MicoMiles

My homebase is Charlotte where the majority of my flights start. That should explain why all my flights are full.

Burt, Yes to all questions. This is the information I am hearing while gathering my pre-flight briefs at the pilot staging areas. I need to catch up on this thread since I have been out. It has been very busy with the start of the summer travel. All of my flights have been full. I am off this week to take my annual FAA Med Checks and Equipment check. So it will be a good time for me to catch up.

I heard today that Skybus load factors are not doing very well in RIC and GSO. There was a "possible" equipment repositioning or "proving run" today with a Skybus flight from RIC-GSO-CMH earlier this afternoon. RIC & GSO may see a point-to-point schedule to CMH (Columbus) such as CMH-RIC-GSO-CMH in order to meet load factors. With one daily flight every morning, this was bound to happen.

That one of the problems right now..... There is a great demand for 757 aircraft. FedEx is currently working on aquiring the 757 aircraft as it they slowly phase out the 727 from its fleet. The 757 is a "workhorse" !! JetBlue, from what I understand, is doing fine in RIC.

Lexy, You are correct that there are still a few Delta birds in "SONG" colors but they are all flying under the DL call-sign. I am quite sure that most of all SONG equipment have already been converted to standard DL cabin seat configurations. SONG did not have a First Class cabin. The Delta livery will probably be done during the next aircraft "C-Check" maintanance interval.

Burt, The 2 DL757 flights remain in RIC. I hope Richmond travelers support AirTran because, IMO, this is the only reason why Delta is using 757 service our of RIC. AirTran has moved into Delta's Atlanta N/S service "turf". Delta will use its muscle (aircraft & fares) to drive competiton to the ground. If AirTran leaves RIC due to low passenger loads, I can guarantee you that Delta will pull the 757 service out of RIC and bring back the MD80/737 in its replacement. Thats how it works in the airline industry. For Norfolk, I heard that all flights to Atlanta will be transitioned to 757's in the coming months. In previous years, mostly all of Delta's ATL-ORF/ORF-ATL flights were on 757 aircrafts. Delta discontinued use of the 757 aircraft into Norfolk and other cities because the aircrafts were moved to SONG, Delta's version of a LCC. SONG only used the 757 aircraft. With SONG long gone, the aircrafts are now back under Delta livery and utilized in various mid-to-large sized cities.

Burt, The airline is doing fairly well from what I have heard and read. Not too bad for an airline that prefers smaller airports. By servicing smaller airports, Allegiant stays away from ground and air delays that plague larger airports. I could see Allegiant doing well in RIC! From the grapevine: I have heard that Delta is returning all 757 service back to Norfolk. Some service 757 service has already been restored. It would be nice if Delta would do the same for Richmond..........

Burt, Columbus, OH (Ohio in general) is the Eastern Time Zone. The airline you are referring to is Allegiant Air and they have been in business since 1997. They currently serve 60 cities. They too are being courted by airports around the country though Allegiant tend to serve small airports capable of handling their fleet of MD80 series.

Skybus may have some equipment on order but I will bet that before they take possesion, they will be looking very closely at their books, as all airlines do before deciding to order or take delivery. They will either take possesion of new aircraft or delay and even cancel if the stipuliation is in their contract. With only 8 airplanes in their fleet, I find it hard to believe they will make revenue, especially with their flight schedules. If you recall, Independence Air had both CRJ-200 and some Airbus A319 or 320's, a hub, established credibililty (flying under the United Express banner) and they still could not make a profit even with their equipment full of passengers. The big question is whether Skybus will be able to fill their 156 seat aircraft in Richmond based on 1 inbound/outbound flight?

The lone RIC Skybus schedule is the pits!! The one daily inbound & outbound flight out of RIC is in the morning. If you were returning to Richmond from any city Skybus city served, you would literally have to stay overnite in Columbus in order to catch the 6:30AM flight back to RIC. Columbus - RIC : 6:30AM Departure (Inbound) RIC - Columbus : 8:01AM Departure (Outbound) No other scheduled Skybus flights. IMO, this airline WILL NOT attract any passengers outside of Richmond. Not trying to be negative but the Skybus schedule is very inconvenient.......... unless you like sleeping in an airport to make your connecting flight.

The $10.00 deal is only good til Dec. 15, 07 for at least 10 seats !!!!!!! The start-up carrier, which has raised $160 million from investors, will have at least 10 seats available for $10 on its flights through Dec. 15. The $10 tickets don't include taxes and fees. Last-minute fares run as high as $330, spokesman Bob Tenenbaum said. This airline is a joke........ Remember, you get what you pay for......... and you have to pay for everything, including checking in baggage. http://ask.skybus.com/about/rules-of-flying.shtml I'd rather fly AirTran or JetBlue.

AirTran will continue to commit to RIC as long as the "grant subsidies" continue.........IMO from my past readings, "average" passenger levels below 75% - 80% may require the airport/city/commission to purchase a number of unsold seats at a specified price as part of airport/airline service agreements. The AirTran article above is definitely an awareness program meant to stir up business for AirTran. The article is a "Wake Up" call to Richmond travelers to start using AirTran.............or else. I found the last paragraph of the article quite interesting: "One thing in Richmond's favor is that the growth has slowed down for AirTran," Hoffer said. "There are not at present any greener fields out there to relocate aircraft." I would beg to differ since many, many airports around the country are catering to AirTran to serve their airport. AirTran officials could easily relocate their aircrafts to more profitable routes (or new cities) and simply reduce the number of flights out of RIC. Its also evident that Delta's plan of utilizing 757 service and lowering their fares is definitey affecting AirTran. If AirTran leaves, fares will go up even with JetBlue serving RIC.

Thats why feasability studies are conducted to see if a parallel runway would be beneficial. Existing structures, roadways and neighborhoods will always be taken into account. Questions to consider: Can RIC in its current runway configuration handle inbound/outbound traffic for the next 15 to 20 years without significant delays based on future airport passenger projections? Would it be beneficial to the airport and city to displace part of an established neighborhood, more importantly people, over a potentially noisy 10,000ft runway? How would a new runway affect noise levels within the surrounding area as well as the environment itself. I am quite sure that many people (NIMBY's) living near RIC would oppose such a project. Placing a parallel runway the way eandslee described in his RIC diagram would probably not support the required taxiway needed between runways. There needs to be a taxiway between the runways for aircrafts to "run-off" to when taxi-ing off a runway after landing. In large airports, inbound aircrafts are often told to "hold short" on markers on the taxiways so that they can allow outbound aircraft to take off without the worry of runway deviation. Also, the VA Air National Guard building and apron would be too close for a parallel runway. The building and apron would have to be relocated (lots of tax payer money!!) This is why the FAA requires long, drawn out studies before giving the go-ahead for construction on a new runway.

eandslee, I too agree with your parallel runway configuration though I would put the parallel runway on the right side of the VA Air National Guard Buildings so that dual landings could take place when required.

RIC should consider a parallel runway to runway 16-34 for the future. Many factors have to be considered including the availability of land to support a parallel runway, noise abatements, existing infrastructure, etc..... Runways and their support taxiways are quite expensive and RIC alone cannot burden the costs. From my understanding, the FAA will also have to study the feasibility of a parallel runway and may offer a grant to pay for such. RIC and the city of Richmond cannot just build a runway without prior approvals. I have read that some runways currently in operation around the U.S. have taken up to 10 years+ from conception to completion. Overall, I do not believe RIC is at a disadvantage since there is already a 6600ft+ and 5300ft+ runways. Both should be able to handle mainline aircraft landings depending on weather conditions. To handle future traffic, the parallel runway should be, IMO, at least 10,000 feet in order to accomodate larger aircraft. I don't think we will see 2 aircrafts landing at the same time like we see at LAX or ATL since parallel landings require a runway separation of at least 1000ft or more. But if RIC does have the land mass to support a 1000ft separation buffer, then it should be considered. Norfolk only has 1 mainline runway and is working towards building a parallel runway. San Diego, which has 20 times more traffic than RIC, only has a single runway yet it is a very successful airport. That airport is now completely landlocked at all sides and cannot expand at all.

Burt, I too would love to see Vegas added to the RIC route map!!! In regards to the NC airports, out of the 3 you mentioned, Greensboro has suffered due to its proximity to Raleigh more than Charlotte. AirTran pulled out of Greensboro (Piedmont Triad Airport) in Sept 2004 after 8 years due to low passenger loads. The good news about Greensboro is that it will become the Mid-Atlantic Hub for FedEx. http://www.greensboroedp.com/BizTransFedEx.asp They have also attracted a new LCC to the airport: http://www.allegiantair.com/aaNews20070315a.php DCA is indeed a Virginia airport....... something I did not know....

"If ORF can sustain a low-cost Southwest Las Vegas flight, so can RIC. If Southwest continues to ignore RIC perhaps Jet Blue, USAirways or other lines will test the market. For a number of years twice-a-week charter flights carried full loads of gamblers and tourist to the Bahamas, and later Cancun, from RIC. " As much as I would like to see RIC gain more non-stop flights to the west coast or anywhere else, the O & D passenger loads for RIC are pretty much known by all the airlines serving RIC. Just because "we think" RIC can support daily flights to the west coast will in no way influence any airline to "test market" the area. Test marketing an area/city requires money from the airlines (gate & landing fees, aircraft support, crew fees, advertising, etc...) Cities may also have to burden some of the advertising costs. With the financial distress some airlines are in right now, they would rather put their planes on profitable routes rather than experiment. I too remember Braniff and USA3000 offering flights out of RIC. Yes, there was a strong momentum at first, but eventually, the chartered flights were pulled due to either low passenger loads or increased costs of maintaining the chartered flight. From my past readings from the Richmond Times Dispatch, didn't USA3000 pull out of RIC with no real explanation? I remember seeing USA3000 offering incredibly low R/T airfares to South Florida.

The demand for west coast flights out of RIC must work both ways. For example, let say all of us in this forum would like to see RIC-LAX flight. From our end of the flight, we must be able to fill (or at least try to fill) a particular type of aircraft capable of flying to the west coast on a daily basis. The return segment (LAX-RIC) must prove the same. Questions to think about is: Is there a great demand out of LAX to fly to RIC on a non-stop basis AND which airline is best suited or willing to provide this service? The same question will apply to all of the other west coast cities we would all like to see service to. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes logistics involved with west coast flights. If the passenger loads don't add up with the costs of operating the flight, the service will never happen and the airlines have the numbers to prove it. If Southwest ever decides to come to RIC, I think they will be the first airline to offer some sort of service to the west with their point-to-point system. Southwest provides a daily Las Vegas flight out of Norfolk every day. From my understanding, that flight is always full. I do not know how the grants are split up amongst the airlines but I know that some airport officials do not like the term subsidies. Having subsidies to specific airlines always seem to bring up "airline favoritism". Some airlines get support from the airport while others are left tending for themselves. If a airport wants a LCC, there may be a possiblity that the airport may have to pay for the service. Subsidies are a part of the daily business environment. You can read a lot about this type of information from aviation news and journals. I myself read "Airport Business".

As I too would like to see RIC see non-stop service to the west coast, unfortunately, Richmond does not have enough O & D (Origin & Destination) passenger demand to support west coast flights at this time. If RIC had the numbers to support west coast flights, we would have had the flights by now. All of the airlines serving RIC transfer passengers via a "Hub & Spoke" system. Meaning, you must travel to an airline hub in order reach your final destination, especially travelling to the west coast. Southwest on the other hand utilizes a point-to-point system which may actually better serve travelers. Believe me when I say that all the major airlines know the passenger levels counts out of RIC and which cities are best served for non-stop service. Yes, our passenger boardings at RIC have increased significantly but there is still not enough continuous demand for a particular west coast city for any airline to serve at this time out of RIC. Also, though we now have a beautiful airline terminal, that in no way will encourage the airlines serving RIC to increase or even add service. It would be nice though.......! Also, lets all be happy that RIC's number surpassed Norfolk but lets not get overly confident about it. Its temporary. Every airport will have months or even years where their passenger levels are down. Though ORF's numbers may be down, as mentioned earlier, ORF is still the 2nd busiest airport in Virginia and will continue to be for some time. ORF's numbers are down probably due to the fact that many airlines are resituating their aircrafts for more profitability. Delta use to have all 757 service to Atlanta from Norfolk. Many airlines are now utilizing smaller regional jets as they either retire or sell off larger mainline jets. When this happens, the number of seats are reduced. ORF is most likely working to attract JetBlue and other carriers but they have to do it in a different way. Unlike RIC, ORF does not offer subsidies to any of the airlines. RIC was able to attract both AirTran and JetBlue by offering subsidies. RIC was awarded a "Small Community Air Service Development Grant" from the FAA. These subsidies helped both airlines by assisting with their development costs and possibly shortages. Norfolk on the other hand, is considered too large of a metropolitan city to qualify for such a grant. The BIG QUESTION will be what happens when the funding grant runs out at RIC?? Will AirTran and Jetblue cut back service? Remember, AirTran has already terminated RIC-PHL due to low passenger counts. The Richmond metro area is growing and one day, RIC will not be eligible for the Small Community Air Service grant. Thoughts..............

I agree that Southwest will "SOMEDAY" serve RIC. As it stands right now, Southwest is looking to expand into larger markets where higher fares prevail. A couple of cities on their radar is Cincinnatti and Charlotte. Charlotte, though a hub for USAirways, has one of the highest airfares in the country. I have also read that SW is looking to add and expand in the Central part of the United States. With the recent expansion into Dulles, I highly doubt that Southwest will come to Richmond anytime soon. Proximity and Population are BIG determining factors when Southwest considers servicing new cities...... IMO, Richmond's proximity to Dulles, BWI, Norfolk and Raleigh will further hamper Southwest from flying into Richmond anytime soon. Though Southwest state that they have Richmond on their radar, its basically a "cut & paste" slogan since MANY US Cities are courting Southwest. The same statement has been said and printed in many articles in many different cities. We should know that by now................. Southwest Airlines likes to TEASE !!!

I read last week in USA Today that "IF" USAirways and Delta were to merge, about 25 cities (RIC included) would see a reduction in service. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/200...rger-usat_x.htm Hope this will not be the case!

Congrats to RIC for Delta 757 service! The only thing that gets me is that RIC has 757 service for the month of November but in December, the morning 757 flight returns to back to MD88 service. Is Delta testing the Richmond market to see if it can fill a 757 aircraft? Thanks, MicoMiles