b'10 PIT TERMINALSThe new terminal design caters to origination and destination travelers. Within the first couple of years after her arrival, PIT experiencedterminal. However, none of those options provided the passenger significant success in air service development, expanding existingexperience and sustainable operating and maintenance costs service and adding new nonstop routes. The focus then shifted toleadership desired. a master plan update and infrastructure improvements to createThe plan ultimately selected eliminates the existing landside a facility that matched the new traffic. And doing it in a way thatfacility and constructs a new terminal headhouse that connects truly reflects and serves this community and the global industryto the existing airside facility. Hoback notes that this achieves all at the same time, Cassotis adds. To do that, we would focusof the Airport Authoritys primary goals: stable and predictable on the people who use itthe passengers, the staff, the meeterscosts for airline partners, an improved passenger experience and and greeters, airport partners and people who might never evenalignment with the airports sustainability goals. fly. By understanding what they need from the airport, we could build something really special.And we wanted to build Pittsburghs airport, not US Airways airport, he adds. We wanted to build the proper front door to In 2013, airport officials engaged in a master planning processthe region. We wanted an airport that was built for Pittsburgh, to determine what the future of PIT looked like and the best wayand, maybe more importantly, by Pittsburgh. to get there. Through that process, the project team developed its primary goals. First and foremost was to have stable andOfficials at PIT are proud to note that community input predictable costs to its airline partners, Hoback relates. We reallycontributed to the design, and more than 90% of construction needed to have a solution that was a good return on investmentlabor and materials are locally sourced.that reduced our operation and maintenance costs.Immersion Design MethodMaintaining a terminal designed for a completely differentIn a concerted effort to find the right project partners, the review type of operation had become costly. It was built to be a majorand selection process for a design team involved organizational connecting hub, and we were no longer that, says Hoback. Wepsychologists and problem-solving exercises. As Cassotis puts it, the needed to rethink our facilities. Airport Authority didnt want to build the chosen designers airport in There was zero flexibility, he adds about the old layout. WePittsburgh; it needed the designer to create Pittsburghs airport. have to be flexibleaviation is constantly changing and evolving.Its not about who shows you the coolest design. Its about Several alternatives to update and upgrade PIT were explored,who can you work with, she elaborates. You have to make sure including tearing down the airside terminal and building a newthat the team you hire is going to be working with you, not telling one connected to the landside facility, renovating all existingyou what youre going to get. That, to me, is the most important facilities, or continuing to operate out of the X-shaped airsidething. Ultimately the Airport Authority chose the joint venture of November | December 2025AirportImprovement.com'