Originally Posted by hockeypilot44

Pittsburgh did it to itself. Had the highest gate fees in the country and was letting Airtran have free gate fees to encourage competition to lower fares. When US Airways went bankrupt, they wanted to negotiate lower gate fees. Allegheny County refused and offered the exact sames rates. US Airways tried one more time and said if the rates weren't lowered, they would move the whole operation to Philly. Pittsburgh called their bluff, except it wasn't a bluff. Pittsburgh overplayed their hand thinking a new airline would open a hub instantly.