Fading In . . . or Fading Out

The Post-Gazette has run two pieces recently on the woes of the Pittsburgh Airport and US Airways. One is this analysis by Steve Massey on why Pittsburgh may need the jobs that US Airways provides, but the airline industry may not need US Airways. (A longer analysis along the same lines appears here.) The second was a news item on the airline's decision to sell itself off, piece by piece. The curious thing about both Post-Gazette stories is this line: Pittsburgh is a top-20 market (roughly) "and fading." What's with the "fading" bit? I'm not defensive here; I just want to know. The airline and airport economy isn't doing so well, and the city is going through a rough patch with the budget, but in my neck of the woods (the technology and higher education communities), things seem to be humming along nicely.