Pittsburgh International Airport has Busiest Year in Nearly a Decade
2016 Passenger Increase, Bond Rating Improvement Marks a Strong Start to the New Year
Pittsburgh International Airport ended 2016 with more than 8.3 million passengers, which marks three straight years of gains, and makes 2016 the busiest year at the airport in nearly a decade.
Passenger traffic was up 2.2 percent for the year, as 8,309,754 passengers traveled through the airport, compared with 8,128,187 total passengers in 2015. It was the biggest year-over-year traffic increase since 2010, and the busiest year at the airport after 2008.
The busy holiday travel months of November and December each saw significant gains in passenger traffic – 2.5 percent in November and 3.4 percent in December. The airport had 702,345 total passengers in November 2016 compared to 685,217 total passengers in 2015. In December, the airport had 658,591 total passengers compared with 637,212 total passengers in 2015.
“We’re pleased to see the positive trend in passenger traffic continue at Pittsburgh International Airport as new flights are embraced by our thriving region,” said Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis. “The community is taking note of recent airport improvements and airlines and airport stakeholders on a national level also are responding. We know there’s more work to do, but we feel we have turned a corner.”
In December, the Allegheny County Airport Authority’s bond rating was raised again. Standard & Poor Global Ratings upgraded the long-term rating and underlying rating on outstanding bonds issued for Pittsburgh International Airport from an ‘A-’ to an ‘A’. The Airport Authority also received a ratings bump in August by Fitch from ‘A-’ to ‘A.’
“The upgrade reflects our opinion of PIT’s improving traffic levels that have driven improvements in its overall financial situation and have proven to be sustainable,” the S&P report stated. “The outlook is stable.”
Good carrier diversity with the top three airlines in terms of passenger share being American, Southwest and Delta; Pittsburgh International’s strong origin and destination nature, with 96 percent of total enplanements from the region; and decreasing debt service were cited as factors in the ratings improvement.
Also contributing to Airport Authority’s stable outlook is the addition of new low-cost carriers Allegiant and Frontier and regional carriers Southern Airways Express and OneJet. Allegiant added new flights to Austin, Texas and San Juan, Puerto Rico in December. OneJet will add Albany, NY and Richmond, VA and Southwest will add New Orleans in March.
“Looking ahead, it is predicted that the Airport Authority’s origin and destination passenger levels will continue to deliver steady financial performance that should not change the airport’s rating in the near future,” the report stated.