Airport Experience® News - Leadership Issue 2025

on very specific market research, they are going to be, and already are proving to be, incredibly successful. We feel that we have the right blend of global, national and local brands.” Cassotis is particularly enthused about a “sponsor-based” approach to advertising in the terminal. “Even before we opened the new terminal we were 10-times where we would have been on advertising in one year,” she says. “As it turns out, you can actually build a very local sponsorship and advertising program if you really understand your market and you don’t have to get lumped in with a whole bunch of other airports. “We have Legends [Hospitality] – they work in a lot of stadiums. We are offsetting some of our capital and [operations and maintenance costs] going forward in exchange for sponsors that are sponsoring some of our services and our facilities. They are able to display their brand and their messaging on some of our digital signage.”

Above: Sambazon is one of more than 20 new concessions to open in November in the new PIT Terminal.

What’s Next? Along with the intense focus on building a new terminal over the past several years, Cassotis has been forward-thinking on the sustainability front as well. In 2021, the airport added an on-site microgrid powered by natural gas and solar energy. Built under a public-private partnership, the facility was built for 23 megawatts of energy production. “Before we opened the new terminal we were using about 14 megawatts, so we built for growth,” notes Cassotis. “We built knowing that more technology would likely require more energy use, and that has been incredibly successful.” She says the airport next wants to “bring that same level of resiliency, redundancy and energy diversification to our airline partners.” With that in mind, the airport is pursuing an on-site aviation fuel plant that would allow for sustainable aviation fuel production and distribution at the airport. In fact, completion of that SAF project is one of Cassotis’ goals as she contemplates her future in the industry. She’s also committed to staying at PIT for a least a year after the new terminal opens to address any needed tweaks. Beyond that, she’s just not sure. Cassotis and her husband are newly empty nesters, with their son now out of the house. “I have fantasies about being on a beach or at least not sleeping with the phone next to my ear,” she says, “but I don’t think I’m done yet.”

Right: Pittsburgh International Airport celebrated the opening of its new Terminal on November 18. Below: Using local products when possible - including Pittsburgh steel and locally made paint – the architecture and construction teams for the new terminal captured the essence of the city and region.

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AX NEWS DECEMBER 2025 / JANUARY 2026