Smaller Airlines Reconnecting Pittsburgh To Other Regional Cities
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Reconnecting Pittsburgh International Airport to regional cities with direct flights has moved another step forward.
That's because OneJet is now flying direct to Cincinnati a couple times a day.
"We're here in a great cabin, seven leather seats, high-speed WiFi internet; and when people get off after 45 minutes, they say, 'Can you fly a bit longer?'" says OneJet CEO Matt Maguire.
At one time, Pittsburgh had direct flights to more than 100 cities. But that dipped to a low of 37 a few years ago.
"I think it was close to 110," said Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald. "We dropped down to as low as 37; we're now up to 63. We're going to add a few more probably in the month or two."
The airport is making a comeback thanks to smaller air carriers filling the void left by the legacy airlines.
OneJet's Hawker 400XP jet is the lifestyle of a private corporate traveler, but available to the public on a regularly scheduled basis. Round trip to Cincinnati is $350.
Already, OneJet is selling six of its seven seats to all five destinations.
"We had projected it would take us six months to get to that load factor level," said Maguire. "It's taken three."
OneJet is stepping into the void of direct flights left by the dehubbing of places like Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
"There are a lot of ties in businesses between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, particularly relative to PNC," said Candace McGraw, the CEO of Cincinnati-Northern KY International Airport.
"To be competitive, businesswise, our business people need to be able to get to these cities and get back and forth in a day," said Fitzgerald.
Maguire says it's all about filling the needs of Pittsburgh corporate clients.
"We're partnering with PNC, Bayer, FedEx there," he said.
OneJet studied the previous travel demands out of Pittsburgh to choose its daily destinations - Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Louisville, Hartford, and now Cincinnati.
With direct service gone, many have been driving the four to five hours, or dealing with layovers in other cities.
"On my way here, I flew Delta and we had to fly to another city to get here, so having a direct flight is a whole lot easier," said David Smith, a traveler.
"We'll get you here by 7:30 in the morning and you'll be home by 6 p.m. for dinner," Maguire said.
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Maguire says OneJet is eyeing five more destinations before the middle of next year.
But OneJet is only part of the story of filling the destination void. There are other new carriers also stepping in.
Southern Airways commuter turboprops are blanketing the region with flights from Morgantown to Washington DC and Baltimore to Harrisburg, Lancaster, Jamestown in New York, and a host of other smaller towns in Pennsylvania.
Add to the list the coastal destinations and more of Allegiant Air, Frontier's service to Atlanta, Denver, orlando, Chicago, and Las Vegas, and Porter going into Toronto.
With OneJet's addition of five cities next year, Pittsburgh International will be close to 70 destinations, but they aren't satisfied and are working every day to add more.
