Pittsburgh's top 8 longest routes

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) is located around 10 miles west of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and serves as the principal international airport serving the city and its surrounding communities.

One of the largest facilities in the state by land area, Pittsburgh International covers around 10,000 acres and is operated under the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

The facility opened back in 1952, and it was initially served by five different airlines, including Trans World Airlines (TWA), which had a hub at the airport for two decades.

To support the needs of US Airways, the airport underwent a $1 billion expansion effort in 1992, which introduced the airport's trademark X-shaped terminal and an underground tram system, in addition to multiple different shopping options, according to an in-depth analysis of the project from The New York Times, which labeled the facility as the "airport of the future."

Overall passenger traffic at the airport peaked at 20 million in late 1990, with US Airways operating over 500 flights and employing around 12,000 people by 2001.

Despite these renovations, US Airways was still on a path of financial decline, and its fortunes took a turn for the worse during the post-9/11 downturn in air travel, which led the carrier to eventually abandon Pittsburgh as a hub in 2004.

The loss of an air transport hub was a major loss to the airport and the city, and it resulted in significant job losses for the local economy.

Since the 2010s, the airport has experienced a service revival, with passenger numbers doubling to 16 and Southwest slowly becoming the airport's most important.

The airport has also become an important hub for cargo operations and expansion efforts are set to continue. In 2017, the airport became the first in the US to reopen post-security access to non-flying visitors, after security restrictions were eventually relaxed.

Back in 2021, the airport became the world's first to operate its own power grid using natural gas and solar energy. The airport will continue to undergo a $1.39 billion renovation project in 2025, one which is set to bring a new terminal, baggage claim, and more to the airport.

In this article, we will take a deeper look at the airport's continued growth, by examining its eight longest routes by length and exploring their available seat miles (ASMs), an industry metric for a route's commercial importance.

Please not that we will only be analyzing routes that are currently operational (so not Breeze and American's Pittsburgh-Los Angeles services that are set to start up in the coming months).

1Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR)

Carrier: British Airways

Once an international hub with nonstop services to dozens of destinations, Pittsburgh's airport today has a significantly weaker global network than it once did before, something which reflects the city's economic transition following the decline of the city's manufacturing sector.

This nonstop flight is operated by British Airways using Boeing 787-8 aircraft, and operates just three days a week, according to tracking data available on FlightAware.

While a significantly lower-frequency service than many of the others on this list, there are a few reasons why this route rises to the top in terms of available seat miles as well as distance.

For starters, this route is longer than the others that will appear on this list, and it is operated with one of the highest-capacity jets that Pittsburgh sees.

2 Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

Carrier: United Airlines

One of the longest domestic routes operated from Pittsburgh, this nonstop daily service offers passengers from Pittsburgh nonstop access to San Francisco and the Bay Area, as well as access to the extensive United Airlines network operated from SFO.

This flight is operated by Boeing 737-800 jets, and it is likely the flight that most travelers from Pittsburgh to Asia will take before catching a connection from United or a partner carrier.

3 Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)

Carrier: Alaska Airlines

Another route extremely important to the airport, the carrier's nonstop service to the West Coast offers a secondary connection from Pittsburgh to a major Pacific gateway.

However, Seattle is less convenient for transpacific connections, as the only US carrier operating flights to Asia from the facility is Delta Air Lines, which does not have a codeshare arrangement with Alaska Airlines.

4 Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas

Carrier: Southwest Airlines

5 Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

Primary carrier: American Airlines

This nonstop route ranks as the fifth-longest operated from PIT, and it is one of the most fiercely competed. Due to the popularity of Phoenix both with retirees and with vacationers kicking off Southwest road trips, multiple different airlines are vying for a piece of this lucrative market. Operated most days, American Airlines is joined by Allegiant Air and Southwest Airlines on this route.

6 Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)

Primary carrier: Delta Air Lines

This nonstop service between Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City is likely Delta's most important route to and from the airport, and it likely makes its money for the carrier both during the summer and winter months.

Between December and March, the route offers an efficient connection for Pittsburgh residents looking to ski at the many Utah resorts within a stone's throw of the airport, and in the summer it gives them access to one of the best gateways for travel throughout the American Mountain West.

7 Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to Cancun International Airport (CUN)

Primary carrier: American Airlines

This route is likely one that you will not expect to see, as it does not connect to a major airline hub. Rather, American Airlines serves this seasonal route to Cancun just once per week, offering a unique nonstop connection between a lower-demand destination and a major tourist hub, all while bypassing the connecting hubs of major airlines.

The fact that American is the carrier operating this route demonstrates the legacy that US Airways (which merged into American Airlines) had in the greater Pittsburgh region.

8 Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to Denver International Airport (DEN)

Primary carrier: United Airlines

According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, this route between Denver and Pittsburgh is the second most important from the airport, with just fewer ASMs than the London Heathrow route.

This nonstop service connects Pittsburgh with United's largest inland connecting hub, offering passengers an efficient array of connections around the country.

The carrier operates a service twice daily on this route. Nonstop flights to Denver are also operated by Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines.