Could End of International Travel Ban Brighten Prospects for Restart of Pittsburgh-London Flights?

Nov. 9—Pittsburgh International Airport officials are hoping the end of a U.S. travel ban on international visitors will help to boost prospects for the return of a subsidy-backed British Airways flight to London.

The airline halted the nonstop to Heathrow Airport on March 15, 2020 — less than a year after starting it — in part because of the travel restrictions imposed between Europe and the United States to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Since then, it has missed several deadlines for resuming the flight, including Aug. 2 and Oct. 2, 2020. It also decided against relaunching the service March 28, citing the pandemic and global travel restrictions.

Most telling at that time is that British Airways did not set a new return date, fueling speculation that the flight may be grounded for good.

However, two months later, during a virtual appearance sponsored by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said she expected the flight, which operated four times a week, to return in spring 2022.

The authority, which operates Pittsburgh International, is "continuing to work with British Airways regarding when service will resume," spokesman Bob Kerlik said Monday.

"We're encouraged that global travel restrictions are easing and look forward to travel continuing to rebound," he said. "It's important that this flight succeeds and we continue to work with them to determine the right time to resume."

One expert doesn't see that happening anytime soon.

William Swelbar, chief industry analyst at the Swelbar-Zhong consultancy in Virginia, isn't expecting British Airways to rush back into Pittsburgh and other secondary markets now that the travel ban from more than 30 countries, including the U.K., has been lifted.

"I just really believe all of these secondary markets that won service in 2018 and 2019 are going to be a little slower to come back," he said.

Major airlines like British Airways probably will concentrate on gateways like New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Washington, D.C. before turning their attention to smaller markets.

Consumer preferences likely will play a role as well — and that may not be good news for cities like Pittsburgh.

"Are people in Europe going to want to go back to Disney World and places like that before they go to secondary destinations?" he asked.

The fact that the Pittsburgh- London route generates a lot of business trips doesn't help, either, given the fact that such travel has fallen dramatically during the pandemic.

"It's easy to say, sure, it's all coming back. It probably isn't," Mr. Swelbar said.

Adding to the questions over the flight is that British Airways has yet to sign the new seven-year lease that will help pay for the airport's $1.4 billion modernization, although it still has time to do so.

Before the most recent agreement, the airline had signed a two-year agreement that was scheduled to expire at the end of this year.

British Airways did not return an email seeking comment.

The Pittsburgh- London nonstop was launched with great fanfare in April 2019 backed by $3 million in subsidies spread over two years. The authority has paid half of that so far, Mr. Kerlik said.

Before its takeoff, the Steel City hadn't had a nonstop to London since 2004. Airport officials courted British Airways for years before the airline said yes.

Also in limbo is Condor Airlines' seasonal flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

Condor did not resume the twice-weekly flights, which typically ran from May 22 through Sept. 21, this year.

In the past, an airline spokesperson has said that Pittsburgh was an important gateway for Condor and that it would like to continue its "great partnership" with the airport.

Pittsburgh currently has international nonstops to Toronto and to Cancun and Punta Cana, both of which are weekly charters.

Spirit Airlines also will be adding flights to Cancun on Nov. 13 and Southwest will resume flights to the same destination starting Nov. 20.

Mr. Swelbar believes the lifting of the ban could have implications that spill over into domestic travel.

His theory is that travelers may opt for international destinations rather than domestic leisure getaways like Florida and California, causing travel to those places to drop.

That may be particularly true if rising inflation eats away at discretionary income and causes an overall drag on travel.

"The question for me is how much discretionary income is there going to be for any traveler," he said. "The second question for me is whether the opening up of [international] travel is going to become a substitute for what people have been doing during the pandemic — seeking leisure travel to places with wide open spaces."

In lifting the ban, the U.S. is requiring international visitors to show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test within three days of travel.

There are some exceptions, including travelers from countries where the availability of vaccines is low. In such cases, an unvaccinated person must show a negative COVID-19 test taken within one day of departure.

Mark Belko: [email protected] or 412-263-1262.

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