Senator Casey Wants Answers from US Airways on Pgh-Philly Fares

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"U.S. Sen. Bob Casey has sent a letter to US Airways objecting to the upcoming increase in the cost of flights from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia."

"The Post-Gazette reported Tuesday that when Southwest Airlines drops its flights between the two cities next month, the price for a US Airways round-trip ticket will increase from $118 plus taxes to $698 plus taxes. US Airways would be the only airline operating direct flights between the cities."

"In the letter dated today, Mr. Casey said an increase of about 500 percent would be "detrimental to intrastate travel."

"In the midst of a fragile economic recovery, this exorbitant fare hike would have a detrimental impact on businesses and individuals that rely on this service," the senator wrote. He noted that the Pittsburgh-to-Philadelphia route is used regularly by business travelers."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11334/1193504-100.stm#ixzz1fHYtvNso

Pittsburgh made US Airways what they are today. Western Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh bent over backwards to accommodate them in every way possible, including the construction of the airport.

Then they decided to change their hub and sent all of the jobs elsewhere.

Here's the line that really gets me:

"Earlier this week, a spokeswoman for US Airways said ticket prices were "based on what we think the market will bear."

Despicable.

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1. I wonder why Southwest is dropping their flights.

Southwest has been my favorite airline for several years now...ever since US Scareways screwed the living crap out of Pittsburgh.