Airport to cut airlines' 2012 fees
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Airports that fly into and out of Pittsburgh International Airport are getting a bit of a break next year.
The Allegheny County Airport Authority board Friday approved a 2012 budget of $154 million that includes cuts ranging from nearly 3 percent to 12 percent in rates charged to airlines.
Under the new spending plan, landing fees will drop 2.8 percent, from $3.51 per 1,000 pounds to $3.41. Terminal fees will fall 3.5 percent, from $133.73 a square foot to $129.06. Ramp fees will be cut the most, from $282.50 to $248.36, or 12 percent.
The changes will drive down the average cost per enplanement, an industry benchmark, from $14.80 to $14.28. It is a second straight year that rate has dropped.
"We think this is a very good position. It lets [the airlines] plan for next year at a rate that is less than what they were probably thinking," said Bradley D. Penrod, the authority's executive director.
He said the authority was able to cut fees because of boosts in nonaviation revenues such as parking and hangar rents, while at the same time holding spending increases next year to less than 1 percent.
Airport officials hope the lower rates will make Pittsburgh International more competitive and help to retain and attract airlines.
At $14.28, the airport's cost per enplanement "as a raw number" is still high compared with others, said Michael Boyd, president of Colorado-based Boyd Group International, an aviation consulting firm.
Just where Pittsburgh ranks overall is hard to tell because airports sometimes use different numbers in arriving at such calculations, he noted.
Nonetheless, Mr. Boyd did not think the cut in rates would make much difference in attracting airlines.
First Published October 15, 2011 12:00 am
