blopp1234

Not Breeze related but there are rumors that American Airlines may have some competition on its route from RIC to Philadelphia. Connect Airlines, a new airline operating 70ish seat turbo props out of Toronto Bill Bishop, Chicago Ohara and Philadelphia has seemingly been testing flights with its turbo prop aircraft in the past few weeks. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n881wm While I don’t think this will mean direct service to Toronto, it could be another Airline entering Richmond to Philadelphia. Any new airline service is a plus but again this is still a rumor at this point as they have only announced Chicago, Toronto and Philadelphia as cities they will serve and have yet to offer any flights.

It wouldn’t be nonstop. There would be a one stop through Provo Utah.

Thank you for the insight! 1. Good to know Tampa is the place they want to start internationals out of. I’d assume that could mean more flights to Tampa from RIC (multiple per day) as there is already daily service between the pair so I’d assume that the planes will be packed either way. I think that the strategy they would go for funneling everything through Tampa would make sense as there is already sufficient O&D at Tampa and adding on other destinations that could have international flights would make sense to gauge demand. I would hope though that a route like RIC-Cancun would be direct though as demand is absolutely there and no other major airlines seem interested in it as far as I know. 2. Provo absolutely makes sense for Breeze thrus to Hawaii from eastern cities. I’d guess if this is the plan that we will see a TON of new routes at Provo in the next year as most eastern cities (Hartford, Providence, Richmond, Norfolk, Raleigh, Charleston, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Jacksonville, Tampa, New Orleans) seem like they could fill an a220 to Provo IF said A220 continues to Hawaii as it would be a lot quicker than having a multiple hour layover in a place like Atlanta, Dallas or Denver.

I’ve also heard Avelo hasn’t been doing well out of Newport News. Even though Newport News is closer to me now than RIC is, I still prefer RIC simply due to more departure times to just about anywhere, plus way more direct routes. I think it would make sense for them to move to RIC if they leave PHF more than Norfolk. They’d be going head to head against Breeze on almost any route out of Norfolk whereas RIC doesn’t have Breeze service to many of their popular destinations (ie. Florida). I could see routes such as Orlando, West Palm, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers or Sarasota being added. They seem like they’d have a lot of potential. Who knows though. I doubt Avelo would give a big announcement as they tend to be very very slow growth. I do like to hear Breeze is looking at more west coast destinations, as well as central and South America (would love flights to Cancun, Punta Cana, Montego Bay, Mexico City, etc). Do you have any sort of timeline as to when we may get an announcement on international routes? (No worries if not!)

Both are around 75 miles as the bird flies. Alaska will likely only enter for flights to Seattle so we would need demand to increase for that route to start. Im honestly surprised Frontier hasn’t already entered the market as they are mid sized markets in the northeast and Midwest and have started working their way towards RDU. Could be for the same reasons as to why JetBlue serves RIC and not ORF. Who knows, maybe someone in the industry could add insight.

A few come to mind but they are larger than Richmond and Norfolk mostly. DC and Philly for American Philly and NYC for American. Los Angeles and San Diego for Alaska Portland and Seattle for Alaska Fort Lauderdale and Miami for Frontier Sarasota, Punta Gorda and St Pete for Allegiant Cincinnati and Indianapolis for Allegiant Grand Rapids and Flint for Allegiant Asheville and Knoxville for Allegiant Providence and Hartford for Breeze All are less than 200 miles from the other, similarly to RIC and ORF. The only ones I would feel comfortable comparing our situation to would be the Allegiant focus cities as most of the rest are much larger cities or full service airlines. I think it possible, especially if you look at Hartford and Providence which Breeze already has focus cities in, but I wouldn’t say it’s likely to happen.

I would highly doubt Delta would ever re add this route. The only reason it existed in the first place was when CVG was a Delta hub. The route carried on 3 years after CVG was dehubbed but CVG has since lost its status as a focus city for Delta so I doubt we see anyone other than Allegiant compete with Breeze.

And just like that 2 new Breeze destinations!!!!! Cincinnati and Long Island/Islip! https://finance.yahoo.com/news/breeze-announces-22-routes-20-090000123.html Glad to see us getting more midsized cities added to the network. This takes us to 12 nonstop routes from Breeze. Cincinnati is a solid add that seems like it could do pretty well at 2-4x per week frequencies to start with. This one was pretty predictable as demand has been solid between RIC and CVG and service was there until 2015 with Delta. Long Island however is one that I didn’t see coming as that airport has very limited service, primarily to Florida, Savannah, Myrtle and Charleston with a few exceptions (Nashville, RDU, ORF, BWI). This bodes well for RIC if Breeze can make this work as I would think this could eventually become a feeder route for RICs network if Breeze offers connections in the future.

The problem is the lack of major roads from the current Rockets Terminus and the airport. The only major road connecting the two locations is 2 lanes (1 in each direction). Unless a road widening is proposed (which would be incredibly costly with the amount of right of way that would have to be acquired) it would be difficult to actually implement real BRT similarly to where it is most successful in Richmond (along broad). Personally I think buying two train sets and adding a shuttle from MSS to the airport would #1 be more cost effective and #2 be faster and more reliable for those flying in to access downtown. Cities like Cleveland have done this pretty well and by adding a rail connection, it could make it easier to establish true regional rail in the future. Doesn’t have to be huge trains or incredibly high frequencies (maybe one train departing for downtown every 20 minutes). Seems like it would be pretty cheap to operate and wouldn’t need a ton of infrastructure improvements outside of rebuilding the spur to the airport and would be very attractive for those trying to get downtown. As far as the extension to Short Pump goes, I don’t think it’s a bad idea. There are multiple places along that corridor that are urbanizing (ie. Innsbrook, Parham Rd, Glenside Dr) that would get a huge shot in the arm if BRT was introduced. The 2 main things that would need to be prioritized in construction would be dedicated lanes and sidewalks/multi-use paths along the entire corridor as without dedicated lanes, the project wouldn’t serve any advantage over existing service. I agree and north south line should be more of a priority as the income demographics that use bud service the most are largely distributed along the Chamberlayne/Jeff Davis corridor far more than broad out to short pump, but money talks and if Short Pump wants BRT, then they will likely be moved up on the priority list as they have the money and political influence to get it.

Not sure about before the pandemic but right now it’s 4 daily flights (2 to Atlanta, 2 to Chicago Midway). I would guess before the pandemic it was pretty similar, just with daily service to Orlando, but don’t take that as fact. With how much American charges on average for flights to Dallas, any budget carrier would be appreciated. Average fairs were over $300 on American during Q3 of 2022 so if Southwest comes in at 2/3 of that, it could be a real option for Richmonders trying to get to and through Dallas while avoiding DFW.

Some very positive news this morning from Southwest. https://thepointsguy.com/news/southwest-airlines-new-nonstop-routes-long-beach-california/amp/ Denver daily service will be returning on September 5th! Awesome news as hopefully this marks the reversal of Southwests downsizing at RIC and maybe some new routes coming this summer or next winter to places like St Louis, Kansas City, Houston Hobby, Dallas Love, Tampa or Orlando!

It looks more like it’s between 19th and 20th on Broad but I could be wrong. I’ve marked the plot on google maps below. Glad to see the holes along broad being filled up in Shockoe as right now it’s a barren wasteland of parking for the most part between Church Hill and MCV.

Wonder if we can give the silver portapotty to whoever the resident in the region that puts us past Memphis!

This one is really visible from I-195 and it’s been very cool to see it rise! This plus the building going up at Monument and Hamilton are really making I-195 feel very urban in that area. Great progress!

Delta would probably be our only shot at SLC service unless Breeze moves their base from Provo to SLC. Salt Lake serves as a fortress hub for Delta, so most other airlines have a limited presence there outside of to their hub airports. It’s pretty similar to how American is pretty much the only airline that serves Charlotte. RIC is currently 5th in most PDEW to SLC without nonstop service, with 51 this last quarter, so who knows maybe we could see something eventually but I would be surprised (happy) if we see a SLC route within the next 2-3 years.

You are absolutely right about southwest being a dud at RIC. While they might blame the lack of additional service on the delays with their 737 Maxs, they were hesitant not just to add service but to continue existing service prior to the pandemic, leading to us losing Orlando and Tampa service from them. Maybe someone more familiar with southwest could help me understand why these routes didn’t work for them because they seem like gimmes, especially Tampa seeing how well Breeze has done on it. Not sure if it’s due to the airport or the airline but Southwest is missing a huge opportunity for growth out of RIC. I can think of over 7 routes off the top of my head (Dallas Love, Tampa, Orlando, Houston Hobby, Denver, St Louis, Kansas City, Nashville) that could be successful for Southwest off the top of my head. Luckily Breeze has stepped in and picked up the slack but it would be nice to also see Southwest show some balls and launch something new out of RIC instead of just using it as a funnel for Atlanta and Chicago Midway traffic.

I think the reason ORF is trying so hard to get a parallel runway while RIC isn’t is that IRF only has 1 runway right now while RIC has 2. Another runway for RIC would mean 3 total runways, which traffic right now doesn’t warrant, while ORF only has one runway to support a similar amount of traffic as RIC. That single runway is beginning to max out for how many aircraft it can handle so in order for ORF to continue accommodating new flights, they need that second runway, which RIC already has in place. I think more than anything right now, instead of putting money into a parallel runway, RIC should be investing in improving the existing airport. The money that would go towards a 3rd runway could be used to help to start up new flights to new destinations, which in turn could create the demand for a 3rd runway, add new food options to the airport, improve the existing concourses to be more on par with modern airports such as Raleigh, Kansas City’s new terminal or Indianapolis. I think improving the customer experience at the airport and helping airlines startup new routes by minimizing risk for them will do a lot more to boosting route and passenger growth at RIC far more than a 3rd runway, which could follow if we invest in new routes. Ultimately, runways have loads of capacity, as air traffic controllers have shown, especially with ORF, how much capacity a single runway can have, much less 2 existing runways (ie. NY LaGuardia, Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans, Dallas Love, Austin, etc.) Once again, this doesn’t mean that I don’t want or think RIC will eventually need the 3rd runway, but I think there are better ways to spend our money than throwing hundreds of millions at a runway that we don’t need to accommodate a lot of growth at the moment. Let’s put our money towards making sure airlines have sufficient and nice terminal/ concourse/ gate space and using funds to help start up new routes that will lead us to needing a new runway.

Adding onto the previous post I had. The PDEW numbers are out for Q3 2022 and following todays announcement of LA service, the largest markets without direct nonstop service to RIC are as follows: Seattle- 67 PDEW Austin- 60 PDEW San Diego- 56 PDEW Salt Lake- 51 PDEW St Louis- 49 PDEW Kansas City- 45 PDEW San Antonio- 43 PDEW Portland- 35 PDEW Indianapolis- 33 PDEW Memphis- 28 PDEW

Just flew in to RIC from Atlanta (connected via Phoenix) and thought I could provide a few updates. For starters, my flight to Atlanta on Friday and back to Richmond today was 100% full, not a spare seat on the 199 seat B757. Secondly, RIC was far busier than I thought for around 4:00 in the afternoon, usually mornings and evenings are the busiest at non hubs but there was quite a bit of foot traffic in Concourse B, as well as the main terminal building. It seems to have the same amount of traffic as Terminal 3 at Phoenix Sky Harbor this morning at a non peak hour, which is great. The tarmac expansion near concourse B appears to be almost finished. The concrete has been poured, but the area is still fenced off. Should be done by springtime though. There also appears to be work starting on the international customs area as there is a construction tarp covering it, as well as any work being done in the area, so I couldn’t get a great picture, but hey progress! Also great news about Breeze announcing flights to LA. If they can figure out their reliability issues with the A220-300, then I wouldn’t think we’d have to wait long for service frequency increases on that route. I’d love to see more than just Caribbean tourist destinations for international routes though. I’d love to get something like Mexico City or another large Central American city that Breeze may be looking at. RIC had over 7,000 passenger in 2019 that flew to Mexico City, and Breeze has been known to start routes with less but time will tell. One thing I will note is that Concourse B in particular is starting to feel dated compared to some terminals at other airports. If you take a look at terminal 3 at Phoenix or even Atlanta, it’s clear that parts of the airport could use updates. That plus adding more food options (we don’t even have Starbucks for Pete’s sake) would go a long way towards making RIC feel bigger and be nicer. Maybe we could get a Starbucks or Dunkin’ if the consolidated TSA checkpoint gets built (something to finally break the monopoly Caribou Coffee has at RIC).

If you don’t mind me asking, where do you get the imagery as I’m looking at google maps and that isn’t on there.

It is surprising Breeze hasn’t added LA to RIC yet. Maybe they think a larger airline like American could add it soon and they don’t want the competition. Seems like it could be a contender for a lot of airlines, not just Breeze. Should be considered by others like American, Spirit, JetBlue, Delta and United as with direct service, I think we could see over 250 PDEW (currently has 167 PDEW with no direct service) on this route which is more than enough to warrant direct nonstop service, even if you only capture 50% of the market. Hopefully this route gets started soon as it seems like an easy win for any airline and would serve the largest unserved market for RIC.

Passenger numbers for November are out and after another solid month of recovery, we appear to be well on our way to breaking 4 million passengers again and are closing back in on the passenger record in 2019. Keep packing those flights y’all. I’ll try and give an update on how busy the airport is when I fly out on Friday but these numbers seem to show RIC is back at its pre pandemic pace for passenger numbers.

Got an Aunt and Uncle who live in Fort Collins and I’d absolutely agree it’s a great small city. They have a dedicated BRT line which is very cool for a city of that size and are working to get Amtrak to Denver within the next 10-15 years. Want to go out there again soon! As far as Denver goes, I haven’t spent much time there and have only been downtown for a Rockies game and to the airport a few years ago. I’d say outside of the mountains the views there are barren and ugly and most of the buildings that weren’t built before World War 2 appear pretty ugly. Phoenix from the outside seems to be like this too, but I could be wrong, will be able to determine for myself in a week when I fly out there.

I’d be shocked if this lot doesn’t sprout something over 10 stories. The 15 story tower going up in Monroe Ward along Grace Street has 171 units. If you add in parking, to this development, which I hope there is very minimal to none, we could easily see 15+ stories on this site.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v0ljPTl647R4UqPOwemAGLx73IeDw-lZ/htmlview# Found the September 2022 statistics for Breeze and they look very promising. RIC ranks in the top 10 for percentage of seats filled and ranks 4 among all cities Breeze serves in passenger numbers with 10,576 served in September alone, outperforming multiple focus cities, such as New Orleans, Las Vegas and Hartford. Makes sense why Breeze keeps expanding here when they averaged 91 passengers per flight (74.6% of all seats offered). Here’s hoping we can get some 2x weekly flights to places like Cincinnati, Louisville and Columbus as outside of Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis, there aren’t really any midwestern cities served directly from RIC.