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It’s Now Cheaper to Fly to Pittsburgh From Philadelphia Than Drive

New flights start May 16th. Plus, a breathtaking new local album.

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You can now get dirt cheap flights from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on Frontier Airlines. (Photo illustration by Jamie Leary)

You can now get dirt cheap flights from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on Frontier Airlines. / Photo illustration by Jamie Leary

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Cheap Flights from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh Cost Less than Driving

It costs $36.50 in tolls to make the five-hour drive from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. And that’s assuming you have EZ-Pass. Otherwise, it’s more than double that. And then you have to drive back and pay the same amount in tolls. Plus, you have the gas, the cost of which just went up again. Ugh.

But what if there was a way you could fly from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and spend even less than it costs you to drive to Pittsburgh?

A plane from Frontier Airlines, which is offering cheap flights from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh

A plane from Frontier Airlines, which is offering cheap flights from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh (photo courtesy Frontier Airlines)

Frontier Airlines just announced that the company is starting non-stop flights from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh (and back, of course) beginning on May 16th. And the introductory rate? $34. That’s round trip. Dirt cheap.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Sure, they say these rates are available, but will they be when I try to book them? I did some searching on Wednesday and again on Thursday, and sure enough, I found plenty of flights from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh for $34 round trip. And, no, I didn’t have to be a member of their discount program to find those fares.

Of course, you’d pay extra for a carry-on item. But I’m able to squeeze a weekend’s worth of stuff into the free “personal item” they allow. (It’s amazing what you can fit into a laptop bag, especially if you tightly roll your clothes, and then, of course, you wear a bulky jacket and stuff the many pockets full of extra things.) You’ll also pay extra if you want to pick where you sit. But I’m here to tell you: It’s Frontier, and pretty much anywhere you sit is going to be tight. But you’ll be in Pittsburgh before you know it. And, hey, at least Frontier is not the world’s worst airline.

If you’re wondering about flight-time math, the flight takes about an hour and fifteen minutes. Figure on showing up at the airport an hour ahead of time. So that’s two-and-a-quarter hours versus five hours. And it’s not like the five-hour drive on the Pennsylvania Turnpike is filled with excitement and gorgeous vistas.

Eh, screw it. Anyone who knows me knows I’m “frugal,” meaning I’m a cheap bastard. So I just have to snag one of these $34 tickets. And I’m going to do so immediately after publishing this story.

By the way, if you have absolutely no clue what to do in Pittsburgh, some good news. Recently, I went to Pittsburgh and wrote this Pittsburgh travel story. If you go, I’d love to hear about your trip. Two nights is all you need.

The Death of the Dollar Store

In case you hadn’t noticed, dollar stores are shutting down left and right. They’re pretty awful places. But then again, when I needed 20 purple balloons two weeks ago (long story), the dollar store did me right. If you’re confused as to why dollar stores don’t seem to be working in an era when everybody is complaining that things are too expensive, here’s a pretty good explainer.

Now, I have a bit of local dollar store trivia for you. The Dollar Express chain, which eventually grew to more than 100 stores before selling to Dollar Tree, was founded by the late Philadelphia entrepreneur Bernie Spain, who sold many, many millions of those smiley face buttons and stickers in the 1970s. Keep that one in your back pocket for Quizzo night.

Local Talent

Think all 24-year-old female musicians are making mindless pop tunes like so much of what you hear on the radio? First of all, that would be sexist. Second, you’d just be wrong. The best evidence of the latter is the Main Line’s own Lizzy McAlpine.

Lizzy McAlpine, as seen on the cover of her new album, Older

Lizzy McAlpine, as seen on the cover of her new album, Older (Photo courtesy RCA Records)

She just released her new album, Older. (You can stream it here.) This is a deeply moving, confessional album that at times veers into total heartbreak. So far, reviews are great, and she comes to the Met for two shows in June if you want to hear it all live. Bring Kleenex.

By the Numbers

5: Arrests quickly made by Philadelphia police after a shooting erupted during an Eid al-Fitr celebration in West Philly. Fortunately, no one was killed. And, yes, it made national news. Fox News talked about it for what seemed like 20 minutes. Believe me, they had plenty to say. And David Muir led World News Tonight with the shooting, mentioning the incident not once but twice during his intro.

64%: Drop in monthly student loan payments for this one Philadelphian, who explains how they did it here. Their payments went from $800 to $285. Now if I could only get my mortgage payment to do the same.

35 to 50 mph: Wind gusts expected in the region on this rainy day. I’d tell you to bring your umbrella, but the wind would probably turn it inside out and then you’d get soaked and look all silly at the same time trying futilely to fix it.

And From the Squeaked-By Sports Desk …

Yesterday afternoon’s rain-soaked Phillies/Cardinals game was the epitome of our guys this season. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Kyle Schwarber scored on an error and Alec Bohm had an RBI single, but starter Aaron Nola let the Cards creep back in with a run in each of the second and third on solo homers by Iván Herrara and Brendan Donovan. The Phils obligingly scored two more for Nola in the sixth as Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos both hit RBI singles.

But Nolan Arenado’s RBI single off Seranthony Dominguez in the eighth made it a 4-3 game. Against all odds, that’s where it stayed.

J.T. Realmuto had two hits and scored two runs (a day after being struck in the throat by an errant Zack Wheeler pitch), and Trea Turner managed two walks. We’ll host the Pirates at CBP tonight, starting at 6:40.

There’s News About the Eagles?

Big news: The NFL announced that the first game of the upcoming season will be the Eagles vs. Packers — in Brazil. Brush off your Portuguese – it counts as an Eagles home game.

Tonight? Well, the Flyers play.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hinsgton.

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