Article in PIT paper......

[Walmartgreeter]

Hey Spin...I am not your go to guy..I shoot from the hip with nothing but gut for most of my comments..but let me start..

PIT vs PHL is a joke,,PHL wins hands down. My research shows PIT has actually MORE O and D than CLT..go figure. That said, PIT and CLT are no PHL's. 5 years ago, PHL was the 18 largest air travel market in the US with essentaly no major carrier serving it, other than pin on the map service. It is a potential gold mine...so much of one that even the most conservative of airline managers sees it as a no lose business travel center, despite the airport setup and the protests of employees like myself! You have all those people from NYC, the DC area, and all of PHL crying for INTL air service..and they are now, for the first time, getting it. SWA, Midway, EAL..none of them REALLY have made a go at PHL with real INTL and connecting service. U now is doing that. I hate PHL..but it is a moneymaker, and a potentially BIG moneymaker. Best, Greeter.

 

[flyingcat]

If PIT were a huge diamond in the rough than the second DP and his management came in they would have immediately gone back to PIT. However he is investing in PHL, working with the FAA on airspace and expanding the markets served.

A pure connecting hub in the northeast is a money pit. The reason PHL works is because whatever connections can't fill the O&D can. A delayed flight out of PHL makes more money than PIT.

And before you mention CLT you forget several differences:
1. CLT is further away from PHL.
2. CLT only competes with ATL for southern domestic traffic. MIA is international not a heavy southern domestic connector
3. PIT competes with numerous connecting area hubs.

Does PHL cost more in complaints and baggage, yes it does, but it makes a heck of a lot more money. PIT cannot generate the same amount of revenue.

You ask for an analysis of PIT versus PHL.
What has lead you to think it has not been done? There are bean counters who spend all day figuring out what the revenues versus expenses are in PHL and PIT.

If anything the perfect hub would be in Nebraska but there is a reason it is not.

 

[john john]

attributed to lost luggage and operational failures.

It has alot to do with the RJ's not the city

You are correct. It's time for the juvenile jousting between US Airways and the ACAA to come to an end.
C'mon Doug. You're a much bigger man than the politicians in Allegheny County, and you need to take the lead and show them their stupidity.

The last minute Harvard deal Siegel did with Allegheny County Airport Authority will live on...

 

[Freighterguynow]

GRRRRRR

The City and County leaders sound like such a bunch of whiners. It doesn't even matter that they may have a point it's the way they present it.

It's like listening to someones bratty 4 year old.

Ahmen. If the county spent half this much energy on building up a relationship with AAA instead of driving to CLE to undermine USAir(ways) they wouldn't be in this mess.

 

[Bear96]

To those saying the real reason LCC has no PGH-Europe flights is because of personal spats between LCC and PGH, and that European flights would be profitable, please explain this:

The article noted that LH also looked at running PGH-Germany services and decided it wouldn't work. Doesn't that suggest such flights indeed would be unprofitable, and therefore the theory that LCC is refusing to run European services from PGH because of an old spat is more than a bit silly?

Do you REALLY think LCC is foregoing a profitable route solely because of some old grudge a CEO WHO IS NO LONGER EVEN THERE had at one point years ago? C'mon.

 

[john john]

People and politics are very vindictive. The point is parker is a new guy and is more politically savvy (I hope) LH and US are two different scenarios one has infrastructure the other does not.

 

[MerlinMagician]

:huh: Walmartgreeter, please explain your comment: 5 years ago, PHL was the 18 largest air travel market in the US with essentaly no major carrier serving it, other than pin on the map service. When I worked there in early 1992 LCC/U already was serving Europe from PHL

 

[Travels2mch]

People and politics are very vindictive. The point is parker is a new guy and is more politically savvy (I hope) LH and US are two different scenarios one has infrastructure the other does not.

Good point...also, the county executive they dealt with is no longer in office......

I love how some people here seem to always "KNOW" exactly what is and isn't going to happen in the future. Kinda funny, we should all have turns on the crystal ball they seem to be consulting with. I wonder if they act as 'know it all' in the real world outside of an internet message board. Same with those that b*^ch about whiners in one post, then proceed to whine in another post. Oh well, I guess it all makes for some comic relief.

Anytime the word PIT appears in a post, several here seem to get their claws out. Get a life....people are stating comments and maybe their wishes, but those of you that instantly go on the attack need to be medicated. From a customer perspective, yeah it would be great to see more service come back. But I'm really shocked at how a few of the employees comment. I would think you'd be happy that maybe some of your 'brothers and sisters'/coworkers could have a chance to get their jobs back. It's obvious that customers and employees have different reasons for being sensitive on this and many other topics, but a few of you just get down right nasty. For those of you that like to use the phrase seen so much on here-"get over it", maybe you should take your own advice. OK sorry for the rant.....Thank you for listening!

 

[PHL]

You can be certain that those numbers have been crunched to death. As a total percentage, the operational "losses" are far outweighed by the revenue generated. A full A330 or 767 with O&D pax to Europe will earn a lot more revenue than the same plane picking up connecting pax in PIT. Period.

Don't forget the significantly higher amount of cargo to/from PHL, too.

I love PIT as an airport. If it could be plucked from where it is and dropped in place of PHL's facilities, all this discussion would be moot....

 

[nycbusdriver]

If there were money to be made flying PIT to Europe, some airline would be doing it.

There isn't, so there isn't.

 

[a320av8r]

Gee...
And I thought Southwest was going to be the savior of PIT. That nasty USAir is being kicked out and everybody else will flock to PIT to add service.

Ha ha ha...



Be careful what you wish for.

 

[700UW]

Well then explain why traffic is up in PIT?

 

[ClueByFour]

Gee...
And I thought Southwest was going to be the savior of PIT. That nasty USAir is being kicked out and everybody else will flock to PIT to add service.

Ha ha ha...



Be careful what you wish for.

Since the second bankruptcy, PIT has added B6, LUV, and would probably have F9 had UA not started Denver flights.

O&D traffic, which US complained so much about, has skyrocketed. The airport had to add a second security checkpoint and is in the process of expanding on-site parking. This is bad, how?

As an aside, look for a mild bump in O&D in CLT upon the arrival of B6. Look for a huge uptick when/if CLT enters that market.

 

[a320av8r]

So let's recap the "boom" in O&D in PIT...
B6 is adding 3 RJ's to JFK (more NYC), WN added capacity to PHL, MCO, CHI, and UA added capacity to DEN hub (Frontier would have but...). Where's the NEW service?
Where's the international?

 

[Travels2mch]

O&D traffic, which US complained so much about, has skyrocketed. The airport had to add a second security checkpoint and is in the process of expanding on-site parking. This is bad, how?

Funny, as I was driving around the extended term lot at the PIT airport this morning, I was thinking about this. I was out in the new section and was farther away from the terminal when I finally found a spot, than I have ever been in 12 1/2 years of frequent traveling. Yeah....but nobody is starting travel in PIT....to use US' old excuse...'it was all connecting traffic'. So I guess people are just filling the now expanded lots at the airport and taking busses elsewhere. Also, the long term lot was full and blocked off, diverting cars to the extended lot. But nobody is traveling from PIT....yeah right!! US was blowing smoke up everybody's a$$es.