With fuel prices skyrocketing and carriers slashing flights and raising fees, it might be next to insane to try to persuade an airline to expand in Pittsburgh or anywhere else at this time.

But that’s exactly what Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato will be doing today, when he travels to Dallas to meet with Southwest Airlines and its chief executive officer, Gary Kelly.

Accompanied by Allegheny County Airport Authority Executive Director Bradley D. Penrod and board Chairman Glenn Mahone, Mr. Onorato said he would make a pitch to Southwest to become a “major player” in Pittsburgh, where it now is the second-largest carrier with nearly 17 percent of all traffic.

“We want to let them know that we want them here. We want them here in a big way,” Mr. Onorato said.

The trip comes only a few days after US Airways announced that it would be cutting 1,700 employees, reducing flights and adding new fees to compensate for soaring fuel prices. It’s uncertain how the cutbacks might affect Pittsburgh International Airport, where the airline has slashed hundreds of flights at its one-time hub and is now only a shell of its former self.
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