"Pittsburgh International reopens 11 gates"

Monday, July 11, 2005

Pittsburgh International reopens 11 gates
The Pittsburgh (PA) Business Times


The Allegheny County Airport Authority announced today that it is reopening
11 gates at the end of its B-concourse due to increased demand from the
airlines that operate out of Pittsburgh International Airport. 
 
The gates will be used by US Airways, the airport's dominant carrier. 

"The Airport Authority is pleased to be able to reopen the gates to meet the
needs of the carriers here. Airlines will be realigning some of their
operations here. Access to these 11 gates at the end of B will provide more
efficiency. This shift will also free up gates on C concourse for use by
other airlines," said Glenn Mahone, authority chairman. 

The gates were closed in November after the Arlington, Va.-based US Airways,
which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year and is in the process of
merging with America West Airlines, drastically reduced its number of
flights out of Pittsburgh. 

However, overall passenger traffic has increased by 20 percent over last
year, with the addition of several low-fare airlines. In May, year-over-year
traffic for all airlines other than US Airways was up 53.3 percent at
Pittsburgh International, according to the Airport Authority. 

"The competition and the low fares are stimulating the traffic," Kent
George, executive director of the airport authority, said in a news release.
Travelers are taking advantages of their choices here." 

Southwest Airlines, which started flying out of Pittsburgh International in
May with 10 daily flights, was the fourth-busiest airline at the airport. It
had a total of 57,260 passengers, accounting for 6 percent of total
passenger traffic at the airport. 

In addition, the airport authority announced that it has created a new
department to operate its automated baggage system. The Airline Services
Maintenance Department, with 50 employees, operates baggage handling systems
and passenger boarding bridge systems for all the airlines. Previously, US
Airways had managed the baggage system, but it canceled this lease agreement
when it emerged from its first trip through Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
in 2003.


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