Politics & Government

Delta Launches Non-Stop Flights from Pittsburgh International to LaGuardia

Pittsburgh International now offers additional flights to the New York air hub.

Allegheny County officials on Wednesday ushered in new non-stop Delta Airlines service from Pittsburgh International to New York's LaGuardia International

The carrier is the second to offer non-stop flights from Pittsburgh to LaGuardia—U.S. Airways offers four non-stop flights to the Queens-based air hub. 

Delta dropped two of its five flights to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport in favor of the LaGuardia stop. The airport celebrated the inaugural flight at noon yesterday, as passengers boarded the first non-stop Delta jet enroute to LaGuardia. 

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Delta now offers 32 flights from Pittsburgh International. Both American Airlines and JetBlue provide flights to JFK. 

Officials hope the addition of four flights to LaGuardia will entice Pittsburgh-area business travelers. 

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"LaGuardia, if you're going to Manhattan, has always been the preferred airport," said Von Campanella, district sales manager for Delta, who said the airline does not anticipate that the LaGuardia flights will detract from its remaining Pittsburgh-to-JFK service. 

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald told a crowd gathered at the Delta gate that increasing the number of non-stop flights servicing the airport, including international flights, was a goal for his administration. 

The airport in recent months reintroduced a series of non-stop Delta flights to Paris, which were suspended at the end of 2011. The service, which began in 2009 and was supported by $9 million in state and Allegheny Conference on Community subsidies, will again be temporarily suspended in October.

Delta's Pittsburgh-Paris route is the only non-stop international flight the airport offers. 

Fitzgerald said the new Pittsburgh-LaGuardia flights will primarily serve business passengers. 

"These flights are a new option for travelers in our region to get to New York City," Fitzgerald said. "We've already got companies like American Eagle Outifitters, BNY Mellon on board."


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