When Allegheny County signed off on a deal to allow natural gas drilling at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) earlier in 2013 we noted that the money they received should lower fees at the airport, enhancing its attractiveness to carriers. Well the Airport Authority has followed through with a reduction in carrier fees beginning July 1, 2013. While this is only a first step, it is one in the right direction in helping PIT rebound after years of declining passenger counts.
As we had written previously, PIT’s airline fees were higher than competing airports such as Indianapolis, Nashville, and Kansas City in the areas of terminal rates, landing fees, and ramp rates. While this first round of cuts will not vault PIT past any of these airports, it certainly closes the gap. The signatory landing fee has been reduced by twelve percent from its January level while the non-signatory landing fee has decreased more than eight percent. The signatory ramp fee fell five percent while terminal rates, for both signatory and non-signatory carriers, fell slightly. The Authority has mentioned that this is the first of hopefully many more steps to reduce these fees and making PIT more competitive.
But it is only one part of the overall picture. In order for carriers to increase service at PIT, now an origination and destination airport since US Airways ceased hubbing activities, the demand for air travel in the area needs to increase as well. The best way to do that is to work on making the area’s economy more robust. This will increase not only the demand for business travel but for vacationers as well. The Authority has taken its first step, now it’s up to local officials to implement policies that will grow the economy.
