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Dallas carrier may get call to institute service here

Tuesday, April 15, 2003

By Mark Belko, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

With US Airways' future in Pittsburgh uncertain, Allegheny County Airport Authority Executive Director Kent George went yesterday to recruit a possible replacement -- Southwest Airlines.

George met with Southwest officials at their Dallas headquarters to discuss the possibility of starting service in Pittsburgh.

The discussions are part of a strategy by Allegheny County and airport authority officials to recruit new carriers even as they try to negotiate new leases with US Airways, the region's dominant carrier.

George could not be reached for comment after yesterday's meeting. But in a statement, county Chief Executive Jim Roddey said the visit "is part of a plan to meet with all airlines that could be a prospect to increase gates or flights" at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Southwest, long the darling of budget travelers, offers no flights from Pittsburgh and has turned down overtures from the county and the airport authority in the past, partly because of US Airways' dominance in the market.

And it does not appear as if Southwest is seriously considering Pittsburgh now.

Southwest spokeswoman Christine Turneabe-Connelly said the airline currently has no plans to add cities to its route structure. Instead, it is concentrating on adding or upgrading flights in the cities it now serves.

She described George's visit as a "general presentation" similar to those the airline has with other cities recruiting it. More than 150 cities discuss possible service with Southwest each year, according to the airline. Southwest is the nation's sixth-largest carrier.

US Airways rejected its leases at Pittsburgh International in a last-minute move before emerging from bankruptcy earlier this month. It has given the county and the airport authority until Jan. 5, to renegotiate the leases.

Unless local officials can lower the airline's costs significantly, particularly those relating to airport debt, US Airways may eliminate its Pittsburgh hub and consolidate service in Charlotte, N.C., and Philadelphia, Roddey has said.

While the loss of the hub would be a big blow for the region, with nearly 9,000 US Airways employees, it could create openings for other airlines at an airport that has won international acclaim.

Yesterday's meeting between George and Southwest was specifically designed "to bring them up to date on what's transpiring with US Airways and their termination of the leases," Roddey spokeswoman Margaret Philbin said.

George has said he was planning to meet with several major carriers that do not have service from Pittsburgh. Other possible prospects include JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

Southwest typically looks for markets that are overpriced and under-served. It also seeks to avoid congested hubs or slot-controlled airports and looks for locations without significant gate, ground or air traffic control delays.

"Certainly the competitive environment plays a large role in our decision," Turneabe-Connelly said. "If it's overpriced and has plenty of service, it's not a good fit."

The airline also looks for sufficient local traffic to operate profitably. That could put Pittsburgh at a disadvantage because it does not produce a lot of originating travel. About two-thirds of the US Airways traffic through the airport is people connecting to flights elsewhere.

A plus for Pittsburgh is that the airport usually does not have delays. And Southwest has been expanding its presence in the Northeast in the last five years, with Baltimore-Washington International Airport being one of the chief beneficiaries.

Gov. Ed Rendell, meanwhile, is trying to get a date for a meeting later this month with US Airways officials and Pittsburgh and Philadelphia political and union leaders to discuss the airline's needs in Pennsylvania.

Rendell has said that he is willing to consider the airline's requests for help, but wants the carrier to "make a significant commitment to growth" in exchange for any assistance.

In addition to lower lease costs in Pittsburgh, US Airways is seeking $140 million in rent relief in Philadelphia. It also has asked for $155 million in capital improvements in Pittsburgh and $95 million in Philadelphia.