AirMall USA was a developer and manager of retail, food and beverage concessions at various US airports, with a major presence at
Pittsburgh International Airport
Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is a civil–military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Located about 10 miles (15 km) west of downtown Pitts ...
. In 2014 AirMall was acquired by the German
Fraport
Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide,Pittsburgh International Airport
Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is a civil–military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Located about 10 miles (15 km) west of downtown Pitts ...
in 1992. Today the company also operates AirMall at
Baltimore/Washington International Airport
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport , commonly referred to as BWI or BWI Marshall, is an international airport in the Eastern United States serving mainly Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. With Dulles Internatio ...
and Boston's
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partial ...
, however Pittsburgh remains by far the largest. An AirMall opened at
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is an international airport in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the primary airport serving Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, the largest and busiest airport in the state, and the 43rd busiest ...
in the spring of 2009 as well. The stores in the AirMall were the first in the US to price their merchandise the same as they would at a store in a typical retail setting, a policy that was later followed by concessionaires at some other airports in the US.
Originally owned by
BAA USA
BAA USA, also referred to as just BAA in the United States, was an American airports subsidiary owned by the British airports operator BAA. At its peak, BAA USA owned AirMall as well as the airside shopping outlets and management contracts for se ...
(then a subsidiary of BAA plc), AirMall was then owned by the New York-based investment company Prospect Capital Corporation. In August 2014 AirMall was acquired by the German
Fraport
Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide,Frankfurt International Airport and another ten airports around the globe. Fraport has since merged its North American concessions business into its Fraport USA division.
Pittsburgh International Airport concessions
Opened along with the new airport in 1992, AirMall in Pittsburgh was the largest airport shopping complex in the United States. The current mall, now under Fraport management, is located within the airport's airside terminal, mostly in the "Center Core" area, with some shops and restaurants extending into the concourses. Prior to 9/11, and the opening of
The Mall at Robinson
The Mall at Robinson is a super-regional shopping mall located just off the Parkway West ( I-376) and PA Route 60 in Robinson Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, five minutes east of the Pittsburgh International Airport and 15 minutes fr ...
, the Airmall served as a shopping destination for residents of the western suburbs of
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
.
Because the mall is located beyond the security checkpoint, where only ticketed passengers and authorized personnel had been permitted for more than a decade after 9/11, and the reduction of the use of Pittsburgh International as a
US Airways
US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...
hub, sales have decreased in recent years. On April 13, 2007, it was announced that guests staying at the attached airport Hyatt hotel would be able to obtain passes to shop during their stay. Even with sales being down due to US Airways cutbacks and the
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
, the AirMall in Pittsburgh still accounted for the highest per passenger spending of any airport in the country, at an average of $13.60/passenger.
In 2017, Pittsburgh International became the first US commercial airport to allow the general public access to the area beyond the checkpoint. Visitors must first sign up for the "myPITpass" program on the airport's website; following approval, they must still pass the same security checks required of ticketed passengers. The
Association of Professional Flight Attendants
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) was founded in 1977 and represents over 28,000 flight attendants at American Airlines. In 2003, APFA played a major role in keeping American Airlines solvent and out of bankruptcy by giving ...
condemned the move.
After the
Allegheny County Airport Authority
Allegheny County Airport Authority is a municipal authority in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania that oversees and maintains the Allegheny County airport system. These include management of Pittsburgh International Airport as well as Allegheny Count ...
moved to end Fraport's concession lease at the Pittsburgh airport, Fraport sued; the case went to trial in 2022. The airport authority cited lax safety standards by Fraport for pulling the lease; Fraport denied this.