Twinz

Burt, USAir and United codeshare, in other words, they are "partners" and share flights. This can be very confusing for the flying public, who often show up for a USAir flight at United or vice versa. In other words, what you saw on the screen was United's number for that flight, as well as, USAir's, for the same flight. Hope this explanation didn't add to the confusion.

I just wanted to comment on the pop figures you mentioned for Salt Lake City. I'm not sure what you're referring to when you mention the DMA population. However, according to the US Census, metro Richmond is larger than metro Salt Lake. Richmond is ranked 43rd with a pop. of 1,212,977 (2007) and Salt Lake is ranked 48th with a pop. of 1,099,973. Having been to Salt Lake a number of times, I can assure you the two areas are comparable and Salt Lake has nowhere near 2.7 million people. I don't know if the state of Utah has that many. Regardless, I think the work you guys have done and continue to do is great. I meant what I said about my experience. I think RIC is one of the nicest airports in the country.

This is my first post on your forum but, having recently flown through RIC, I just wanted to congratulate you guys on a beautiful airport. I've been there before and I have to say the new terminal is a vast improvement and is truly world class. I also think the new website is great; professional and easy to navigate. I also would like to echo sentiments expressed by Burt and Eandslee. I didn't know how to highlight your quotes but I agree with both. I don't think RIC needs to necessarily focus on being a hub. The current economic climate is hurting hubs such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Memphis, etc. However, metro Richmond is large enough to be a focus city and it does seem that civic leaders need to grow in their thinking just as the city is growing. Salt Lake City is just one example of a city that is the same size as Richmond, yet has managed to carve out and support a facility that larger cities envy. I agree with Micomiles that a hub can actually hurt in some ways because the dominant airline discourages competition. However, by aggressively marketing RIC as an attractive alternative airport to the chaos of Dulles, for example, RIC could see an even greater increase in passenger numbers. It wasn't that long ago that RIC only dreamed of having 3 million passengers a year. I think the fact that airlines continue to add flights in RIC, while they are dramatically cutting service in other cities, speaks volumes about the potential of this market. As Burt said, this is not the time to be complacent and go with the flow. Sorry if this was too long.