United, Southwest adding flights

With leisure still the dominant force driving air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, two airlines are adding flights to popular vacation destinations from Pittsburgh International Airport in time for summer.

As bookings improve across its network, United Airlines is starting seasonal flights to Charleston, S.C.; Hilton Head Island, S.C.; Pensacola, Fla.; and Portland, Maine, starting May 27. And Southwest Airlines is launching service to Myrtle Beach, S.C., next month as well.

The United flights will operate three times a week through the Labor Day weekend. The airline will use new 50-seat Bombardier CRJ-550 jets to fly to the destinations. The flights will be the first ever from Pittsburgh into Hilton Head Island Airport and Pensacola International Airport, according to the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

No other airline currently serves Portland, Maine, and

Allegiant Air is the only one flying to Charleston.

“In the past few weeks, we have seen the strongest flight bookings since the start of the pandemic,” said Ankit Gupta, United’s vice president of domestic network planning and scheduling. “As we rebuild our schedule to meet that demand, adding in seasonal point-to-point flying is just one of the ways we are finding opportunities to add new and exciting service.”

In addition, Southwest Airlines is starting a Saturday flight to Myrtle Beach on May 29. The flight will jump to five times a week beginning the week of June 6, according to the airport authority. Spirit Airlines currently offers service to Myrtle Beach from Pittsburgh, and Allegiant will start flying there in May.

“We continue to tailor our schedule with added flights to address closer-in demand for leisure destinations while making foundational additions to our map that position our network for the future,” said Andrew Watterson, Southwest Airlines executive vice president and chief commercial officer.

That airlines are adding leisure destinations is no surprise. Airport authority CEO Christina Cassotis has said leisure is driving whatever traffic there has been during the pandemic. That is reflected in the fact that ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit, which caters to leisure travelers, has soared to become the airport’s third-largest airline in terms of passengers during the pandemic.

Pittsburgh International also has been experiencing a recent surge in traffic. Between March 14 and Saturday, nearly 42,000 people passed through the airport’s security checkpoint, marking the busiest week since the COVID-19 pandemic began.