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Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, attributed the increase to new service to New Orleans, Myrtle Beach, West Palm Beach, Orlando, and Savannah, Georgia, added by Allegiant and the seasonal Paris offering, which resumed May 1 with flights every day.
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Passenger traffic at Pittsburgh International Airport rebounded in May

Michael Henninger/Post-Gazette

Passenger traffic at Pittsburgh International Airport rebounded in May

After falling in April, passenger traffic at Pittsburgh International Airport rebounded in May, thanks in large part to new flights offered by Allegiant Air and Delta’s expanded nonstop service to Paris.

The number of passengers using the Findlay airport jumped 4.3 percent in May compared to the same month last year.

Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, attributed the increase to new service to New Orleans, Myrtle Beach, West Palm Beach, Orlando, and Savannah, Georgia, added by Allegiant and the seasonal Paris offering, which resumed May 1 with flights every day. Last May, the service started later in the month, with flights three to five times a week.

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The totals also got a boost from Southwest Airlines, which saw its passenger numbers leap by 15 percent compared to May 2015. Allegiant had the biggest bump, with a 172.8 percent increase.

 “We have 8.2 million passengers a year in a facility built for 35 million,” said Christina Cassotis, CEO of Allegheny County Airport Authority.
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Ms. Cassotis said flights added by ultra low fare carrier Allegiant have helped to stimulate the market in Pittsburgh. She is hoping for the same effect from Frontier Airlines, which launched service to five cities in June.

“These are passengers who weren’t flying before. These are really net new passengers,” she said.

Not all of the news was good, however. The airport has seen cuts in service to Dallas and Houston, which Ms. Cassotis attributed to “some softness in the energy market” caused by downturns in the natural gas industry.

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She also said that American Airlines, which includes the former US Airways, continues to cut back in the market. American traffic was down 12.9 percent in May compared to the same month last year.

The airline has been reducing capacity to cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Chicago and Washington D.C. Ms. Cassotis called the cuts “frustrating.”

“We’re trying to make American aware of market level data that supports them continuing to stay strong and steady in a lot of real important markets for us,” she said.

Delta also will be curtailing the Paris flight at the end of September this year rather than Oct. 29, as originally was planned. It also will cut daily service to five days a week in September.

Barry Biffle, CEO of Frontier Airlines, and Christina Cassotis, CEO of Allegheny County Airport Authority, talk about the new airline that has come to Pittsburgh.
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The airline has blamed the reductions on weakening demand, not only for the Pittsburgh-to-Paris flight but others in its system. The airport authority has tried to get Delta to reconsider but Ms. Cassotis conceded that “doesn’t look likely.”

In April, airport passenger traffic tumbled 2.9 percent compared to the same month in 2015. Year to date, traffic is up 1 percent.

Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.

First Published: July 8, 2016, 7:49 p.m.

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Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, attributed the increase to new service to New Orleans, Myrtle Beach, West Palm Beach, Orlando, and Savannah, Georgia, added by Allegiant and the seasonal Paris offering, which resumed May 1 with flights every day.  (Michael Henninger/Post-Gazette)
Michael Henninger/Post-Gazette
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