With Space To Spare, Pittsburgh International Draws Corporate Jet Carrier

Pittsburgh International Airport’s status as a former hub facility with space to spare helped draw OneJet, a new corporate jet carrier seeking to gain a foothold inside Concourse D.

“That’s one of the reasons Pittsburgh is one of the top five cities we put in place early on,” said CEO Matthew Maguire. “We see a bigger vision for it beyond the user service.”

OneJet, catering to business travelers on seven-seat Hawker 400s, launched between Milwaukee and Indianapolis in April, and Pittsburgh this month. A fourth destination will be announced within two months. Down the road, OneJet plans to add crews and maintenance operations in Pittsburgh.

OneJet’s business model focuses on gate-to-gate travel between midsized cities, allowing direct flights to destinations that otherwise involve lengthy layovers. A trip to Indianapolis with a connection may take 4 ¹⁄₂ hours, compared with the about 60-minute service on OneJet

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/8416213-74/onejet-pittsburgh-service#ixzz3bGO3ekH3
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Officials Envision Reinvigorated Allegheny County Airport

The county airport authority wants West Mifflin’s Allegheny County Airport to be a destination — but not for commuter flights.

That sums up a meeting borough officials had Monday with new authority CEO Christina Cassotis that came 24 hours before a $1.5 million federal grant was announced for taxiway rehabilitation there.

“It was a positive meeting,” borough Manager Brian Kamauf said. “We discussed the history of the airport.”

It dates back to Pittsburgh and McKeesport’s window to the world between 1931 and 1952, when commercial service moved from West Mifflin to what then was Greater Pittsburgh Airport, now Pittsburgh International.

Read more: http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourmckeesport/yourmckeesportmore/8407018-74/airport-county-authority#ixzz3asqtZ8jy
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Another Delay For New PATCO Cars

PATCO’s long-delayed rebuilt commuter cars won’t be rolled out this month as planned, as continuing glitches in signal systems have forced another delay, PATCO officials said Tuesday.

Last month, PATCO executives had said the first eight of 120 refurbished cars would be put into customer service in February.

But PATCO president John Hanson said Tuesday, “They’re not going to be ready by the end of this month.”

PATCO is withholding millions of dollars in payments to Alstom Transport Inc. while the manufacturer tries to fix the problem, Hanson said.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20150225_Another_delay_for_new_PATCO_cars.html#EAwF5emuLcpmrJV8.99

United Will Drop Service To And From Atlantic City On Dec. 3

An early photo of the Atlantic City Airport Terminal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In another blow to Atlantic City, United Airlines will end flights in and out of Atlantic City International Airport on Dec. 3, saying the service to Chicago and Houston did not meet expectations.

United, based in Chicago, arrived to great fanfare eight months ago – celebratory balloons, beach umbrellas, and praise from officials including Gov. Christie – when it launched daily nonstop service April 1 to Chicago’s O’Hare and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airports.

United was the first major carrier to begin new passenger service in several years at the airport in Egg Harbor Township.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20141108_United_will_drop_service_to_and_from_Atlantic_City_on_Dec__3.html#7XdUM0B2JiQ01vhZ.99

Startup Airline Has Its Eye On Pittsburgh

FAA Airport Diagram of KPIT (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Another startup airline trying to get off the ground has its sights set on Pittsburgh.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based City Link Air has talked to local officials about starting service from Pittsburgh International Airport, perhaps even seeing it as a potential focus city.

“They’re a startup looking for opportunities around the country. Like we talk to a lot of others, we talk to them,” said Bradley D. Penrod, president and chief strategy officer for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates Pittsburgh International.

Mr. Penrod characterized the dealings with City Link as “an early discussion. They’ve approached us and they’ve given us a presentation,” he said.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/business/2013/11/12/Startup-airline-has-its-eye-on-Pittsburgh/stories/201311120077#ixzz2rzvFE9SE

Lehigh Valley’s Airport Cuts Workers, Services

Aerial photo of Lehigh Valley International Airport (IATA: ABE, ICAO: KABE) in Hanover Township, 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bowing under the weight of massive debt and dwindling passengers, Lehigh Valley International Airport officials acted Tuesday to eliminate a dozen jobs and cut services such as valet parking and the airport parking shuttle.

The $19.6 million 2013 budget will mean minor inconveniences for passengers who will soon have to park their own cars, book their own flights and walk from even the most distant parking areas, but the heaviest burdens are being shouldered by airport workers losing their jobs.

Among the 12 jobs being cut Jan. 1 are seven grounds crew and ticket-counter workers, a construction manager and the airport’s only travel agent.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-allentown-abe-airport-budget-20121127,0,4515215.story

Lancaster Airport Set To Begin Offering Flights To Dulles

Lancaster Airport soon will begin offering regularly scheduled flights to Dulles International Airport but not to Orlando, it was announced today.

Sun Air has won U.S. Department of Transportation approval to provide service to Dulles, supported by a federal Essential Air Service subsidy.

Sun Air aims to begin service here Oct. 15, succeeding Cape Air, which has provided daily flights to Baltimore-Washington International since 2009.

Cape Air announced earlier this year it would pull out of Lancaster as soon as a successor could be found.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/715300_Lancaster-Airport-set-to-begin-offering-flights-to-Dulles.html#ixzz23kG45p8d

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Airport Director Says He Isn’t Worried About Federal Cuts

One day after the president of the United States signed a bill regarding sequestration, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport Director Barry Centini scoffed at the notion his airport would be one of the casualties of the potential across-the-board spending cuts.

On Wednesday, Barack Obama signed the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012, which requires him to provide details within 30 days on how sequestration – severe budget cuts to most federal agencies – would be implemented if enacted on Jan. 2. The legislation also requires the directors of federal agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration, to develop a plan and submit it to Congress, detailing how they would deal with such cuts.

According to Todd Hauptli, the senior executive vice president of the American Association of Airport Executives, the FAA is still developing a plan for how it would cope with the projected $1.35 billion, or nine percent, cut from its annual budget. However, a study done by the American Center for Progress – a liberal think-tank – suggests the administration likely would have to close more than 100 U.S. airports, including the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, to decrease its expenditures and meet the budget reduction.

Despite all of that, Mr. Centini says he isn’t concerned about the airport’s future.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-wilkes-barre-airport-director-says-he-isn-t-worried-about-federal-cuts-1.1356523

Allegiant Air Wants To Run Lancaster-To-Orlando Flights

English: This is a photo of an Allegiant MD-83 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A discount airline wants to provide nonstop jet service between Lancaster and Orlando — if the local airport authority pays its expenses here.

Allegiant Air has contacted the Lancaster Airport Authority to express interest in flying the route twice a week.

“It’s not as glamorous as it might appear,” David Eberly, airport director, said.

“They’re in a lot of smaller communities like Lancaster, and they don’t want to pay the community anything.”

In a separate development, the authority has asked the federal government to subsidize daily service to a new city on a new carrier.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/655489_Airline-wants-to-run-Lancaster-to-Orlando-flights.html#ixzz1wBAcSWfK

Cape Air To Pull Out Of Lancaster Airport

Cape Air Cessna 402 at SRQ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cape Air has decided to stop serving Lancaster Airport, a company executive said Wednesday.

But it will keep flying between here and Baltimore-Washington International until a successor starts operating here.

“Cape Air is committed to providing uninterrupted, great daily air service … until another airline can begin,” said Andrew Bonney, vice president of planning.

Whether another airline offers to serve Lancaster, and which city it would fly to, remains to be seen.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/625177_Cape-Air-to-pull-out-of-Lancaster-Airport.html#ixzz1ryuKZsVO

PeoplExpress Airlines Trying To Reconstitute Itself, Eyes Pittsburgh International Airport

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Visitors to Pittsburgh International Airport can be forgiven for thinking, at certain times, that they wandered into an aviation ghost town. Where once US Airways alone operated more than 500 daily flights into Pittsburgh, the airport is now left with an average of 139 non-stops a day for all airlines.

There’s no question the airport needs more flights and the people who take them — and that makes the news that PeoplExpress is reviving an old brand and is eying a presence in Pittsburgh especially encouraging.

As Post-Gazette staff writer Mark Belko wrote last week, the airline’s plan is to concentrate on routes that have been largely abandoned by other airlines — such as West Palm Beach and Providence, R.I.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12052/1211501-192.stm#ixzz1nPy4zZL8

Harrisburg International Airport To Begin Offering Nonstop Flights To Denver

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Harrisburg International Airport has used a new tool to arrange nonstop service to a new destination.

The airport will offer nonstop flights to Denver, Colo., starting May 22, it announced Thursday.

The service, provided by Frontier Airlines, will be offered Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays through Sept. 9 on a 138-seat Airbus 319 aircraft.

That’s the farthest west that nonstop service ever has been provided out of Harrisburg, airport spokesman Scott Miller said.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/584605_Harrisburg-International-Airport-to-offer-nonstop-flights-to-Denver.html#ixzz1m6DLq2GX

AirTran Discontinuing Service At Lehigh Valley International Airport

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AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines confirmed plans to combine operations at 22 airports and will discontinue service at Lehigh Valley International Airport and five other operations, LVIA officials announced in a news release.

The service will be discontinued at LVIA effective Aug. 12, 2012. LVIA officials said all ticketed passengers, passengers holding reservations, or passengers wanting to make reservations for flights to or from LVIA have no need to alter their travel plans.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-lehigh-valley-air-tran-20120120,0,7458520.story