walmartjamesbond

Late 2024 to early 2025

From 1970 to 2023. Wow.

I imagine April and May will be a fantastic month but June - August might blow last years numbers out of the water.

busiest March in history The airport reported a 4.6% increase in passenger activity for March 2023 with 333,484 passengers. The passenger count for March 2022 was 318,835.

I think it could be a blessing in disguise. After this is built, the only other option for expansion is concourse C. Which, at our rate would happen sooner as 3 gates wouldn't cut it.

ORF’s budget was approved. Article After reading that here are my key take aways: 1. They are no longer planning a seven gate concourse at the end of A. It is now set to be a 3 gate concourse with construction potentially starting in Q1 2024. I hope to see this changed to at least 5 gates but, take what we can get. 2. Moving walkway is starting soon. 3. My personal favorite: The new departures curb. It’s going to make the airport feel a lot more modern. Looks like lots of natural light compared to what we have now. Construction starting potentially at the end of 2024 or start of 2025. 4. TSA will be combined removing burger king, the local, and hudson news. I would guess they would relocate to where the TSA is now as that would be open space.

https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/norfolk/norfolk-international-airport-reports-busiest-february-in-history/ Passenger count up 13.5 percent from last year for Feb. We're off to a great start.

I’m wondering if the departures curb is going to be two stories? Where departures are on top and arrivals on the bottom.

Firstly and most importantly, we need to combine the security. After that, airlines will be able to connect a international to a domestic and vice versa.

It’s honestly the story of Avelo life. With the exit of PHF they are introducing new flights to CHO (Charlottesville, VA). They will be the first low cost carrier to serve the Airport. Knowing Breeze’s track record, they might be in for some competition lol

They really started going downhill after the loss of AirTran. At one point, they were the fast growing airport in the country. The Airport also had lots of legal scandals, which deterred a lot of new carriers from starting. People Express was also a major flop. Covid was the final nail in the coffin.

I think PHF has a much stronger future. As the Hampton Roads Metro grows, by 2050, PHF will have a lot more population surrounding it. I think at that point it will be normal for a second auxiliary airport. Even if that just means a few more flights on PSA. I don’t think PSA will want to give up that market completely as there main traffic is business travelers where the company pays for the ticket.

Not ORF news, but Avelo is officially exiting PHF after April 16th. The competition was just too strong between ORF and RIC.

Avelo officially exits PHF after April 16th, not surprising

Yes, you are correct. E Jets will be used for charters and A220’s will be the domestic fleet. David loves Airbus and I wouldn’t doubt a distant future order for the A321 XLR. JetBlue current uses these for JFK- London. I wouldn’t lose hope though. Richmond is in the perfect location to be a breeze through for bases like Bradly and Providence. For example, BDL-RIC- South America. That would be a true non stop out of RIC. Only time will tell!

Great questions. So, I think to start Breeze isn’t really going to honestly worry about who has international capabilities since they can funnel everyone through Tampa on a breeze through. I think in order for Breeze to launch an international flight out from Richmond it would require them to change how they do their operations. Right now Breeze crews only operate on “Turns.” Which means a route from say ORF-BDL-PIT-BDL-ORF. The route starts and returns to home base. The saves Breeze money by not having to pay crew hotels and fees to RON (remain over night) at a different airport. So knowing that, a breeze crew wouldn’t have a lot of time to fly from say CHS-RIC-Brazil-RIC-CHS. It just couldn’t happen. What would have to happen is a more traditional layover. Where the Crew would fly, overnight in Brazil, and return to CHS the next day. Right now that’s not the business model. There has always been talks of changing it but I think this is where it would be implemented. As far as ORF getting an international route, I say that only because it takes away the need for a layover. A crew could fly directly from ORF to Brazil and turn right back around. No hotels and no RON fees. That being said I firmly believe all international traffic will be based out of TPA for awhile so they can get some number on what routes are preforming the best/ could skip the breeze through. For both airports I am honestly thinking Canada before anything else international. Just my 5 cents. Also, I have no idea if they actually plan on going to Brazil, just a example. And to your second question: A charter base is an airport where an Airline holds aircraft and crews to serve flights going to specific destinations. Most people don’t know this but this is where Breeze makes a whole lot of its money. The plan always was to eventually phase out the E-Jets from their domestic fleet and use them strictly for charters after the A220 is fully operational. ORF will have a hefty fleet in the next 4 years. Something over 10 aircraft. Breeze charters sports teams, college athletes, etc. I was on a trip with the Panthers to Newark at the end of 2021.

This is correct!

Yes. I think it’s showing other airlines what RIC can offer. You do have GoJet based there now, and they seem to do well. JetBlue might give you some new routes after the merger with Spirit. ORF now has Spirit, so I’m not sure what that entails. Yes, it’s really the story of Avelo. David Neilman (Breeze CEO) and the Avelo CEO actually were partners to create Breeze. But due to the way they wanted to run the Airline, they split off and made their own. Long story short, David Neilman knew what he was doing. This is his 5th Airline. I don’t know a lot anymore. When I was there the plan was always to make Tampa the starting Hub for international flights. Mainly going out to the islands & South America. So when that international travel kicks off, it’s all going to be test driven out of there. Mainly on BreezeThrus. I would imagine that to happen sometime soon. Maybe Q4 Or Q1 2024? The west coast flights I’d imagine before summer or a first flight in July or August. If RIC or ORF Im really not sure. I really think they will push this “One Stop, no getting off the plane.” That way they can get passengers in RIC and TPA all in one go. BUT, if say they launch that route but it’s completely full out of RIC and everyone’s going to South America, why even stop in Tampa? I hope that makes sense. Everyone likes to forget that ORF is actually designed to be a Charter base. That was the plan from the start. If ORF gets a A220 based there, maybe international in the future but to start it would definitely be west coast. But it really isn’t in Breeze’s priority to expand rapidly out of there. It will, in time, but not at the rate BDL or say PVU will. PVU (Provo) will have non stop flights to Hawaii. David Neilman himself said that was his dream in an interview. RIC and ORF could very well see a BreezeThru to Hawaii. That I think would be a game changer.

That's a good point. Breeze built and studied its operation to avoid exactly that. They know the routes they are offer are only going to be for leisure travelers for the most part. The big 4 like to offer routes where they can get both leisure and business unless its to a major tourist destination. This is why you see little if any competition, it's just not worth it for the big guys. It's almost a different game entirely. Avelo has tried to compete with Breeze but it has been very hard. They opened PHF but I would be very surprised if it lasts past the summer. The amount of traffic that PHF could attract is almost slim to none. The population is either in RVA or VB/Norfolk. None of either want to drive 50 min for $20 less on Avelo. I'm really impressed with how Breeze is using RIC. I've said it before but I don't foresee a hub there. BUT, I think it is showing other airlines what potential is available to be had. I have friends at Breeze still. I know this year is going to be a big year for out west and even down in South America. I am almost sure ORF and RIC will get a route to Provo, Utah at some point in 2023. It seems to be the trend where RIC gets the same new rotes the focus cities get.

It’s not only breeze. The reason we don’t really use our international gate is because we can’t connect a domestic flight to international or vice versa. This is because of the split security that we have at the moment. After they complete the remodel and it’s one security for both concourse. An airline like Breeze, could use the gate and connect passengers on another plane in concourse B. They can’t do that now without forcing them to go through security again. Looks like they bringing this route back. It was one of there first when they launched out of ORF. It’s probably going to be seasonal, traffic in the winter isn’t high

Here we go! Big news! TWO new Breeze routes: ORF- Portland, Maine June 2nd ORF - Syracuse, NY June 1st ORF - RDU is being offered with a connection in Charleston starting May 18th. No plane change on this flight. Resumes service: ORF - Jacksonville, FL May 18th Great stuff. After we get our security redone and able to use the international gate for connecting flights… game changer for Breeze.

If in some fantasy world where this would happen. ORF would have to expand and out grow itself to the point where there is just no more room. Same thing happened with Denver Stapleton, the city grew so much it needed a lot more. So, I would imagine that they would build the new airport on Craney, open it, then retire ORF. There would be such a major development opportunity for Norfolk. They would have the opportunity to make that area almost anything that could want. After stapleton was retired it became one of the nicest developments in Denver, and still is today. All super hypothetical so it’s just fun to think about. Obviously will never happen

Also, thinking about this.. with a four lane highway going through Craney Island and what would be amazing highway access. This is the PERFECT location for a future mega airport. I read an article about it before but the island is self is about as big as Atlanta’s whole airport. Many Many years down the road, rebuild the airport out there. Something like Denver did with the old Stapleton airport. Demolish ORF and build well needed infrastructure. You even have the prime location for the Tide, Amtrak, or a new private regional rail service. Just a thought for when ORF can’t handle the traffic in 50+ years.

The study to build the connector from i564 to i664 has been revived. Public meeting on Thursday to discuss. A interchange over water isn’t something you see everyday… leave it to VDOT.

These are some great questions, I'll answer them in order. Avelo does target smaller airports, that is correct. However, they do base their hubs in larger cities such are Orlando and Raleigh. As for Richmond I can see a few reasons why new airlines are swaying away from creating a hub / focus city there. 1. Lots of competition , off the top of my head I can think of Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country, Jet Blue and others. All these airlines are quick to compete. They can sell tickets at lower prices and out sell a new airline like breeze, which makes creating a hub there risky. When Breeze launched out of ORF there wasn't much to compete with. No one was flying or wanted to fly the routes they picked. 2. Landing costs, Fuel costs, Usage costs, etc. I don't doubt breeze was in talks with Richmond before Norfolk. But it really could have came down to Norfolk offering a better overall deal to operate there than Virginia Beach. I did some work for an Airport in Twin Falls, Idaho when the city is paying Sky West any of the extra costs if their planes don't sell tickets. Just to keep the traffic there. Stuff like that happens. ORF just got a new CEO and he is killing it. Overall, I think like Downtower said, it's in an unfortunate spot. An airline will be quick to look at RDU or DC. You're in the middle. Look at PHF, the middle guy always gets cut out. That's not to say you won't. I really do think Breeze will give you an international route in time, maybe even before ORF. We don't have the security capability right now. Lol thanks