PITTSBURGH – The start of the summer travel season continues at Pittsburgh International Airport today as seasonal nonstop service to Frankfurt, Germany resumes on Condor.
To start, the service which is offered on a wide-body 767, will be twice weekly – Mondays and Fridays – and will end on Sept. 14. The third weekly flight – on Wednesdays – will run from June 27 to Sept. 5. The longer season and additional weekly flight follow the route’s overall success in 2017.
New for Condor this season is approval for TSA PreCheck and an interline agreement with Alaska Airlines which allows passengers to earn miles for flights on both airlines. Alaska will start nonstop service from Pittsburgh to Seattle on Sept. 6. Additionally, first class passengers on Condor are able to visit The Club Lounge in Concourse C before their flight.
“Having launched non-stop service from Pittsburgh to Frankfurt last summer and as a result of the popularity of this flight, Condor is pleased to return to Pittsburgh this summer with not just two flights but three flights a week,” said Christoph Debus, Chief Airlines Officer, Thomas Cook Group. “The Pittsburgh market has discovered Condor’s award-winning customer service, where we put the passenger at the heart of everything we do, as well the convenience of a non-stop flight to Frankfurt with connections to more than 120 destinations throughout Europe right from their hometown airport. We’ve also won Pittsburgh over by offering affordable fares that, unlike those of many of our competitors, include checked baggage, meals and inflight entertainment.”
Passengers on Friday’s first flight of the season, which departs at 7:55 p.m., will be treated to music and German-themed food and beverages from Penn Brewery, as well as a water arch salute of the departing aircraft (weather permitting).
“In addition to leisure travelers, numerous businesses, universities and organizations in Pittsburgh have ties to Germany,” said Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis. “Condor’s expanded service and additional passenger amenities will help our region continue to flourish.”
With partner carriers like Alaska, Condor provide seamless connections to cities like Prague, Venice, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Barcelona and in total more than 100 destinations in Europe.
In addition to being a convenient gateway for Pittsburghers, international flights bring visitors from abroad to the region who make a strong impact on the economy, according to a recent airport study.
International visitors spend two times the amount of domestic visitors, adding more than $800 million annually to the GRP. International traffic was up more than 36 percent in March and 33 percent year-to-date, with more than 223,000 travelers flying abroad. International traffic is expected to continue growing throughout the summer.
Delta’s nonstop flight to Paris is resuming for the 10th year on a larger 767, which will carry more passengers as well as cargo. Nonstop flights to Reykjavik which are currently offered four days per week year-round on WOW have also expanded to five days a week.
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.