Ind.-based airline sets sights on Pittsburgh

Airport authority board OKs space for OneJet as talks underway

An Indianapolis-based regional airline could be the next to touch down at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Allegheny County Airport Authority board members agreed Friday to lease two ticket counters and operations space to OneJet Inc. on a month-to-month basis, even though it has no flights into or gate space at the Findlay airport.

Bryan Dietz, the authority’s vice president of air service development, said the agency is in talks with the airline about bringing service to Pittsburgh, although he described the conversations as “very, very preliminary.”

OneJet launched service on Monday with a flight between Indianapolis and Milwaukee.

Neither of those cities is served nonstop from Pittsburgh. Mr. Dietz said both popular business destinations would be “very logical” candidates for service were the airline to commit to Pittsburgh.

“Our goal is to work with them on what makes sense for a sustainable long-term partnership in Pittsburgh,” he said.

OneJet is expected to announce another round of destinations April 24. Jon Austin, a spokesman for the airline, would not say whether Pittsburgh is on that list.

“I don’t want to quite tip my hand yet, but we think the world of Pittsburgh,” he said.

Mr. Dietz said leasing the ticket counters to the airline now could help to get the flight operating more quickly should OneJet decide on Pittsburgh. The lease is expected to generate $100,000 a year in revenue.

“We’re hopeful that the message we’re sending them and the opportunities here in Pittsburgh match up” with their plans, he said.

OneJet has been utilizing an eight-seat Hawker 400 jet for its flights. Mr. Dietz described the airline’s demand-responsive network as “like a private jet but on a scheduled basis.”

“We can allocate aircraft based on where demand is demonstrated to be,” Mr. Austin added.

Mr. Dietz said the airport authority reached out to OneJet after learning about its plans to start service between Indianapolis and Milwaukee.

The authority, he said, is “looking at any market that does not have nonstop service today” from Pittsburgh.

Another regional carrier, Sun Air Express, currently is offering federally subsidized service from Jamestown, N.Y., and Bradford, Franklin, Altoona and Lancaster in Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh.

Also Friday, the authority announced that passenger traffic for February was up 3.5 percent compared to the same month in 2014. Year to date, traffic is up 2.4 percent.

“Our goal is to work with them [OneJet] on what makes sense for a sustainable long-term partnership in Pittsburgh. Bryan Dietz President, Allegheny County Airport Authority