Roddey sees a smaller US Airways hub for Pittsburgh Wednesday, June 04, 2003 By Frank Reeves, Post-Gazette Staff Writer Allegheny County Chief Executive Jim Roddey said yesterday his goal in upcoming negotiations with US Airways will be to keep Pittsburgh International Airport as a hub, at least on a scaled-back basis. Asked to elaborate, Roddey said he hoped that US Airways would retain Pittsburgh as a hub for its regional jet operations. He expected that this would result in fewer mainline flights but a large increase in the number of flights flown by smaller regional jets. With Pittsburgh no longer "a fortress hub" for US Airways, Roddey said he believed some low-cost carriers such as Southwest or JetBlue would begin offering service from Pittsburgh International. This could result in more competition on such heavily traveled routes as New York or Chicago. "This outcome is the best we can hope for," Roddey said. In anticipation of talks next week in Washington, D.C., between state officials and US Airways Chief Executive Officer David Siegel, Roddey sent Gov. Ed Rendell the Airport Authority's recommendations for aid to US Airways and cost savings at the Pittsburgh airport. Philadelphia officials already had submitted their requests to the governor on ways to cut costs at the Philadelphia International Airport. Without divulging any details, Roddey said the Airport Authority's recommendations "will show US Airways how to reduce its costs." Next week's summit follows US Airways' decision, announced minutes before emerging from bankruptcy protection in March, to cancel its leases at Pittsburgh International effective next January because, it said, the airport's costs were too high versus comparable hubs such as Cincinnati and Charlotte, N.C. Under its current leases, the airline pays about $62 million annually, most of which goes toward servicing the airport's debt. Roddey said he hoped negotiations with US Airways over a new lease at Pittsburgh International could be completed by the end of the summer. "I think that US Airways, as well, would like to see it resolved by then," he said. US Airways spokesman David Castelveter would say only that the carrier was "anxious to get the issue resolved" before the January 2004 deadline. Last month, Rendell and the state's two U.S. senators, Republicans Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum, invited Siegel to a meeting to discuss US Airways' request for cost-saving reductions and millions of dollars in improvements at the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia airports. Roddey said he didn't expect that the June 11 meeting would result in a final agreement between US Airways and the government officials. Instead, he said he hoped the outcome of the meeting would be a commitment from Rendell and US Airways "to negotiate around the clock" until the issues are resolved. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************