"US Airways Passenger Traffic Drops at Pittsburgh Airport"

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

US Airways Passenger Traffic Drops at Pittsburgh Airport
The Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette


The newest numbers on Pittsburgh International Airport passenger traffic
concurrently offer a dose of reality and a measure of hope to officials
preparing to cope without a US Airways hub.

The reality is that passenger traffic for the first quarter of 2004 fell
5.5 percent compared with the same period last year. The decline was
fueled in large part by cutbacks by US Airways, the airport's dominant
carrier with 79 percent of all traffic.

US Airways and US Airways Express traffic fell 9.6 percent in the first
quarter compared with the same period last year.

Quarter to quarter, the airline has cut more than 25 daily flights from
its airport schedule. It also eliminated its last bank of Saturday
flights -- 58 in all -- in January, although it plans to resume them for
about 2 1/2 months, starting June 12.

The US Airways losses will grow even more pronounced with the airline's
decision, announced last week, to drop Pittsburgh's hub status. That
means more cutbacks, both in the number of nonstop destinations and
daily flights.

But hope came in the form of large percentage gains by two other
carriers operating out of Pittsburgh International: AirTran Airways and
American Airlines.

AirTran traffic increased 20.7 percent during the first quarter compared
with the same period last year. American traffic was up 15.7 percent.

Kent George, Allegheny County Airport Authority executive director,
believes the non-US Airways figures bode well. He said they show that
Pittsburgh has a viable local market even though its level of local
traffic -- 6.9 million passengers -- ranks 41st among U.S. cities.

Tad Hutcheson, AirTran director of corporate communications, attributed
the gains to the popularity of its nonstop flights to Orlando, Fla., and
service to its Atlanta hub.

"There's a real demand for low fares in the Pittsburgh market,"
Hutcheson said, adding that the airline has been "carrying a good mix of
business and leisure" travelers. "It's been a really good market for
us."

American spokesman Tim Wagner attributed that airline's gains to the
commencement of service to Miami in November and the addition of a
fourth daily flight to its hub at Dallas-Fort Worth International
Airport.

He would not say whether American is exploring additional service from
Pittsburgh, particularly in light of the US Airways downsizing.

"The best I can tell you is that we have served Pittsburgh for a long
time and we expect to continue to serve Pittsburgh," he said.

Northwest Airlines announced yesterday that it plans to resume two daily
flights to Memphis, Tenn., starting Aug. 16. The flights were dropped in
2001.


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