Gulfstream International Airlines and Pittsburgh International airport operator the Allegheny County Airport Authority are in discussions to revive regional air service at the facility starting as early as next year.
Pittsburgh has lost air service to roughly 60 destinations within a 400-mile (643.7-km) radius since 2003, including Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Richmond, Virginia, Gulfstream VPof corporate development Mickey Bowman says. The airline intends to change this by placing 19-seat Beechcraft 1900D aircraft into service from Pittsburgh as early as the first quarter next year, he explains.
Gulfstream is still defining what city pairs it would operate but the carrier should make a service announcement in the next two weeks, Bowman says. The carrier aims to serve up to 10 destinations from Pittsburgh within a year of launching operations and the focus is on business markets, he adds.
The airline is also researching incentives for starting service at several airports, he says.
A spokeswoman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority says Pennsylvania destinations under consideration include: Allentown, Altoona, Bradford, DuBois, Erie, Franklin, Harrisburg, Johnstown, Lancaster, Latrobe, State College, Wilkes Barre/Scranton and Williamsport. Potential out of state destinations include Hagerstown, Maryland; Jamestown and Syracuse, New York; and Youngstown, Ohio.Other destinations under consideration include theWest Virginia locations Charleston, Clarksburg, Huntington, Lewisburg, Morgantown and Parkersburg.
The airport authority has not finalized what support it will provide to Gulfstream but possibilities include marketing assistance and cheaper landings fees, the spokeswoman says, adding the airport operator does not intend to "bankroll" the air service.
Passengers flying from Pittsburgh on Gulfstream and then connecting to another airline may be able to check their bag through to their final destination from Pittsburgh, the spokeswoman says, noting that technology is being worked on now.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
