flyPIT wrote:

Over at LBE, plans move forward for the terminal expansion and there is a destination survey available for those interested:
https://palmerairport.com/destination-survey/

Still can’t believe spirit cut all those routes and only left us with just Orlando flights. I hope they have plans to attract another airline to fly out of the expanded terminal

Delta28L wrote:

flyPIT wrote:

Over at LBE, plans move forward for the terminal expansion and there is a destination survey available for those interested:
https://palmerairport.com/destination-survey/

Still can’t believe spirit cut all those routes and only left us with just Orlando flights. I hope they have plans to attract another airline to fly out of the expanded terminal

Hello, Avelo!

MYR is coming back for a few months in addition to MCO... but yes I can't believe they are going ahead with the terminal expansion at this time. But then again the vast majority of it is being funded by a variety of grants.

flyPIT wrote:

MYR is coming back for a few months in addition to MCO... but yes I can't believe they are going ahead with the terminal expansion at this time. But then again the vast majority of it is being funded by a variety of grants.

At its peak, how may destinations were served by NK at LBE?

USAir707 wrote:

flyPIT wrote:

MYR is coming back for a few months in addition to MCO... but yes I can't believe they are going ahead with the terminal expansion at this time. But then again the vast majority of it is being funded by a variety of grants.

At its peak, how may destinations were served by NK at LBE?

They tried ORD,LAS,DFW and they cut those. They have/had MYR,MCO,TPA,RSW,and FLL from the top of my head when I worked with them.

Some nice increases by AA in June.

Between DFW and CLT, AA will operate 10 daily A321s (5 each).
DCA is 6x daily, including 2 A319s.
Smallest aircraft to ORD is an A319
LGA is 4x daily, including an A319
PHL is all A319, although only 3x daily which is actually a decrease in capacity from what is offered tomorrow.


FedEx has added a weekly (operated on Sundays) 757 MEM-PIT-LCK rotation.

Delta28L wrote:

flyPIT wrote:

Over at LBE, plans move forward for the terminal expansion and there is a destination survey available for those interested:
https://palmerairport.com/destination-survey/

Still can’t believe spirit cut all those routes and only left us with just Orlando flights. I hope they have plans to attract another airline to fly out of the expanded terminal

NK did similar at MKE. Last spring/summer, we had LAX, LAS, PHX, plus 4 airports in Florida. Cut down to just 1 daily each to LAS & MCO last fall, but I've just recently seen RSW (so far) flights resume.

Per a recent survey from PIT airport, it seems like they will be settling for the following names and parking options when the terminal opens:

Valet Parking - $35/day
(New) Terminal Garage - $27/day
(New) Park & Walk - $18/day
(Old) Shuttle Garage - $12/day
(Old) Shuttle Economy - $9/day

So basically, we are spending over $1 Billion to "improve the customer experience"...i.e. eliminate the train that was never a burden. As part of our improved experience, we now HAVE to ride one of those god-forsaken parking shuttles to the cheaper lots that are always full, late, and always just pulled off as soon as you need one. (I hated them when I travelled regularly from BWI as well). I always loved just parking in the economy/extended lots and walking to the moving walkway, it took about 10 minutes. Spending over $1 Billion to add 15 minutes to my parking experience has made me rather salty about the new terminal. It is something they never talk about in the press releases. lol

FYI you can sign up for these surveys here:
https://pitairportinsiders.icmib.com/survey/responses/63f532871414730039a3873c

At its peak, how may destinations were served by NK at LBE?[/quote]

Seven, summer 2015. Source: New Castle News, March 7, 2015; p.38.

Ft Lauderdale: launch 2/12/2011, discontinued - date?
Myrtle Beach: launch 5/5/2011, resumes 6/7/2013
Orlando: launch 5/17/2012, ongoing
Dallas/Ft Worth: launch 6/14/2013, discontinued 4/4/2014
Ft Myers: launch 12/18/2014, discontinued - date?
Tampa: launch 12/18/2014, discontinued - date?
Las Vegas: launch 4/16/2015, discontinued 11/12/2015
Chicago: 5/7/2015, discontinued 11/12/2015.

pgh234 wrote:

Per a recent survey from PIT airport, it seems like they will be settling for the following names and parking options when the terminal opens:

Valet Parking - $35/day
(New) Terminal Garage - $27/day
(New) Park & Walk - $18/day
(Old) Shuttle Garage - $12/day
(Old) Shuttle Economy - $9/day

As part of our improved experience, we now HAVE to ride one of those god-forsaken parking shuttles to the cheaper lots that are always full, late, and always just pulled off as soon as you need one.

No you don’t. Park in one of the other lots.

The daily rate for the garage will be the same, which I find amazing. The rate for the “Park and Walk” (which I would equate to the long term lot with a walk to the moving walk), is only $2 more/day.

There will now be more parking options, and it makes sense to use the current lots/garage to compete with the off site lots. At least until that space is redeveloped in to something more useful.

flyPIT wrote:

pgh234 wrote:

Per a recent survey from PIT airport, it seems like they will be settling for the following names and parking options when the terminal opens:

Valet Parking - $35/day
(New) Terminal Garage - $27/day
(New) Park & Walk - $18/day
(Old) Shuttle Garage - $12/day
(Old) Shuttle Economy - $9/day

As part of our improved experience, we now HAVE to ride one of those god-forsaken parking shuttles to the cheaper lots that are always full, late, and always just pulled off as soon as you need one.

No you don’t. Park in one of the other lots.

The daily rate for the garage will be the same, which I find amazing. The rate for the “Park and Walk” (which I would equate to the long term lot with a walk to the moving walk), is only $2 more/day.

There will now be more parking options, and it makes sense to use the current lots/garage to compete with the off site lots. At least until that space is redeveloped in to something more useful.

So today I park for $8/day in the economy lot and walk to the moving walk in 10 mins with no shuttle bus. In return for spending over $1 Billion for a more "user friendly airport," I now need to spend $18/day on parking to not have to ride the bus and that is ok and I have no real reason to complain? What am I missing here, other than $100's per year in increased parking fees and user fees?

Plus of course the new garage will remain $27/day. It is what, three times (?) larger than the current garage that is 20-40% underutilized each day at that same price.

Well you didn’t spend $1 billion and the people who did (Airport + Airlines) predicated that expenditure on you paying $18 for parking

Very minor development but LBE-MYR will be resuming a month earlier than planned:
https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland ... r-airport/

“We are hoping that this flight starting back up is the beginning of something big,” said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority."
He recently lost more than half the destinations served from his airport; I'd like to have some of what he is smoking.

pgh234 wrote:

Plus of course the new garage will remain $27/day. It is what, three times (?) larger than the current garage that is 20-40% underutilized each day at that same price.

On my most recent trip I saw that the economy lot went up to $8 from $7. May not be that big of an increase, but like for 5+ days it makes a difference. Plus the economy lot was full so I had to "upgrade" to the extended lot? (Or whatever they're named...)

This is like the top end of my budget already. I'm not looking forward to the new parking situation. It's just going to be more expensive, no moving walkway - I also dread those slow shuttles. Not sure what I'm going to do, but if they're asking me to spend more than $8ish a day, I won't be parking there.

Maybe they should just keep the tram moving - just for the parking lots - and why not extend it to the westin, right?

PITexpress wrote:

pgh234 wrote:

Plus of course the new garage will remain $27/day. It is what, three times (?) larger than the current garage that is 20-40% underutilized each day at that same price.

On my most recent trip I saw that the economy lot went up to $8 from $7. May not be that big of an increase, but like for 5+ days it makes a difference. Plus the economy lot was full so I had to "upgrade" to the extended lot? (Or whatever they're named...)

This is like the top end of my budget already. I'm not looking forward to the new parking situation. It's just going to be more expensive, no moving walkway - I also dread those slow shuttles. Not sure what I'm going to do, but if they're asking me to spend more than $8ish a day, I won't be parking there.

Maybe they should just keep the tram moving - just for the parking lots - and why not extend it to the westin, right?

Check for deals on off-site parking. Last time I went, I parked at the airport Sheraton for around $4 a day, prepaid and they shuttle you and pick you up. Time before that, I found a groupon and parked at what used to be the Spring Hill Suites at the Pointe for a few dollars a day and they also shuttle you and pick you up. If you travel far to PIT, I've heard that some of the hotels in the area will let you park there and shuttle you for free if you stay there the night before your flight. That's especially good if you have an early flight.

I have three small kids and associated car seats & luggage. It is less about the money and more about having to take that damn bus. Seriously, rental car busses and parking busses with small kids, while loaded down with their crap, is the worst part of traveling. The cheaper off-site will not work with the busses. I just hate this "better user experience" crap costing over $1 billion when we already had an award winning experience, and now my experience will be worse! Oddly enough, riding the train is my kids' favorite thing to do at the airport. Haha

pgh234 wrote:

I have three small kids and associated car seats & luggage. It is less about the money and more about having to take that damn bus. Seriously, rental car busses and parking busses with small kids, while loaded down with their crap, is the worst part of traveling. The cheaper off-site will not work with the busses. I just hate this "better user experience" crap costing over $1 billion when we already had an award winning experience, and now my experience will be worse! Oddly enough, riding the train is my kids' favorite thing to do at the airport. Haha

I agree, and honestly I have been against this new project since day 1. I don't understand the need for it at this time... I get that certain aspects of the airport are old, need updated/replaced, and require upkeep and maintenance, but instead of shelling out big money, why not improve upon those issues, which will cost a fraction of that?

I get that we have an abundance of capacity, but I am of the belief that it is better to have more than less. And I am not talking about a new hub, or why did they tear down Concourse E, etc... Just the idea that if our area experiences growth, or for some reason we need that extra gate capacity, it will no longer exist. It's rather upsetting, and for what? A bigger check-in area and getting rid of the train? I seriously don't understand it... Big big mistake with this project.

USAir707 wrote:

pgh234 wrote:

I have three small kids and associated car seats & luggage. It is less about the money and more about having to take that damn bus. Seriously, rental car busses and parking busses with small kids, while loaded down with their crap, is the worst part of traveling. The cheaper off-site will not work with the busses. I just hate this "better user experience" crap costing over $1 billion when we already had an award winning experience, and now my experience will be worse! Oddly enough, riding the train is my kids' favorite thing to do at the airport. Haha

I agree, and honestly I have been against this new project since day 1. I don't understand the need for it at this time... I get that certain aspects of the airport are old, need updated/replaced, and require upkeep and maintenance, but instead of shelling out big money, why not improve upon those issues, which will cost a fraction of that?

I get that we have an abundance of capacity, but I am of the belief that it is better to have more than less. And I am not talking about a new hub, or why did they tear down Concourse E, etc... Just the idea that if our area experiences growth, or for some reason we need that extra gate capacity, it will no longer exist. It's rather upsetting, and for what? A bigger check-in area and getting rid of the train? I seriously don't understand it... Big big mistake with this project.

Leaving the setup as-is was the MOST expensive option of the three Proposals that were studied.

flightsimer wrote:

Leaving the setup as-is was the MOST expensive option of the three Proposals that were studied.

IIRC, most of the "savings" used to justify the new terminal was
1) elimination of the train
2) demolition of the doglegs at the end of A & D
3) demolition of 10/28(c?)

I believe the FAA put an end to the idiotic decision to remove a runway (#3...seriously, it takes 40 years to build new runways today). I am not sure where idiotic decision #2 stands today. So that leaves us with just the train O&M savings today. So my question is, if the only actual cost savings ends up being elimination of the train, does your statement still stand that it was the most expensive option to simply renovate the existing terminal?

It's been a long time since I read the planning document, but ... I seem to recall that a lot of behind the scenes baggage systems were to be overhauled / unified. If that happens, it will more than make up for any added inconvenience with parking.

Anyway, seriously? 10 minutes in a parking lot van is a problem? I've been in them any number of time with up to 4 little kids and baggage. It's trivially easy compared to the flight.

pgh234 wrote:

flightsimer wrote:

Leaving the setup as-is was the MOST expensive option of the three Proposals that were studied.

IIRC, most of the "savings" used to justify the new terminal was
1) elimination of the train
2) demolition of the doglegs at the end of A & D
3) demolition of 10/28(c?)

I believe the FAA put an end to the idiotic decision to remove a runway (#3...seriously, it takes 40 years to build new runways today). I am not sure where idiotic decision #2 stands today. So that leaves us with just the train O&M savings today. So my question is, if the only actual cost savings ends up being elimination of the train, does your statement still stand that it was the most expensive option to simply renovate the existing terminal?

It wasn’t just eliminating the train. The airport is 30 years old and they said every people mover, train, escalators, elevators, moving walkways, etc are nearing the end of their useful life and will require outright replacement. The train alone costs 20 mil a year to operate and I can only imagine the cost it would be to replace it with two new train sets. I would imagine the baggage handling system is in the same boat as well.

A new central security area will help speed up security during peak hours. Don’t forget customs is getting a complete makeover and expansion. In 2019 when we had 2 767’s and multiple narrow bodies all arriving within a short period of time, wait there could over an hour or more for people to process through.

This project is so much more than just moving a building. As someone who uses the terminal at minimum once a week, I see the value in all the little improvements and how they will improve not only passenger experience but the airline’s operations as well.

As for the shuttle buses, I park in extended every day I go to work and ride the shuttle. I account for 10 minutes from the time I’m parking to the time I’m getting off at the terminal curb. I would imagine the buses are going to be zoned in the future so you will likely see a similar time to the new terminals

Speaking of the new terminal, it is coming along nicely. Courtesy of PIT's flickr page:




Some much needed great news on the economic development front. Ford will be taking over the ashes of Argo AI and will base its autonomous vehicle HQ and research activity in Pittsburgh. 550 employees will be retained.
https://www.post-gazette.com/business/t ... 2303020114

Can you help orient me, the current terminal baggage claim is in the foreground i.e. below the photo? The two rows of two-ish story double posts we are seeing in the foreground of the photo- what are those, roadway supports? If my orientation is correct it is 1) cool that construction is taking place right above the train. 2) It is nice that this construction isn't disruptive to the existing terminal. In Cleveland where I live it's going to be 20 years of construction madness to replace our dinosaur, PIT and MCI are very fortunate 3) because much of the X is still used in the new design, it's an odd walk to the gates, most airports have gates closer than that to the terminal. Good for shops and restaurants but not how you would build an airport from scratch for pax convenience.

PITingres wrote:

Anyway, seriously? 10 minutes in a parking lot van is a problem? I've been in them any number of time with up to 4 little kids and baggage. It's trivially easy compared to the flight.

Getting 3 kids out of strollers, folding up said strollers, taking two bags of car seats off, and getting our luggage stuffed into a packed rental car/parking bus that you just waited 20 minutes for is the worst part of traveling. We just travelled to KOA with the kids and the 20 minute rental car bus wait for a packed bus at that little airport was infuriating at the end of a long day. The flights were a breeze. We have similar feelings about BWI, IAD, DEN, LAX, PHL, LAS, etc. PIT was such a breath of fresh air to arrive at 11pm and take a 10 minute walk out to my car. Unless I want to spend an extra few hundred a year on parking, that is a thing of the past. Clearly my opinion is in the minority here so I will stop beating this dead horse. Yinz guys can take the bus and like it.

pgh234 wrote:

PITingres wrote:

Anyway, seriously? 10 minutes in a parking lot van is a problem? I've been in them any number of time with up to 4 little kids and baggage. It's trivially easy compared to the flight.

Getting 3 kids out of strollers, folding up said strollers, taking two bags of car seats off, and getting our luggage stuffed into a packed rental car/parking bus that you just waited 20 minutes for is the worst part of traveling. We just travelled to KOA with the kids and the 20 minute rental car bus wait for a packed bus at that little airport was infuriating at the end of a long day. The flights were a breeze. We have similar feelings about BWI, IAD, DEN, LAX, PHL, LAS, etc. PIT was such a breath of fresh air to arrive at 11pm and take a 10 minute walk out to my car. Unless I want to spend an extra few hundred a year on parking, that is a thing of the past. Clearly my opinion is in the minority here so I will stop beating this dead horse. Yinz guys can take the bus and like it.

Why wouldn't you drop the kids and wife at the curb and then park the car? You could meet at security and go through together.....I see so many people walking with large bags from the lot instead of being dropped at the curb these days. I know there's almost no curbside checkin, but at least the wife and kids would be at the terminal already. Just a suggestion.

ncflyer wrote:

Can you help orient me, the current terminal baggage claim is in the foreground i.e. below the photo? The two rows of two-ish story double posts we are seeing in the foreground of the photo- what are those, roadway supports? If my orientation is correct it is 1) cool that construction is taking place right above the train. 2) It is nice that this construction isn't disruptive to the existing terminal. In Cleveland where I live it's going to be 20 years of construction madness to replace our dinosaur, PIT and MCI are very fortunate 3) because much of the X is still used in the new design, it's an odd walk to the gates, most airports have gates closer than that to the terminal. Good for shops and restaurants but not how you would build an airport from scratch for pax convenience.

Here's another view to help with orientation:




As to your point #3, I'm not sure I agree with that. In fact, this is exactly how I would build an airport on a greenfield site. It will remain great for connections and it's all under one roof for the O&D traveller. Look at some of the newer airports. It's basically the same design.

Mexico City (cancelled):


Abu Dhabi:


Guangzhou:


I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Sure, PIT's lines are more angular, but the plan concepts are very similar.

Point taken FlyPit and with that more distant picture you get a much better sense that the walk from check in to the gates is reasonable and will probably be a very nice entry hall.

I still don't buy into it and don't like it. Also, to the comment above, 10+ years ago when I worked at the airport, I too rode the bus from employee park to the terminal once. Yes, just once. It was that long and painful that I always opted to walk instead. Even after a 16+ hour shift when every bit of my body was broken, the long dreadful walk was preferable to the nasty, slow, long bus. I guess the only positive is they are keeping the extra runway. So.... There is that....

USPIT10L wrote:

Why wouldn't you drop the kids and wife at the curb and then park the car? You could meet at security and go through together.....I see so many people walking with large bags from the lot instead of being dropped at the curb these days. I know there's almost no curbside checkin, but at least the wife and kids would be at the terminal already. Just a suggestion.

Our typical drop off mirrors just that. I throw everyone and everything into the terminal and then it takes me 12-15 minutes to meet them again in the landside after a brisk morning walk. Now I will have to add an additional 15-25 minutes to that for the mandatory bus wait & ride (depending on if they break up the bus routes into shorter ones, add more busses, and how overpacked the new mandatory busses are). This is unpleasant to add this time especially given the number of RON 6am departures we take due to cost.

On arrival, typically in the 10pm-11:30pm range, we tend to all schlep everyone/everything to the end of the moving walkway and I pick them up there due to the free in/out privileges in long term and the absolute chaos in the arrivals area at this time of night. (We got spoiled by the $8 weekend parking in the parking garage during COVID). Once again, with the new "more user friendly" airport, I will probably just stuff all of us in the bus to get us to the car faster than having everyone wait for me for 30 minutes.

Once again, losing the train to gain a parking bus does not seem award winning or worth over $1 billion to me. If you disagree, I don't think you have ridden any parking busses/rental car busses when overloaded with luggage, car seats, and three tired kids. Our current airport experience is award winning, the nicest experience of any midsize airport I have been to, and one $100+ million renovation away from being #1 again. The only thing that will be notably improved is our hokie international arrivals facility/process...but that is not a big deal to me considering how few international passengers we process.

pgh234 wrote:

Our typical drop off mirrors just that. I throw everyone and everything into the terminal and then it takes me 12-15 minutes to meet them again in the landside after a brisk morning walk. Now I will have to add an additional 15-25 minutes to that for the mandatory bus wait

Ok I tried to avoid this comical issue any further but just can’t. If you park in one of these lots when the new terminal opens, it will not take you upwards of 40 minutes to get to the terminal via bus.

It’s great you like to walk, so do I. So why not just continue that routine, but allow yourself 15 minutes to walk instead of the 10? There surely will be a way to walk (I hope) from these lots to the new terminal. In fact I remember reading the Montour Trail spur in to the airport will be extended to the new terminal.

pgh234 wrote:

The only thing that will be notably improved is our hokie international arrivals facility/process...but that is not a big deal to me considering how few international passengers we process.

I agree. Many years ago I worked with CBP and all of the arriving passengers from USAirways and the LGW / CDG / FRA flights, plus any charters. The wonderful schedulers LOVED to have all (3) arrive near or at the exact same time. If I recall, there was supposed to be some spacing, but due to EuroControl or delays, they always seemed to arrive about the same time. Oh boy was that fun!!

Since we're doing personal anecdotes here...I'll never have kids, and I constantly take INTL flights. I like nice architecture and getting my checked bags promptly, none of which is happening now. I also lament the fact that we're one of the only major airports without CLEAR. I have NEVER seen a TSA Pre line as bad as PIT's in the morning rush. Half the time I end up just taking the first class line even though I am Pre because it stretches all the way down to the parking doors. We need these fixes.

AaronPGH wrote:

Since we're doing personal anecdotes here...I'll never have kids, and I constantly take INTL flights. I like nice architecture and getting my checked bags promptly, none of which is happening now. I also lament the fact that we're one of the only major airports without CLEAR. I have NEVER seen a TSA Pre line as bad as PIT's in the morning rush. Half the time I end up just taking the first class line even though I am Pre because it stretches all the way down to the parking doors. We need these fixes.

I had Clear for a few years (free as a DL diamond). It was pretty worthless/silly IMHO so I stopped using it. I would spend so much time trying to make finger prints work that the TSA Pre line was regularly faster a majority of the time (try rubbing on your forehead to make your fingers greasy was their favorite advice). I also felt awkward having a "handler" tell me how to do something mundane that I have done 100 times.

TSA Pre in the morning rush at PIT is not bad at all compared to other airports (looking at you BWI, DCA, LAS, MCO, ATL, MDW, DEN etc). I doubt have ever spent more than 10 minutes in that as I have never seen it extend much outside of the queue. (Granted to tend to fly out on Thursday, Friday, Saturday & holidays and not business days so maybe something happens on Monday morning that I don't see very much)

Regarding luggage I agree that has gotten worse since COVID...which means it is not a function of the airport but staffing. It is hard to blame the airport terminal setup for that.
Pre-COVID my bags occasionally got to the belt before me. Even in this post COVID staffing world, PIT is on-par or notably better than other airports I travel to regarding baggage times.

Jan numbers are out. Pax up 30%, cargo down 16%.
https://flypittsburgh.com/wp-content/up ... Report.pdf


The ACAA seems to think things are now "exceeding expactations".

"But now those figures are soaring at a pace that is giving officials at the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which manages PIT, a reason to celebrate. It also comes as more airlines have recently begun to announce new or expanded flight offerings for 2023, putting these carriers at levels that surpass their prior service over the past few years.

"This [past] month, we hit 91% of our 2019 numbers; that's fantastic. It's actually beating our forecast for the first month of the year," Christina Cassotis, CEO of the ACAA, said during the organization's monthly board meeting. "It really bodes well in terms of our recovery and in terms of the type of flying that is happening at this airport."

Over 593,000 people traversed through PIT during the month of January. That's up 30% year-over-year and, as Cassotis noted, about 91% of the nearly 655,000 passengers who did the same in January 2019.

Taking note of this demand, airline carriers servicing PIT in January also made more seats available than they did a year ago, which can be done via an increase in flight offerings and or by using larger aircraft. All combined, these carriers offered more than 902,000 seats during the past month, up 16% from the 777,000 seats made available this time last year.

PIT expects to finish 2023 with its traffic at 90% of prepandemic levels, a figure it revised down last month after previously anticipating reaching 100% of its prior passenger traffic by year's end. It's now expected to hit or exceed traffic levels last seen before the pandemic by 2024.

Cassotis seemed to lack the level of optimism she had for passenger traffic recovery when it came to reporting on monthly cargo operations at PIT, which have been declining for several months in a row.

In fact, Cassotis didn't report on cargo figures at all and instead announced that such data would be shared on a quarterly basis going forward and hinted that current figures — which have yet to be finalized and are therefore not being shared yet with media following an inquiry — aren't ones that are positive."
https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ ... 1#cxrecs_s

I love how since cargo continues to tank.. they will no longer be making monthly data available.

In contrast to lack of data on cargo the word choice for pax is a little hyperbolic, no? Soaring-- but still not matching 2019? BNA and AUS maybe soaring, but PIT? hmmm.

I always wonder how useful monthly data is. 1) Jan. especially is slow season 2) Weather cancellations can really add up in the winter-- I can't remember if January 19 was as insanely mild as January 23 but I doubt it 3) I often wonder if the timing of holidays makes a difference. In '23 there were 5 Su/Mo/Tuesdays. In 2019 5 Tu/We/Th. Does this matter? I worked in a different business where the days pattern in the month really made a difference in our sales.

I find it useful for making comparisons with peer markets.

Once Transtats releases their December 2022 for domestic carriers later this month, I'll be able to work out which destinations are the busiest from PIT, which ones had the highest LFs, and which ones have recovered the most since 2019. Watch this space.

pgh234 wrote:

The only thing that will be notably improved is our hokie international arrivals facility/process...but that is not a big deal to me considering how few international passengers we process.

I've experienced PIT's international arrivals a handful of times, both as a visitor and a resident. I'm gonna be honest, it's not that great. Compared to places like LHR or PHL, It just feels... half-finished. Collecting your bags under the C concourse only to drop them off again at the central section. Walking down a narrow windowless corridor and past erected barriers to board a train that is temporarily cordoned off to domestic passengers. And then having to wait ages for your luggage to reappear at the landside baggage reclaim when you just had them earlier. I just hope that international arrivals is improved with the new terminal.

JamesRenard wrote:

Once Transtats releases their December 2022 for domestic carriers later this month, I'll be able to work out which destinations are the busiest from PIT, which ones had the highest LFs, and which ones have recovered the most since 2019. Watch this space.

pgh234 wrote:

The only thing that will be notably improved is our hokie international arrivals facility/process...but that is not a big deal to me considering how few international passengers we process.

I've experienced PIT's international arrivals a handful of times, both as a visitor and a resident. I'm gonna be honest, it's not that great. Compared to places like LHR or PHL, It just feels... half-finished. Collecting your bags under the C concourse only to drop them off again at the central section. Walking down a narrow windowless corridor and past erected barriers to board a train that is temporarily cordoned off to domestic passengers. And then having to wait ages for your luggage to reappear at the landside baggage reclaim when you just had them earlier. I just hope that international arrivals is improved with the new terminal.

It will be. It’s a major aspect of the project.

So it appears that when entering the airside core from the new terminal, passengers will be entering on the mezzanine level of the core and will need to descend via escalators to the gate level.

The route from the new terminal will be accomplished via a corridor meant to mimic the Ft. Pitt Tunnel. Link with animated video:
https://blueskypit.com/2023/03/09/anoth ... 728&jb=609

Not a fan. Will this new Ft Pitt Tunnel have 6 mile backups in the afternoon like the original?

WN PIT-AUS will now be daily instead of weekend only starting in October.

I believe this is the first glimpse of renovations to the airside portion, which is reassuring (they exist). Looks good so far.

Also great news finally on AUS.

Just noticed that the Calder installation isn't in this video. I hope that's either an early rendering omission or they're finding another prominent location for it – landside?

Frontier appears to have dropped PIT - MCO service after May 6th.

YNGguins wrote:

Frontier appears to have dropped PIT - MCO service after May 6th.

It’s been a seasonal route for many years.


Some more about this “tunnel”:
”At a media event on Thursday, officials showed renderings and the initial steel placement of a new pedestrian bridge and tunnel that will cover the roughly 150-foot gap between the currently-being-built terminal to the existing Airside terminal, which features the airport's concourses and gates.

According to Allegheny County Airport Authority (ACAA) CEO Christina Cassotis, it's a design decision that has been about a year in the making and the only one that wouldn't cause a major disturbance to the traveling public who continue to use the active facility. The ACAA is the organization that manages PIT.

"We didn't want to put the two buildings next to each other," Cassotis said while noting the significant construction efforts that would have to take place as a result if the two buildings connected directly. "We'd have to shut down the train [currently connecting the two existing terminals] for three years and bus people and we weren't going to do that."

Borrowing heavy influence from the Fort Pitt Tunnel, officials explained how this new passageway will serve as an entrance to the core of the airport, its retail offerings and concourses after passengers have already made their way through baggage drop off and security inside the new terminal. The tunnel component of the bridge will also contain dynamic LED lighting on its ceiling and walls, which will change colors depending on the time of day.

Upon exiting the walkway, departing passengers will end up on the second floor of the airport's mezzanine, which is where officials hope to have additional retail offerings in place of the offices that currently occupy this space. New stairs, escalators and elevators will be installed to take these passengers down to the gate level of the airport, which is also where arriving passengers will have access to the bridge's lower tier that will then take them over to baggage claim in the new terminal.

"I call it the handshake between these two buildings," Paul Hoback, executive vice president and chief development officer at ACAA, said. "As you walk across, all departing passengers stay completely separated from arriving passengers, they walk across this bridge, into this tunnel and you get that expansion, that 'wow' moment as soon as they exit into the Airside core.… They're going to see a very lively area down there, nothing like the closed concessions that you saw as you came up the escalators today."
https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ ... ction.html

Interesting take on why the two buildings needed to be completely separate. I would think they could have built a temporary connection after the terminal is complete, then mesh the people mover station and escalator area with the core in a more permanent fashion.


Maybe a typo but this is the first I’ve seen of the terminal price tag at $1.6 billion.
https://nextpittsburgh.com/city-design/ ... terminals/

flyPIT wrote:

YNGguins wrote:

Frontier appears to have dropped PIT - MCO service after May 6th.

It’s been a seasonal route for many years.

Well they definitely had it available into mid-June because we booked it over a month ago and they cancelled our flights this morning to and from MCO.

Maybe a typo but this is the first I’ve seen of the terminal price tag at $1.6 billion.
https://nextpittsburgh.com/city-design/ ... terminals/[/quote]

Doubt it is a typo. The cost was over $ 1B when they first started proposing this 5 years ago. Costs on about everything have gone up since then.

midway7 wrote:

Maybe a typo but this is the first I’ve seen of the terminal price tag at $1.6 billion.
https://nextpittsburgh.com/city-design/ ... terminals/

Doubt it is a typo. The cost was over $ 1B when they first started proposing this 5 years ago. Costs on about everything have gone up since then.[/quote]

Yes; it went up to $1.4 billion not long after the design was finalized, but has stayed at that figure. This is also from today:
"Cassotis said the new terminal is on schedule to be finished by 2025. Hoback said the project remains on budget."
https://triblive.com/business/pittsburg ... b-project/

So who knows.

I have a question for everyone. Whatever happened to all of the vacation charters (i.e. Apple Vacation, etc) to places like CUN / PUJ / etc? I always remember seeing the oddball charter airline back in the day like UPS / PanAm / TransMeridian / etc). Did Apple Vacations give up on charters to focus on just commission from scheduled airline ticket sales? Also, do we ever get an occasional one off charter to Nassau, Bahamas? I know we have seen all sorts of destinations in the past (I even remember doing a nonstop charter from PIT-AUA long long ago), but never recall the Bahamas. Any reason why?

USAir707 wrote:

I have a question for everyone. Whatever happened to all of the vacation charters (i.e. Apple Vacation, etc) to places like CUN / PUJ / etc? I always remember seeing the oddball charter airline back in the day like UPS / PanAm / TransMeridian / etc). Did Apple Vacations give up on charters to focus on just commission from scheduled airline ticket sales? Also, do we ever get an occasional one off charter to Nassau, Bahamas? I know we have seen all sorts of destinations in the past (I even remember doing a nonstop charter from PIT-AUA long long ago), but never recall the Bahamas. Any reason why?

They still have CUN and PUJ on Allegiant
https://www.applevacations.com/flights- ... sburgh/#!/

Vacation Express also does Viva Aerobus to Cancun part of the year
https://www.vacationexpress.com/flight-schedule/

December 2022 stats got released today, so here's the top 30 destinations out of PIT, how things have changed since December 2019 and what happened over the last 12 months:

1. ATL: 336534 (481718 - down 30.14%) 14.44% increase from December 2021
2. CLT: 244775 (295649 - down 17.21%) 10.11% increase
3. MCO: 244277 (261901 - down 6.73%) 8.20% increase
4. ORD: 235495 (335347 - down 29.78%) 30.40% increase
5. DEN: 195513 (213006 - down 8.21%) 16.44% increase
6. DFW: 187396 (177181 - up 5.77%) 25.98% increase
7. LGA: 174664 (185731 - down 5.96%) 123.75% increase
8. MDW: 168904 (172473 - down 2.07%) 59.76% increase
9. EWR: 132808 (162283 - down 18.16%) 109.81% increase
10. BOS: 129707 (211723 - down 38.74%) 101.15% increase
11. BWI: 126549 (110536 - up 14.49%) 47.23% increase
12. FLL: 126506 (118340 - up 6.90%) 0.08% increase
13. LAS: 113852 (120163 - down 5.25%) 42.12% increase
14. TPA: 101954 (130127 - down 21.65%) 0.14% decrease
15. IAH: 97401 (122096 - down 20.23%) 25.78% increase
16. BNA: 93760 (89711 - up 4.51%) 8.25% increase
17. PHL: 90420 (146040 - down 38.09%) 4.02% increase
18. JFK: 87946 (67403 - up 30.48%) 126.04% increase
19. DTW: 82598 (118807 - down 30.48%) 23.87% increase
20. DCA: 79178 (72033 - up 9.92%) 64.90% increase
21. IAD: 73649 (89152 - down 17.39%) 37.49% increase
22. MSP: 69833 (101858 - down 31.44%) 6.49% increase
23. PHX: 66645 (107037 - down 37.74%) 11.25% decrease
24. RSW: 66074 (73674 - down 10.32%) 29.32% decrease
25. MIA: 62259 (57043 - up 9.14%) 5.33% increase
26. SEA: 61788 (50971 - up 21.22%) 56.43% increase
27. STL: 46670 (50376 - down 7.36%) 77.06% increase
28. LAX: 43326 (58814 - down 26.33%) 91.57% increase
29. SFO*: 37878 (74205 - down 48.95%) N/A, no service in 2021
30. MYR: 34370 (32590 - up 5.46%) 29.55% decrease

* Resumed service in late March 2022

Takeaways: Most of the top 30 have seen modest increases since the end of 2021, and 9 of them are now doing better than pre-pandemic (up from 6 in February 2022). The northeast destinations bounced back strongest in 2022 - BOS, EWR, LGA and JFK all doubled their pax numbers, with JFK, BWI and DCA doing better than they did in 2019.

Conversely, some southeast destinations didn't do so hot. RSW, MYR and SRQ (ranked 31st) were badly affected by cuts in 2022. RSW was especially egregious as it was ranked 10th just 8 months prior and was doing better than 2019. Now it's 24th and doing worse. MIA actually peaked in April 2022 but it's been going downhill ever since WN cut their service. FLL also peaked in May 2022, but numbers dropped shortly after and are just about staying level.

RDU (32nd), JAX (39th), AUS (45th) and HOU (55th) should all post large increases this year due to additional service.

LFs will be coming soon.