Check out the competition

As most area traveler are already aware, US Airways and its affiliated regional carriers operate the majority of flights in and out of Pittsburgh International Airport. In fact, of the 9,291,818 travelers who boarded scheduled departures there last year, 8,091,619, or 87.1 percent, were US Airways passengers. Allegheny County Airport Authority statistics show that of the 594 nonstop flights that departed each day to 117 cities that year, 506 were operated or controlled by our favorite airline.

So much for realistic competition.

Any decision regarding the proposed acquisition of US Airways by United is probably still months away, but preserving at least a modicum of competition at fortress hub airports like Pittsburgh is one issue on the minds of many interested observers, from local fliers to federal regulators.

Meanwhile, however, there are competitors and new carriers establishing positions at the departure gates of Pittsburgh International.

Other than US Airways, seven national airlines operate some 64 nonstop flights in and out of Pittsburgh each day. All are essentially feeder flights to one of their own hub airports, from which passengers can make connections to a variety of destinations. Although these major airlines generally have avoided getting into competitive fare wars with US Airways here or aggressively expanding their offerings, their flights do represent one alternative.

The most competitive pressures, in terms of price and in some cases in flight amenities, are coming from the smaller regional carriers that have initiated Pittsburgh service in recent years. In addition to Vanguard, which last year carried nearly 80,000 passengers out of Pittsburgh, small upstart airlines such as Midwest Express have been offering limited service for some time. Next month two other regional carriers, AirTran and Midway Airlines, will dip their wings into Pittsburgh's airspace.

Of the 117 cities to which Pittsburghers can fly nonstop, US Airways serves 114 of them. The general assumption is that US Airways is the way to get anywhere. (Unless "there" happens to be John F. Kennedy International Airport, easily the East Coast's most important international gateway, to which US Airways offers no service at all).

As expressed in a Post-Gazette editorial on Wednesday, when it comes to this upstart competition, area fliers may be facing a case of use-it-or-lose-it. And since passengers may not be aware of the alternatives, we thought it appropriate to outline the possibilities.

Here's a list of where, when and on whom we can fly nonstop from Pittsburgh, other than on US Airways and its affiliates. The information is accurate as of press date, although some flights below may not operate seven days a week.

First, the major carriers, in alphabetical order:

Air Canada (888-247-2262 or www.aircanada.ca)
3 daily flights to Toronto (10:30 a.m., 2:55 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.)

American/American Eagle (800-433-7300 or www.aa.com)

5 daily flights to Chicago/O'Hare (7 a.m., 10:11 a.m., 1:20 p.m., 4:51 p.m. and 8:21 p.m.)

3 daily flights to Dallas/Fort Worth (8:05 a.m., 1:01 p.m. and 7:22 p.m.)

4 daily flights to New York/JFK (6:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 2:41 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.)

Continental/Continental Express (800-523-3273 or www.flycontinental.com)

3 daily flights to Cleveland (6:50 a.m., 9:10 p.m. and 6:05 p.m.)

6 daily flights to Newark (9:20 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 2:10 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8:15)

3 daily flights to Houston (6:30 a.m., 12:40 p.m. and 5:38 p.m.)

Delta (800-221-1212 or www.delta.com)

6 daily flights to Atlanta (5:30 a.m., 7:15 p.m., 9:20 a.m., 1 p.m., 4:25 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.)

2 daily flights to Cincinnati (2:10 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.)

Northwest (800-225-2525 or www.nwa.com)

7 daily flights to Detroit (7 a.m., 9:35 a.m., 1 p.m.. 3:10 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8:40 p.m.)

4 daily flights to Minneapolis (8:50 a.m., 10:40 a.m., 2:10 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.)

TWA/TWA Express (800-221-2000 or www.twa.com)

5 daily flights to St. Louis (6:55 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 2:15 p.m., 6:10 p.m. and 8 p.m.)

3 daily flights to New York/JFK (8:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2:10 p.m.)

United/United Express (800-241-6522 or www.ual.com)

6 daily flights to Chicago/O'Hare (6:10 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 10:15 a.m., 1:46 p.m., 4:20 p.m. and 5:50 p.m.)

8 daily flights to Washington/Dulles (7:10 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 11:20 a.m., 1:15 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 5:20 p.m., 7:15 p.m., 7:45 p.m.)

And the regional airlines:

AirTran (800-2478726 or www.airtran.com)

Beginning Dec. 12:

3 daily flights to New York/LaGuardia (7 a.m., 1:35 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.)

2 daily flights to Atlanta (6 a.m. and 11:20 a.m.) with connections to Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Fort Walton Beach, Grand Bahamas, Greensboro, Gulfport, Houston, Jacksonville, Memphis, Miami, Myrtle Beach, New Orleans, Newport News, Orlando, Raleigh, Savannah and Tampa.

3 daily flights to Chicago/Midway (9:40 a.m., 6:05 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.) with connections to Minneapolis

Midway Airlines (800-446-4392 or www.midwayair.com)

Beginning Dec. 15:

3 daily flights to Raleigh/Durham (6:50 a.m., 12:29 p.m. and 4:49 p.m.) with connections to Atlanta, Charleston, Columbia, Columbus, Fort Lauderdale, Greenville, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Louisville, Myrtle Beach, New Bern, New Orleans, Norfolk, Orlando, San Jose, Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Newburgh, NY; Tampa, Washington, D.C., West Palm Beach and Wilmington, N.C.

Midwest Express (800-452-2022 or www.midwestexpress.com)

2 daily flights to Milwaukee (10:30 a.m. 6:20 p.m.) with connections to Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Orlando and San Francisco.

Pan Am/Boston-Maine (800-3359-7262 or www.flypanam.com)

1 daily flight to Bangor, Maine, with connections to Boston/Portsmouth

1 daily flight to Orlando/Sanford (times vary)

1 daily flight to Harrisburg (7 a.m.)

Vanguard (800-826-4827 or www.flyvanguard.com)

3 daily flights to Chicago/Midway (6:55 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 6:55 p.m)

1 daily flight to Kansas City (5:15 p.m.) with connections to Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New Orleans

1 flight each Saturday to Myrtle Beach (1:15 p.m.)

So when you start to plan your next trip, it might be wise to keep these other options in mind. Service may not be as frequent as US Airways, and the fare may not be any lower, but at least there are alternatives. And the more we make use of them, the more there will be.

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