Travel: Flights to Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh International Airport (IATA: PIT) is the normal way in, although the area is also served by the smaller Allegheny County Airport, primarily used by private and corporate airplanes. The International Airport is located in Findlay, about 20 miles west of downtown, which translates to about a $45 cab ride. Hotel shuttles and buses are also available, and can be cheaper (the city bus, route 28X, is only $2.25, and takes a reasonably fast route to downtown, mostly along freeways and dedicated busways).

The airport terminal is relatively new and when built was the first "airport mall" in the country, which contains many shops and restaurants. It has been much copied since it was completed.

When you come in you will arrive in the Airside Terminal. If you are transiting to another destination you don't have to leave this building, and this is where most of the Airmall shops are which makes window shopping a pleasant way of passing the time. Also available is Pittsburgh's innovative free Wi-Fi (the first "international" airport to provide such service). If you are going to the Pittsburgh-area though, you will take a light rail shuttle a short distance underground to the Landside Terminal where you will find the baggage claim and the various transportation modes to the city and other regional locations. A Hyatt Hotel is part of the landside terminal complex and there are several hotels (Embassy Suites and Sheraton among them) within 5 miles of the airport.

This airport is served by United, Delta, Northwest, Midwest, Airtran, American, jetBlue, Air Canada and USA 3000, but US Airways and Southwest Airlines are predominant.