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E-mailFuel costs change flight plans
Officials with JetBlue Airways and AirTran Airways said Friday that they have adjusted their nationwide plans for this year in the face of rising crude oil prices, which hit a record of $106.54 a barrel yesterday. While they said cuts to Pittsburgh service are not expected, additional flights beyond those added for seasonal demand appear unlikely this year.
"In 2008, we were projecting growth of 10 to 12 percent," said Noreen Courtney-Wilds, sales director for JetBlue Airways Corp., speaking at a Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce forum. "Now we're thinking it will be more like 6 to 8 percent."
"The price of jet fuel has doubled in the past 12 months," she said. "You can't just keep raising fares to cover your costs, because demand drops."
Tad Hutcheson, vice president of marketing and sales for Atlanta-based AirTran, said the company plans national growth of 10 percent this year, down from 20 percent last year, and may curtail it further.
"It's a huge concern," Hutcheson said of fuel prices. "The most important thing is to make money."
AirTran added flights in Pittsburgh last month, he said. Tampa is a new destination, offered daily, and Fort Lauderdale ramped up from weekly to daily service on Feb. 14. AirTran began Pittsburgh service in December 2000 with two daily roundtrips to Atlanta and three flights a day to New York and Chicago, which underperformed and were dropped within two years. AirTran now operates nine flights a day, to Atlanta and four Florida cities.
JetBlue began service to Pittsburgh in June 2006, originally with four roundtrip flights per day to New York and two to Boston. Last fall it eliminated one of the New York flights due to high fuel costs, Courtney-Wilds said.
Airport Authority CEO Brad Penrod saw a possible silver lining for Pittsburgh in higher fuel costs -- airline frustration with the East Coast congestion could prompt them to seek a nearby, underused venue to touch down for transfers, rather than continue to burn fuel while waiting for a runway.
Colorado aviation consultant Michael Boyd, however, was skeptical.
"Keep on dreaming," Boyd said. "People who want to go to New York or Boston don't want to stop in Pittsburgh. Airlines aren't in the business of flying. They're in the business of taking people where they want to go."
