In June, Southwest Airlines Co. will celebrate its 50th anniversary, though it only began servicing Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) 17 years ago in 2004. Now, the Dallas-based passenger carrier has surpassed Delta Air Lines Inc. and American Airlines Inc. to become the largest carrier out of the Steel City, a feat that has Vice President of Southwest Business Dave Harvey optimistic about the future of aviation in the region.
'We are very bullish on Pittsburgh,' Harvey said during a Zoom conference call hosted by the Pittsburgh Technology Council on Jan. 5. 'We had aspirations, we had plans going into 2020. Pittsburgh, for the first time in its history, was going to surpass 10 million annual customers, 2020 was going to be the year.'
Those forecasts abruptly changed amid the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 and aviation passenger traffic has yet to fully recover. Traffic at PIT declined by about two-thirds through the first 11 months of 2020, seeing its largest decline on record in April where traffic fell 97% year-over-year.
For Harvey, it means the airline industry still needs to continue weathering the current storm. At Southwest, no layoffs, furloughs or pay cuts have been implemented and that's held true throughout its history, though all three came close to happening just a few weeks ago before the federal government passed the latest stimulus package.
Overall, national aviation demand has plummeted to levels last seen in the 1970s, Harvey said, a trend that remains unsustainable in the long term for the industry.
'I experienced 9/11 and the Great Recession and this is both of those rolled together times 100,' Harvey said. 'The airline industry has never seen anything like this.'
Though some of the pandemic's headwinds seem to be leveling off. Harvey said he's seen some uptick in passenger demand, but like a turbulent flight, it's been 'choppy' and that anytime Covid-19 cases go up, so do passenger cancellations, though it varies state-by-state and even region-to-region.
'To be blunt, the airlines are kind of hanging on here by a thread, unfortunately, and that's really going to cut back the service to markets like Pittsburgh,' Harvey said. He added that the region has a lot of benefits to offer and cited its robust tech and health care industries as well as the city's lower cost of living compared to New York or Chicago as reason to believe that growth can continue.
'We've built up a great customer base (in Pittsburgh),' Harvey said. 'When we're thinking about where to put that next aircraft, (Pittsburgh is) high on that list for potential.'
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. 
