently split in to 3 companies ... all of which are on the Fortune 500 list.

A sincere congratulations to Columbus and central Ohio on winning the largest economic development prize in Ohio's history; a transformative development that is a game changer for that region and its air service development prospects. Intel's plans are likely just the beginning there too.

Yes, I know this is the PIT thread. It just corresponds perfectly with what has just been said earlier this week about this region. It has also been said that Pittsburgh's growing tech sector sets it aside from its peer markets. Well, at one fell swoop Columbus's tech sector will leapfrog Pittsburgh's exponentially. Why did that happen? It's nothing that hasn't been said before regarding PA's big business competitiveness with competing states. Now it's true for the tech sector as well.

One thing really stood out to me while reading today's news. A small Ohio town let 3,000 acres of its land be annexed by its neighboring town in order to have some sort of continuity on the site this facility will be built on. The town giving up the land will obviously benefit regardless. With 130 municipalities in Allegheny County alone, each wanting to maintain their autonomy, there is no way in hell something similar would have occurred in this region. It's one of the many roadblocks holding us back.

Both PIT and CLE utilize mainly Union contractors for any construction. CMH does not - which was IMO one the reason Honda pick Marysvillle (outside of Columbus) for its first factories.

MohawkWeekend wrote:

Both PIT and CLE utilize mainly Union contractors for any construction. CMH does not - which was IMO one the reason Honda pick Marysvillle (outside of Columbus) for its first factories.

Actually, the Honda plant was built (and has since been expanded by) the Union building trades:

https://www.actohio.org/honda-signs-pla ... e-project/

https://columbusconstruction.org/projec ... enpla-job/

I’m confident a project this large will also be built (at least in large part) by union contractors. The Google data centers in Central Ohio are being built Union too. One thing central Ohio does love though, maybe more than CLE and PIT, is giving away massive tax abatements and other incentive packages. I’d look for that- rather than labor cost- to be a key part of the decision.

I would imagine the property tax rates out in that rural area are pretty low to begin with. Maybe Ohio and the Village is kicking back part of the income taxes collected.
Thanks for the info on the Union builders. That being said, the Honda plants in Ohio and Indiana are the furthest north non-unionized auto plants in the country.

Columbus also beat out somewhere in New York for the Intel factory:

https://www.pcmag.com/news/intel-prepar ... ry-in-ohio

Not sure where in New York but, if it were NYC metro, that seems like an even more massive coup.

DeltaRules wrote:

Columbus also beat out somewhere in New York for the Intel factory:

https://www.pcmag.com/news/intel-prepar ... ry-in-ohio

Not sure where in New York but, if it were NYC metro, that seems like an even more massive coup.

I think New York had a couple locations on offer, one near Albany and one between ROC and BUF.

It will be interesting to see if the CMH location will be the site of the $100 billion, 110,000 jobs “mega fab”. There seems to be enough land for it.