Dismantling Pittsburgh: Death of an airline hub

— -- Flying through one of my favorite airports is increasingly difficult these days. The recent US Airways announcement to pull down capacity yet again at their moribund Pittsburgh hub will reduce connecting passenger traffic to a trickle.

Although most business travelers prefer non-stop travel, when a connection was unavoidable, Pittsburgh was always at the top of my list. Opened in 1992 the midfield terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport is an extremely well designed facility for connecting passengers. Seventy-five gates and four runways set on spacious grounds assured that Pittsburgh International Airport did not suffer the gridlock and congestion that plague much larger hub airports like Atlanta Hartsfield, Chicago O'Hare, or Dallas-Fort Worth. Now with fewer than 250 departures per day, the Pittsburgh airport has become severely underutilized.

Although the best connection is usually one where you can hop from airplane to airplane with no waiting, if you are going to be stuck at an airport for a while Pittsburgh is a pretty good choice. The airport includes more than 100 shops and restaurants, many of which are clustered in a shopping mall-like atrium at the junction of the quadrangle of concourses. Stores like Brooks Brothers, Brookstone, Godiva Chocolatier, General Nutrition Center, Land's End, PGA Tour Shop and Victoria's Secret are more likely to be found at your neighborhood shopping mall than an airport setting.

For someone who loathes the ordeal of shopping, dispensing with that chore while changing airplanes was a tremendous timesaver over the years. Before US Airways dismantled their hub I used to route myself through Pittsburgh whenever my wardrobe needed an upgrade to avoid the traffic, the crowds, and the endless search for a parking space at the mall.

But alas, as US Airways razes its Pittsburgh hub it's unlikely I'll find myself connecting there again. Although other airlines have increased their Pittsburgh service to fill the void, and perhaps another airline may eventually designate Pittsburgh as a "focus city", it is highly improbable that the airport will ever again offer an extensive hub like the one US Airways ran for decades.