Pittsburgh International Airport has seen nonstop service to smaller cities in Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg, and surrounding states dwindle to almost nothing with cutbacks by US Airways.

But that all could change early next year if the plans of a Fort Lauderdale-based airline take flight.

Gulfstream International Airlines is talking to the Allegheny County Airport Authority about starting service to the state capital, Du Bois, and other cities -- six to eight in all -- in the first quarter of 2010.

"Obviously everything is right to make this happen. Barring something extraordinary, I believe we're going to get this thing up and running in the next quarter," said Mickey Bowman, the airline's vice president of corporate development.

Pittsburgh has been without nonstop flights to Harrisburg since September 2008, when US Airways discontinued the service. Mr. Bowman said the state capital is "probably at the top of our list" of destinations from Pittsburgh, followed by Du Bois, Clearfield County, where the airline has a maintenance base.

Other nonstop destinations under consideration include Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis as well as smaller cities in Pennsylvania, Mr. Bowman said, adding the airline is looking to serve business markets.

"We see it as a hybrid where we can have some larger cities mixed with some smaller cities," he said.

Gulfstream International, a regional carrier founded in 1988, has been in discussion with the airport authority since at least May about the potential for starting service from Pittsburgh.

At first the key stumbling block was the airport's cost per enplanement, which at $13.41, is one of the highest in the country and is set to increase again in January.

But Mr. Bowman said Gulfstream and the airport have made "some headway" on that issue. Lower fuel prices also have helped, he said.

"We're feeling more comfortable, primarily because we've got a situation where we feel demand is there. We feel with jet fuel holding at under $80 a barrel, the timing is right to give this a try and see if we can make it work," he said.

The airport is considering reduced landing fees as well as marketing incentives for Gulfstream, spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny acknowledged.

"They're coming up with a competitive structure for them. The program won't work if the finances don't work. You can't charge higher fares. Nobody will fly. Everybody will drive," she said.

Gulfstream now offers 157 daily departures, mostly within Florida and to the Bahamas. The airline also has a hub in Cleveland, flying to Du Bois; Franklin, Pa.; Bradford, Pa.; Lewisburg, W.Va.; and Jamestown, N.Y.

From Pittsburgh, if all goes according to plan, Gulfstream hopes to offer four to five nonstops each weekday to the destinations it ultimately selects. For its flights, the airline plans to utilize 19-seat Beechcraft 1900D twin-engine turboprop jets.

The airport also hopes to make arrangements for Gulfstream passengers to connect through Pittsburgh to other airlines and have their bags transferred automatically.

"We're going to make sure that if you're coming into Pittsburgh and want to connect to another airline, your bags will go through," Ms. Jenny said.

Mr. Bowman said the airline was still working to finalize its expected destinations and hopes to meet with local companies within the next couple of weeks to get their feedback. It has not selected a start date for any service.

The airport has been courting Gulfstream as part of the Pittsburgh connector project to restore air service to as many as 23 smaller cities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland and New York.

Many of those cities lost service to the airport over the last eight years as US Airways slashed hundreds of flights and closed its Pittsburgh hub. Gulfstream has identified about 60 cities within 400 miles of Pittsburgh no longer served on a nonstop basis.

Mr. Bowman said fares to Harrisburg likely would start at less than $200 one way, perhaps lower if purchased in advance.

"I think you're going to see reasonable fares charged for reasonable service. I don't think it will be anything extravagant," he said.

Washington correspondent Daniel Malloy writes the "Pittsburgh On The Potomac" blog exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.