Pittsburgh International continues ascent in passengers

Passenger traffic grew in 2011 at Pittsburgh International Airport for the second consecutive year, officials said on Friday.

"We expect that to continue in 2012," said Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO and Executive Director Brad Penrod.

The authority said the Pittsburgh airport had 8,268,440 passengers last year, up 1.3 percent from 2010. Airlines filled about 83 percent of their available seats.

Three airlines -- US Airways, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines -- had at least 1 million passengers apiece, demonstrating a diversity of service that was nonexistent when US Airways operated a hub in Pittsburgh and carried more than 80 percent of passengers.

US Airways carried a quarter of all passengers last year, with 2,084,324, remaining the airport's busiest airline.

US Airways, though, was one of just five to report year-to-year traffic declines, along with AirTran Airways, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines and SkyWest Airlines.

Eight airlines increased traffic. No. 2 airline Southwest had 1,572,793 passengers, a 5.3 percent gain. Also boosting traffic were Delta, Continental Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Air Canada, Myrtle Beach Direct Air and USA 3000 Airlines.

Financially, Pittsburgh International ended the year $6.3 million under budget and brought in $5.4 million more than anticipated, said Chief Financial Officer Jim Gill. It cost airlines about $14.77 per passenger to operate in Pittsburgh, slightly lower than anticipated. As a result, the authority will refund a combined $700,000 to airlines.

Gill said the authority paid off $34 million in principal on its long-term bond debt, which now stands at $316 million.

In other news yesterday, the authority said it will spend $1 million, including a $250,000 state grant and a $750,000 state loan, to prepare a 15-acre property for development.

Work will include removing the last portion of the former Greater Pittsburgh International Airport terminal's foundation, said authority Development Director Randy Forister. The Moon terminal closed after Pittsburgh International Airport opened in 1992 in neighboring Findlay.

Utility lines also will be moved on the site near Airside Business Park, with work starting in July or August and ending this autumn. Forister said he expects the site to become home to an office building and three new hangars.