PITTSBURGH – Seasonal frequency additions and more available seats to top business and leisure markets nonstop from Pittsburgh International Airport continue to drive passenger traffic to new highs.
In May, passenger traffic was up 8.6 percent, and 10.4 percent year-to-date. Also, 841,092 traveled through PIT as compared with 774,620 in May 2017, making this month the busiest May for travel in over a decade and marking the 25th consecutive month of passenger growth. Through May, 3,718,027 total passengers had traveled through PIT compared with 3,366,573 through May 2017.
“Making travel easier for passengers is as important as adding new dots to the map,” said Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis. “Frequency additions and larger planes on established routes are indicative of demand in Pittsburgh’s healthy and growing market.”
In addition to resumption of international service on Condor and Delta in May, airlines have added capacity for the peak summer travel season to the following markets: Nashville on Southwest; Boston on Delta and JetBlue; Dallas/Fort Worth on Spirit and American; Myrtle Beach on Spirit; and Las Vegas on Southwest, all contributing to growth in seats, flights and passengers for the month.
Overall, Pittsburgh saw 71,000 more seats and 460 additional flights in May, bringing total monthly seats to over 1 million, the first time this has been achieved since May 2008.
Also in May, WOW air resumed a fifth weekly flight to Reykjavik, Air Canada began nonstop service to Montreal, Vacation Express began weekly charter service to Cozumel, and Delta and American continued weekend scheduled service to Cancun.
Looking ahead, new nonstop service will begin operating in late summer. New flights to Salt Lake City on Delta begin Sunday (July 8), the first charter flights from China arrive on Aug. 3 and 11, Frontier will begin nonstop service to San Diego on Aug. 13 and nonstop flights to Seattle on Alaska begin Sept. 6.
Two flights per day will continue to San Francisco on United throughout the summer bringing the total number of added flights to the West Coast on all carriers to more than 560 per year.
About Allegheny County Airport Authority:
Allegheny County Airport Authority, which manages Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County Airport, is committed to increasing air service, improving customer service and inspiring growth in the Pittsburgh region. Its 2017 Annual Report detailing growth and improved financial position can be found at flypittsburgh.com/AR17.
Pittsburgh International Airport serves nearly 9 million passengers annually on 17 carriers. Over the past three years, the airport has doubled its nonstop destinations to include 74 airports. Air Transport World named Pittsburgh International its 2017 Airport of the Year. Travel + Leisure has again named Pittsburgh International a Top 10 Domestic Airport in 2017. In addition, TripAdvisor ranked Pittsburgh International Airport a Travelers’ Choice Favorite for Shopping in 2016.