What are the best and worst parts of traveling?

Well, that’s for you to decide, and Pittsburgh International Airport wants to hear your answers.

The PIT Airport Insiders program is an online survey community facilitated locally by Schmidt Market Research.

PIT uses the program to gauge interest and opinions from fliers on a multitude of topics about air travel and the airport. Once a topic is chosen, Schmidt helps craft a questionnaire that is sent to the group of over 500 participants.

“Some decisions are set in stone,” said Courtney Bogden, a research manager with Schmidt. “But you have a say in the matter. We want to hear from you.”

The airport is in the midst of a billion-dollar program to build a new terminal, Multi-Modal Complex parking structure and roadway system, and the airport hopes to use the program amid the changes. The terminal is set to open in 2025.

“(PIT Airport Insiders) is a great chance to have a say in how our region’s transportation hub is built and designed,” said Steve Douglass, a business traveler in the program.

Survey topics range from parking prices to food and beverage options to environmental sustainability and more.

The group encompasses business and leisure travelers alike of all ages who live in the Pittsburgh area.

“It’s an information-sharing and news-providing community,” said Elaine Gates, a leisure traveler with the program.

“PIT compiles the information and uses it to better serve the needs of the airport passengers,” she said.

Whether they are lauding or loathing, all insiders that participate in each survey are entered to win a $100 gift card each quarter and may be eligible for other focus groups or in-depth interviews in the future.

Want to join? The PIT Airport Insiders program invites travelers to apply here.

The demographic of the PIT Airport Insiders leans toward leisure over business, tracking with the national average. The U.S. Travel Association reported in 2022 that 71 percent of travel spending was on domestic leisure.

The demographics of the group are broken down further into age brackets, gender, residence, how they rate PIT, and whether they park onsite or off.

While Schmidt Marketing Research has a footprint in other Midwest cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati and Detroit, the company has remained a local research provider in the North Hills of Pittsburgh since 1986.