Life as a hub comes to a close at airport


Tuesday, November 09, 2004
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
*
The hub is gone.

Pittsburgh International Airport officially lost its status as a US Airways hub on Sunday, prompting the closing of the airport's commuter terminal and a cutback in the hours of airport retailers and restaurants yesterday.

The moves came in response to the latest reductions by bankrupt US Airways, which started the week with 229 daily flights out of Pittsburgh, down from 373 in July and 327 in September. The 229 figure includes mainline and commuter flights.

With the cutbacks, Pittsburgh becomes a "focus city" in the US Airways system after spending decades as the airline's largest hub. The airline began serving Pittsburgh in 1949 and quickly made the city's airport the focal point of its operations and growth.

But the last few years have been ones of retrenchment for Pittsburgh's dominant carrier.

Now the emphasis will shift to point-to-point flying aimed at serving the local market, although about 40 percent of all passengers still will make connections, according to US Airways.

"This company has a lot of problems. It's a shame. It's a once-great company that has made a decision not to hub in Pittsburgh," Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said.

The US Airways reductions have created room to spare at the airport, allowing the authority to close down the commuter terminal yesterday. The US Airways flights that departed from that facility have been moved to Concourse A of the main terminal.

With the changes, all US Airways operations will be consolidated in the airport's A and B concourses.

The cutbacks also will affect the operating hours of the airport's Airmall, the collection of shops and restaurants annually rated among the best in the world.

Mark Knight, president of BAA Pittsburgh, the Airmall manager, said stores and eateries now are closing at 8:30 p.m. on weekdays instead of 10 p.m. The earlier closing is timed to coincide with the last arrivals and departures of US Airways flights.

"I think that we will still serve the customers that are there and save some hours when people aren't there," Knight said.

He viewed the closing of the commuter terminal as a good move for the Airmall because it will bring more passenger traffic to the Airside Building, where nearly all of the shops and restaurants are located.

Even with the constant stream of cutbacks by US Airways, Knight said, the Airmall has had a good year so far. Overall, he expects sales to be up slightly or about even for the year even though US Airways has slashed 144 daily flights since July.

He said the Airmall will have to continue to adjust to the new realities posed by the US Airways retrenchment, but he still believes merchants can be successful.

"Even with the reduced traffic, the layout of Pittsburgh [International Airport] is fabulous and there will still be enough passengers to make it a very viable project," he said.

BAA and airport officials also are hoping the U.S. Transportation Security Administration will approve a pilot program within the next few weeks that will give non-passengers access to the Airside Building, the airport's boarding terminal.

That terminal has been shut off to non-passengers since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Knight said opening it again to visitors could boost sales by as much as 5 percent.

"I think it will be a plus for us," he said.

Yeah its a pity.. but I never really like US Airways anyways. I always would get delays, then there would be problems with the aircraft, one time we even had to return to the terminal because a landing gear wouldn't retract!

US Airways has used Pittsburgh and now its thrown it away. I really wish I could see it become a Continental hub, but thats unlikely as it already has hubs in Cleaveland AND Newark... I'm wondering though... is PIT truly an international airport? Not once have I ever seen a direct flight leave from the airport on the monitors.

Well this is somewhat random, but maybe Cingulair will decide to make an airline called Cingul Airlines XD I mean, the airport really does look like their logo...

US Airways is one of the most corrupt "big companies" I have seen. I cannot believe how they have treated their employees. Hopefully Pittsburgh will get a new hub like some other cities have after they had lost hubs previously.

Will Lufthansa service get off the ground?


By Sam Spatter and Thomas Olson
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, November 19, 2004

Lufthansa could decide within 10 to 14 days whether it will begin nonstop service from Pittsburgh to Frankfurt, Germany, a route much missed by area businesses since US Airways dropped it Nov. 7.

"Right now, the airline is doing its due diligence to determine the feasibility of this service," said Ronnie Bryant, president of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, who gave the estimate on when a decision may be made.

Bryant told members of the local chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks on Thursday that one item that could influence Lufthansa's decision is how many passengers for the flight would not only originate in Pittsburgh, but also how many arrive here from other airlines serving the region.

As an added inducement for Lufthansa -- or any other airline to offer direct service to Europe -- nearly 50 area companies affiliated with German firms or with major business in Europe recently pledged to spend up to $10 million annually to fly on any airline providing direct service to Europe.

In addition, Bryant said, $270,000 has been raised to date on a $500,000 fund to market the region to alternate carriers.

A similar business-community effort in Portland, Ore., less than two years ago succeeded in luring Lufthansa to launch nonstop service to Frankfurt in April 2003, said Tom Tripp, a Lufthansa spokesman in New York.

"That was a big deal for us because it took away some of the risk," said Tripp, noting the importance of filling "multimillion-dollar planes" with paying passengers. "We've got to take a close look at (Pittsburgh) before we're convinced it's a good business case."

Lufthansa representatives continue to talk with Pittsburgh business leaders. The airline's decision largely hinges on "whether there is strong business demand," along with the volume of feeder traffic, said Tripp. But he could not say when the German airline would render a decision.

Bayer Corp. spokesman Kit Newton said the Pittsburgh-based U.S. subsidiary of Germany's Bayer AG is now flying its employees from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and then on to Frankfurt. "That means productivity losses of one-half day each way," he said. Bayer would be happy to work with any airline that picks up the nonstop flight from Pittsburgh to Frankfurt, he added.

The United States' "open skies" treaty with Germany would allow Lufthansa to begin Pittsburgh-Frankfurt service, said U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman William Mosley. As the airline already serves the United States, it need only apply to the Federal Aviation Administration and certify that its planes and crew members are air worthy.

Price still high to fly


By Steve Halvonik
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, November 21, 2004

Western Pennsylvania travelers should not expect air fares at Pittsburgh International Airport to drop anytime soon.

High fuel costs and limited competition will keep prices just about where they are for the foreseeable future, industry analysts said.

"Everybody likes to travel on a large jet, with low prices and frequent service," said Michael Allen, chief financial officer with Back Aviation Solutions, a consulting firm in Hartford, Conn. "That would be nice, but that's not the reality in most markets."

An analysis of nearly 1,000 domestic airline routes by Back Aviation showed that average fares for both business and leisure travelers had dropped to remarkably low levels this year. More than two-thirds of round-trip tickets studied cost only $200 to $400, on average, during the second quarter.

Nevertheless, about 50 domestic routes still had average fares topping $500.

The reason: lack of competition.

In spite of increased competition from low-cost rivals like Southwest Airlines, traditional legacy carriers still may set their own prices if they're the only nonstop carriers on particular routes.

Almost any flight out of Charlotte, N.C., where US Airways still controls 86 percent of daily flights, remains expensive, Back Aviation said.

US Airways still controls about 80 percent of the daily flights out of Pittsburgh International Airport, in spite of recent service reductions. Fares have come down on routes where US Airways faces competition, such as Chicago and Atlanta. But they remain relatively pricey on less competitive routes, like Philadelphia and Boston.

According to US Airways' Web site, a round-trip flight to Boston can cost as little as $130, if the ticket is purchased two weeks in advance. The walk-up price, however, is $1,159.

"I'm still writing a lot of thousand-dollar tickets for Philadelphia and Boston" said Joe Weigler, owner of Shadyside Travel in Pittsburgh. "On routes where there is some competition, we've seen a little drop in prices, but not a significant amount. In markets where there is no competition, we have seen no drop at all."

That's not what US Airways seemed to promise earlier this year. Benjamin Baldanza, the airline's vice president for marketing, said in May that elimination of hub operations at Pittsburgh International would lead to lower air fares for local travelers.

"They'll be able to travel where they want to go, at fares they want to pay," Baldanza promised.

US Airways' hub operations at Pittsburgh International Airport officially ended Nov. 7, but fares didn't budge.

One reason is high fuel prices. Almost every airline except Southwest and JetBlue is hemorrhaging red ink because fuel costs and unprofitable fare wars are bleeding them dry. US Airways' cutbacks have opened up gates at Pittsburgh International, but few rival airlines have the cash position to consider expansion, experts said.

US Airways is in no position to cut fares even if it wanted to. It filed for bankruptcy protection Sept. 12 and is facing a cash crunch that could force it into liquidation by mid-January. It needs every dollar it can get.

US Airways' flights are more crowded because it has reduced the number of daily flights on some routes, reducing seating capacity, said David Castelveter, a company spokesman.

US Airways has introduced cheap GoFares in some markets, like Philadelphia, to combat low-cost competitors. But it cannot roll back prices on all routes because its cost structure is too high, Castelveter added.

US Airways is on pace to lose $700 million this year.

Michael Boyd, an aviation analyst based in Evergreen, Colo., said that Western Pennsylvania doesn't generate enough local traffic to entice other carriers to Pittsburgh International. Lack of competition means high air fares, Boyd said, and Pittsburghers will just have to get used to it.

"Anyone who thinks that if US Airways' flights go down, fares should go down -- that's stupid," Boyd said.

Back Aviation identified Boston (another US Airways fortress), Dallas, Minneapolis and Cleveland as the least-competitive markets. It said that Pittsburgh fares are reasonable, considering the market size and lack of competition.

According to Back Aviation, Pittsburgh International had only four routes that averaged more than $500 round-trip in the second quarter. They were: Houston, Boston, Washington Reagan and Philadelphia, popular destinations for business travelers who pay a premium for last-minute bookings.

By comparison, New York's La Guardia airport had 13 routes that averaged more than $500. Philadelphia had 13 and Minneapolis-St. Paul, 11.

"Relatively speaking," Allen said, "Pittsburgh appears to be in the lower echelon of hubs with high fares."

Nonstop to Europe up in air
By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW REAL ESTATE WRITER
Saturday, March 5, 2005

The Pittsburgh region should not expect resumption of nonstop air service to Frankfurt, Germany any time soon -- at least not by Lufthansa, the large German airline courted heavily by local leaders.

"At this moment, there are no plans (for the service) because there is not enough market potential," said Thomas Tripp, a New York-based spokesman for Lufthansa.

US Airways, the financially troubled airline that is the dominant carrier at Pittsburgh International Airport, ended its nonstop service to Frankfurt on Nov. 7.

The region's business community and political leadership lamented the loss of the region's only nonstop European flight as a setback to the region's prestige and an impediment to efforts to spur economic development.

Despite local efforts to demonstrate there is sufficient demand and commitment from area companies to use such a flight, Tripp said the numbers of potential travelers still came up short.

Nearly 50 local companies affiliated with German and other European businesses last year pledged to spend up to $10 million annually on European service. Local leaders also pitched an idea for business-only charter flights to Frankfurt using only smaller planes.

"That is one possibility that we discussed, but we still have to see enough demand even for that," Tripp said, adding that officials here have been told of the airline's position and understand it as well.

"US Airways could not make it work," Tripp said, explaining that other airlines would be less likely to restore flights to Frankfurt without seeing evidence of potential passengers -- both leisure and business.

The Lufthansa spokesman offered a ray of hope, however, saying that "the door is not closed" for considering a European flight.

Local officials said they aren't ready to give up efforts.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said he hopes to meet with some Lufthansa officials when he and representatives of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance visit Europe during a trade mission next week, said Ashley Henry, a spokeswoman for Onorato.

"I don't think the conversation has ended by any means," Henry said.

"We believe firmly there's a strong demand in the Pittsburgh region for a flight to Europe. The Germany flight (by US Airways) was always full," said JoAnn Jenny, spokeswoman for Allegheny County Airport Authority

"It's my understanding that the meetings with Lufthansa are ongoing and that there have been a couple of proposals," Jenny said. "There's interest on both sides in finding a program that will work for Lufthansa and the region."

The purpose of the trade mission is to market the Pittsburgh region to overseas business, Henry said.

"As much as we are successful in stimulating additional development -- especially the land in the airport corridor -- it will make it much more likely future conversations with Lufthansa or other airlines for that matter will be successful," said the Onorato spokeswoman.

"We're not giving up," said Daniel Booker, chairman of the Regional Air Service Partnership, a group put together under the auspices of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development to work on air services issues in the wake of US Airways' downsizing.

"We continue to be interested in restoring nonstop flights to Western Europe, and we believe Lufthansa remains a very attractive option -- but not our only option,"

For its part, US Airways has no plans for new European flights from Pittsburgh, said airline spokesman David Castelveter.

"There was not enough of a local market for that (Frankfurt) service, and we have reduced the amount of flights out of Pittsburgh because there is no connecting business," Castelveter said.

He noted that US Airways plans to begin new international service in May from its Philadelphia hub to Barcelona, Spain, and to Venice, Italy.

Only last week I saw a whole line of US Airways jets rumbling down the taxiway at Pittsburgh International :

http://img210.exs.cx/img210/2262/dscn71427gq.jpg

http://img210.exs.cx/img210/5970/dscn71441qa.jpg

http://img210.exs.cx/img210/9405/dscn71466tt.jpg

The city will loose prestige certainly. But I think this airline is doomed so it is inevitable. In the long run Pit will be able to attract some low cost cariers and in todays market that is a major plus. On the negative side Pit will loose a lot of direct flights which business people like.

Buffalo was dominated for a long time by US airways and for many years had some of the highest ticket costs. When Sowthwest and Jet Blue came in prices droped drastically and the airport now attracts passengers form as far as Rochester, Hamilton and Toronto. As a non hub airport it has never had a huge number of direct flights but now there is far more copetition so the number of direct flights have increased.

In the long run Pit will benefit form the competition but will probably never regain its status a s a hub

Is the Pitt bottoming out?

why did the carrier leave? well Steel said it best.

In the longrun, it's better for low fares domestically, as there will be more competition, especially amongst low-cost carriers. Southwest, and other LCC will be less reluctant to expand on point-to-point flights. Unfortunately, they will lose out in international airlinks, because unless you're a large city or a hub, you won't get many international flights.

US Airways Moves to Polish its Image
3 May 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After flying into Pittsburgh this afternoon, Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly plans to attend a Downtown reception tonight at the Rivers Club. He will kick off tomorrow's new Pittsburgh service by breaking through a Southwest banner, tossing a football around with Steelers running back Jerome Bettis and having Southwest-issued peanuts dumped over his head by Bettis and Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield.

The pep rally will include music from the South Fayette High School marching band and cheerleaders from West Allegheny High School.

While the Pittsburgh launch lacks the buildup and bombast of Southwest's start in Philadelphia last year, Southwest is doing all it can to get its name in front of local fliers, including TV ads, billboards and a sponsorship of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Several signs are already up at PNC Park, one visible in the outfield and another in the concourse proclaiming Southwest as "official airline" of the Pirates -- a title US Airways once had, before its recent money problems.

Southwest declined yesterday to detail its advanced bookings in Pittsburgh, but said the carrier was "right on target with what we expected," according to spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger.

"We are excited about starting service."

US Airways, engaged in merger talks with America West and trying to find enough investment capital to lift it out of bankruptcy, is planning no specific response to Southwest's launch in Pittsburgh this week. Months ago, US Airways said it would match the fares on Southwest's flights from Pittsburgh, but that it could not afford to do so before Southwest began service.

It "poses no more or no less a threat than any other low-cost, low-fare carrier," Castelveter said. "Our bigger challenge is the impact of continued rising fuel prices."