When Kevan Hoffman was growing up, he always knew he wanted to work at an airport.
As his family would travel to visit other family, he’d see all the moving parts and pieces to an airport’s operations and was amazed.
“Having an ability to influence the air service that Pittsburgh residents have is pretty rewarding,” Hoffman said. “Whether we’re working on and successfully achieving a new international prestige route or it’s just an additional nonstop frequency to an in-demand market that we’re seeing growth, I think both of those you’re helping to save people in the region time and you’re also making the city and the region of Pittsburgh more attractive for people move here, invest here and bring their companies here.”
As the manager of air service development, Hoffman’s role is vital to securing new nonstop routes, applying his analytical skills and salesmanship abilities to developing and presenting compelling business cases on nonstop route opportunities to airlines.
Since 2015, Hoffman has traveled to meet with numerous airlines to highlight the exciting developments in the Pittsburgh region resulting in 29 new domestic and international routes that include London, Frankfurt, Montreal, Seattle, Austin, Salt Lake City, Jacksonville, New Orleans and San Juan.
Discretionary and leisure travelers have benefited from Hoffman’s work to recruit ultra low-cost carriers Allegiant, Frontier and Spirit to the airport. Allegiant currently serves 13 nonstop markets from Pittsburgh while employing approximately 80 local residents as pilots, flight attendants and maintenance personnel.
Hoffman’s greatest achievement has been working to land a prestigious nonstop flight to London on British Airways. The new route is expected to have an annual economic impact of $57 million and support 564 jobs in the Pittsburgh region. On a per flight basis, the regional economy receives an infusion of $245,000 each time a British Airways plane lands.
Hoffman is working to increase access for Pittsburgh businesses to global markets and reduce transit time with expanded air cargo service. Successfully recruiting Qatar Airways Cargo in 2017 marked Pittsburgh’s first ever dedicated freighter service, offering local manufacturers a time-saving alternative to traditional gateways for importing and exporting high-value goods throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The route offers 200 tons of weekly capacity, expediting transit times for goods throughout Qatar Cargo’s global network.
