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Southwest Airlines Celebrates Five Years in Pittsburgh

ahernandez
Explorer C
Being a part of the Pittsburgh Station (PIT) Opening was an unforgettable experience--one to which I had been looking forward since my early days with Southwest Airlines.  I started with the Company in Omaha in August of 2000 and had always wanted to take part in a new station opening.  Making the move to PIT was the biggest leap of faith of my life--I had never even visited the city before.  A good friend was making the move, though, so I was in!  Final answer!

We opened the PIT station on May 4, 2005, with ten daily departures.  It was a modest start at an airport the size of the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport; we operated out of two of the 100 gates in the main terminal, yet EVERYONE knew that we were the new kids in town!  The degree to which our competitors had scaled back their service in PIT was staggering at the time (not to mention what has occurred since 2005), and everyone welcomed their new neighbors in the A Concourse.

Most of us feel a strong sense of pride when we see our red-bellied aircraft flying whether we’re on the job or enjoying a day off.  Well take that feeling and multiply it by 100 for the moment that first ferry flight lands in a brand-new city, pulls off on a taxiway, and is greeted by the firetrucks providing a water-arch celebratory welcome before it makes its way to the gate.  That was a moment  I will never forget.

PIT got off to a rockin’ start.  In the fall of 2005 we doubled our flight count to 20, added new nonstop service to Tampa Bay, and then in 2006 we won Station of the Year – our first year eligible (since we had missed out on the first four months of 2005)!  Then, before long, we added new service to Baltimore/Washington, and by 2008 we found ourselves at our highest flight count to date with 24 daily departures.

SWA has been the number one carrier in PIT in terms of passengers boarded for a month here and a couple of months there – maybe the next five years will see us add more service to the point where we can claim that top spot once and for all!  Grab your bag – it’s ON in PIT!
5 Comments
Anonymous4089
Explorer C
Congratulations and keep up the great work! I love your "Steel in LUV" t-shirts!
DaleyT
Explorer C
Thank you so much for coming to Pittsburgh and consistently increasing service. You are now my first choice - by far - when flying out of Pittsburgh.
Southsider
Explorer C
I went off to college in Chicago in 2005, just as Southwest started flying from PIT to MDW for around $30 a flight! Flying Southwest was always an excellent experience, and PIT and MDW are both great airports in terms of transit time. I could catch a bus to MDW 2 hrs before my departure time, spend <10 min in security, and arrive at PIT 1.5 hours later, often for <$100. It doesn't get much better than that. I'm now 30 min outside Newark, but I'll still drive to Philly rather than fly ANY other airline. Keep up the great work and no fees!
Anonymous3084
Explorer C
Thanks Southwest, we are from the Steel City and we get connecting fares to Ft. Myers for $74! Keep up the great work and happy to fly with you guys this summer and years to come!!
iflyswa
Explorer C
I love that Southwest continues to grow in Pittsburgh, but applaud at the fact that Southwest is removing service from PIT to PHL and vice versa. There are many of us that love and fly Southwest on a weekly basis to and from PIT via PHL and none we no longer have this option since Southwest has decided to cancel their service. I understand all businesses must make business decision to remain profitable, I find it interesting that rather than limited the flights to one or two a day from PIT to PHL and vice versa the airline decided to cancel all non stop flights. While I find that Southwest normally wins anytime they start to new service to a new market, I have found that this time Southwest has lost to the competition and will lose extremely value customers in January to US Airways due to this change in service between PIT and PHL. I wish the SWA continued success. Hopefully in the very near future, Southwest will rethink this decision and bring back the daily non stops flights between PIT and PHL or offering a flight with connections in a city that can give us assess to morning arrivals on Monday and later departures on Thursday.