After losing hundreds of flights and its hub status over the past eight years, it appears Pittsburgh International Airport has hit bottom, a leading airline consultant said Thursday.

"There isn't much left to cut," said Colorado-based consultant Mike Boyd.

But according to data obtained from the Official Airline Guide, which collects flight schedules from more than 900 airlines around the world, Pittsburgh's carriers found some fat on the bone over the past year. They plan to sell 9 percent fewer seats on flights out of Pittsburgh in September, compared with September 2008, the equivalent of 19 daily flights, the data show.

That's the 14th-biggest drop among the nation's 50 busiest airports, the data said.

Pittsburgh, for the record, barely remains a Top 50 airport. Based on its reduced schedule, it will be the nation's 47th-busiest airport in September, one spot lower than last year and far removed from the days when it was a Top 25 hub early this decade.

Airlines typically reduce flying schedules going into September, the start of the fall travel season, and most announced plans to make deeper cuts than usual this year because of sagging customer demand and economic uncertainty. The Official Airline Guide data show airports nationwide in September will experience a 5 percent drop in flight capacity, or total number of available seats on departing flights, compared with September 2008.

"Carriers virtually across the board are concerned about the economy and that fares have been dropping. Reducing capacity is a way to deal with that," said analyst David Beckerman of Official Airline Guide.

The cuts at Pittsburgh will be almost twice as deep.

Airport spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny said the data reflect cuts made months ago. Last September, US Airways eliminated or reduced flight service to smaller airports across the state and surrounding region, as well as Florida, and then followed those with cuts in service to the New York metro area and West Coast.