There's only one way to get more service back to PIT...

[FWAAA]

The "urban myth" that PIT is expensive continues to amaze me.....

Here's a simple example to illustrate what happened:

Admittedly, this is very oversimplified but it is effectively what happened in PIT. We cut back, the airport served 1/2 the number of passengers, and the cost per passenger doubled - all without any change in the rates/fees charged.

Jim

As usual, BoeingBoy speaks the truth:

Traffic up at Pittsburgh airport; landing fees down
Tuesday, June 07, 2005

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

With local passenger traffic surging, airlines are paying less to operate at Pittsburgh International Airport.

With traffic and revenue running ahead of 2005 budget projections, the Allegheny County Airport Authority has cut landing fees charged to airlines by 33.9 percent, terminal fees by 26.5 percent and ramp fees by 25.7 percent.

With the adjustments, which took effect Wednesday, the overall cost per passenger, the industry barometer for airports, fell almost $1, from about $12.84 to $11.90.

<snip>

Generally, airport per-passenger costs rise or fall based on how much traffic the airlines generate. As traffic increases, per-passenger cost falls.

As US Airways cut hundreds of flights in Pittsburgh since 2001, the per-passenger cost more than doubled from about $6 to more than $12, before the recent reduction.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05158/516953.stm

IIRC, the landing fees at PIT skyrocketed when the new terminal was built, but then they were reduced in subsequent years.

Airports aren't gonna budget for losses, so if pax count goes down, fees per pax will have to rise. And vice versa.

 

[Travelpro72]

It seems there has been more celebration verse whining about the state of the airport. Much publicity was made about the worries of losing the hub. US itself put out their bs about how this and that would decline. The county could possibly lose huge companies...blah blah blah. The only people that have been hurt are the employees. The county and airline had a love/hate relationship for years. The airport wanted more competion...GOT IT... Losing european service was a hard hit but the airport is not bording up the windows and doors. Oh lets not forget that WN and B6 are not the only carriers starting new or expanded service there. Legacy carriers have as well.

 

[ClueByFour]

We are not the same airline we were a year ago. People in PIT need to let it go already.

I'm not living there anymore, so I can't say for sure, but I'd imagine that the local taxpayers still have about half a billion reasons (or dollars) to be kind of upset with US.