Richmond International Airport

[eandslee]

2 hours ago, Wahoo 07 said:

If I could choose one, I'd choose London.

I’d love to see an airline offer nonstop flights to London from RIC...even if it’s just once a week!  Right now though, international travel is just not there yet.

[I miss RVA]

30 minutes ago, eandslee said:

I’d love to see an airline offer nonstop flights to London from RIC...even if it’s just once a week!  Right now though, international travel is just not there yet.

I've often said RIC should really try to pursue a once-a-week flight to/from London. RDU has international service - AND they're a focus city for Delta. RIC needs to get this kind of thing going.

[Icetera]

I would prefer to see Paris for better access to the rest of the EU.  Still would not complain with London, though.

[benstyree]

27 minutes ago, Icetera said:

I would prefer to see Paris for better access to the rest of the EU.  Still would not complain with London, though.

I love how a few short years ago we were talking about how Denver would be so great and now we're debating London vs. Paris!

[I miss RVA]

4 hours ago, benstyree said:

I love how a few short years ago we were talking about how Denver would be so great and now we're debating London vs. Paris!

Agreed wholeheartedly. Let's hope this debate becomes an actual debate in the industry as RIC hopefully will continue to make strides as an important airport of the near future.

[DowntownCoruscant]

I’ll gladly settle for SFO.

[eandslee]

Looks like yesterday (Sunday), Southwest commenced its seasonal nonstop flights from RIC to Orlando (MCO).  These appear to be only once a week (for now) on Sundays.  So, right now, Southwest Airlines flies from RIC to:

- ATL (Atlanta)

- DEN (Denver)

- MDW (Chicago)

- MCO (Orlando) seasonal 

- TPA (appears to be paused for now)

 

 

[georgeglass]

Just wanted to say we flew out of RIC today and the place appeared packed. Not that we fly a ton...a few times a year but I think it was as busy as I have seen it in my 10 years here. Our flight to Orlando on Spirit was full, and the security line was long. The Applebee's was still closed, but all the other businesses we saw were open and doing decent business. It'll be interesting to see the numbers for May and June.

[eandslee]

3 hours ago, georgeglass said:

Just wanted to say we flew out of RIC today and the place appeared packed. Not that we fly a ton...a few times a year but I think it was as busy as I have seen it in my 10 years here. Our flight to Orlando on Spirit was full, and the security line was long. The Applebee's was still closed, but all the other businesses we saw were open and doing decent business. It'll be interesting to see the numbers for May and June.

Thanks for the report!  Yeah, the numbers should be higher in May and even more so for June.  I think RIC is back on the up-swing for passenger numbers. It’s also summertime which brings out a lot of people taking vacations. The true test will be September when folks go back to school and (hopefully) business travel is back in full swing.  Safe travels to you!

[DowntownCoruscant]

I’d imagine the rise in vaccination percentage correlated quite nicely with the rise in air traffic passengers.

[blake_p]

Some bad news today, JetBlue is cutting 27 route this Fall including two from Richmond:

Richmond (RIC)	Las Vegas (LAS)
Richmond (RIC)	Los Angeles (LAX)	Cut from October 2021 through April 2022

https://thepointsguy.com/news/jetblue-major-pandemic-route-cuts/

[eandslee]

3 hours ago, blake_p said:

Some bad news today, JetBlue is cutting 27 route this Fall including two from Richmond:

Richmond (RIC)	Las Vegas (LAS)
Richmond (RIC)	Los Angeles (LAX)	Cut from October 2021 through April 2022

https://thepointsguy.com/news/jetblue-major-pandemic-route-cuts/

Well, this just sucks!  This is weird because I’ve been monitoring the load factors for these flights and I’ve been seeing these flights jammed packed or very close to it as of late.  I’m not sure why they would pull these given good ridership from RIC.  Looks like the LAX flights might return again after April 2022 based on the linked article (this route would be considered a seasonal route now with the pause between Oct and Apr), but the Las Vegas flights look like a permanent loss. 
 

No matter, this is still very frustrating!  Seems RIC goes two steps forward only to go three steps back. Doubt we’ll see something permanent like this again anytime soon. This also does not bode well for any additional nonstop west coast destinations for the foreseeable future.  This is what I was afraid of.  Oh well, RIC will continue to only be the small regional airport it’s always been…it just can’t break out and rapidly grow for heaven’s sake!  Maybe there’s some hope that Breeze Airways will expand it service from RIC to the west coast.  I don’t know…just waiting for RIC to catch its big break.  [sigh]  Might be waiting a long time. 

Edited June 14, 2021 by eandslee

[I miss RVA]

24 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Well, this just sucks!  This is weird because I’ve been monitoring the load factors for these flights and I’ve been seeing these flights jammed packed or very close to it as of late.  I’m not sure why they would pull these given good ridership from RIC.  Looks like the LAX flights might return again after April 2022 based on the linked article (this route would be considered a seasonal route now with the pause between Oct and Apr), but the Las Vegas flights look like a permanent loss. 
 

No matter, this is still very frustrating!  Seems RIC goes two steps forward only to go three steps back. Doubt we’ll see something permanent like this again anytime soon. This also does not bode well for any additional nonstop west coast destinations for the foreseeable future.  This is what I was afraid of.  Oh well, RIC will continue to only be the small regional airport it’s always been…it just can’t break out and rapidly grow for heaven’s sake!  Maybe there’s some hope that Breeze Airways will expand it service from RIC to the west coast.  I don’t know…just waiting for RIC to catch its big break.  [sigh]  Might be waiting a long time. 

If RIC-LAX has been packed and well supported - and supposedly will come back, how does that not bode well for RIC? If the LAX route comes back - then at least that's keeping a toe in the water. What was the actual situation with the LAS support? That's a shame, honestly. Obviously there are much bigger factors at play - I don't think this is one that can be attributed to "RIC sucks".  RDU and Orlando got hit WAY harder than we did. Frustrating? Yes! Definitely. BUT - one key - notice the article says Jet Blue is shifting their emphasis to concentrating on focus cities. THAT - my friend - is the key. RIC NEEDS TO BECOME A FOCUS CITY AIRPORT!!! PERIOD!! THAT, IMNSHO - is honestly the biggest hurdle right now. I don't think we can just settle for organic growth - and it's stuff like this that limits us to merely organic growth - which is great, but isn't getting us anywhere FAST. All it takes is one airline to pick RIC as a focus city airport.

What needs to happen to make that a reality? Solve THAT problem -and I think a LOT of dominoes afterwards start falling for us!

[eandslee]

7 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

What needs to happen to make that a reality? Solve THAT problem -and I think a LOT of dominoes afterwards start falling for us!

A more robust local economy?  More rapid regional population growth?  More corporate headquarters moving to Richmond?  I think all of these would get RIC noticed more...just look at what's happening in Austin, TX.  20 years ago, Austin's airport was quite small.  Now it's a focus city for Allegiant Airways and American Airlines has just packed a bunch of flights in and out of the city with 13 new destinations!  Wow!  Not sure this announcement for RIC is the death knell, but it certainly doesn't help.  I was hoping that it was going to be expansion from this point forward for RIC.  It just hurts to see flights to the west coast pulled back now.  This also could hurt the passenger numbers for the airport starting this fall....unless the new Breeze flights make up for the loss.  One thing's for sure - the road to recovery for RIC just might be more bumpy than I thought and take longer than I thought.

[blopp1234]

If demand is there, I have no doubt that another airline snaps up those routes, especially having zero competition with JetBlue out. This is just a temporary setback that could allow another airline to enter the RIC to west coast market. 

[JSI]

My family was all booked to fly down to TPA direct for Thanksgiving on JetBlue from RIC and the flights got cancelled yesterday. Not sure why this is not part of the list. Fortunately, we were able to rebook on Allegiant but not with optimal times. 

[vaceltic]

16 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

If RIC-LAX has been packed and well supported - and supposedly will come back, how does that not bode well for RIC? If the LAX route comes back - then at least that's keeping a toe in the water. What was the actual situation with the LAS support? That's a shame, honestly. Obviously there are much bigger factors at play - I don't think this is one that can be attributed to "RIC sucks".  RDU and Orlando got hit WAY harder than we did. Frustrating? Yes! Definitely. BUT - one key - notice the article says Jet Blue is shifting their emphasis to concentrating on focus cities. THAT - my friend - is the key. RIC NEEDS TO BECOME A FOCUS CITY AIRPORT!!! PERIOD!! THAT, IMNSHO - is honestly the biggest hurdle right now. I don't think we can just settle for organic growth - and it's stuff like this that limits us to merely organic growth - which is great, but isn't getting us anywhere FAST. All it takes is one airline to pick RIC as a focus city airport.

What needs to happen to make that a reality? Solve THAT problem -and I think a LOT of dominoes afterwards start falling for us!

I interpret the LAX route as a seasonal change. Maybe it will start back up again for the spring and summer months next year. Here’s hoping anyways. 

[cbl1]

Did you check out Breeze airlines for flight to Tampa?

 

[eandslee]

1 hour ago, cbl1 said:

Did you check out Breeze airlines for flight to Tampa?

 

Yeah, TPA is a very saturated market right now from RIC.  Allegiant flies to a couple airports in that area and so does Southwest...or did (seasonally?).  I heard JetBlue may pull out of TPA and just fly there seasonally as well.  Just wasn't sure on the timing - I guess this confirms it.  Breeze Airways is definitely a good alternative to JetBlue to TPA, but I don't think they are daily flights (4 times a week IIRC).

[I miss RVA]

9 hours ago, blopp1234 said:

If demand is there, I have no doubt that another airline snaps up those routes, especially having zero competition with JetBlue out. This is just a temporary setback that could allow another airline to enter the RIC to west coast market. 

I agree 100%, blopp1234. I think this pullback is 100% a JetBlue thing and 100% NOT an RIC thing. You KNOW everyone in the airline industry is looking over everyone else's shoulders - so it absolutely makes sense that if demand for the RIC-LAX route stays hot and the planes are full - someone else will swoop in and pick it up. AND - come April of '22, we COULD be in a REALLY good situation where - like we now have with DEN - there could be competition to/from LAX when JetBlue picks the route back up. That'll help keep prices competitive and only incentivize travelers to the Coast to fly out of RIC.

Rather than a 2 stops forward, 3 steps back scenario, perhaps we can look at this as a 2 steps forward, 1 step back, 2 - or even 3 - more steps forward. A year ago, we didn't think 2021 would necessarily hold the incredible development promise in terms of (particularly) residential construction in the city that this year has shown over the first half. Let's hope that 2022 outperforms 2021 across the board on all metrics for RVA the city and RVA the metro - and for RIC the airport!

[DalWill]

3 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

I agree 100%, blopp1234. I think this pullback is 100% a JetBlue thing and 100% NOT an RIC thing. You KNOW everyone in the airline industry is looking over everyone else's shoulders - so it absolutely makes sense that if demand for the RIC-LAX route stays hot and the planes are full - someone else will swoop in and pick it up. AND - come April of '22, we COULD be in a REALLY good situation where - like we now have with DEN - there could be competition to/from LAX when JetBlue picks the route back up. That'll help keep prices competitive and only incentivize travelers to the Coast to fly out of RIC.

Rather than a 2 stops forward, 3 steps back scenario, perhaps we can look at this as a 2 steps forward, 1 step back, 2 - or even 3 - more steps forward. A year ago, we didn't think 2021 would necessarily hold the incredible development promise in terms of (particularly) residential construction in the city that this year has shown over the first half. Let's hope that 2022 outperforms 2021 across the board on all metrics for RVA the city and RVA the metro - and for RIC the airport!

Let's hope the summer demand encourages a reconsideration.

[wrldcoupe4]

May numbers seem to be rebounding well. 
https://richmond.com/business/passenger-traffic-at-richmond-international-airport-improves-in-may/article_7671ba5d-8e8e-56d8-af3f-abb5b85074e4.html

[eandslee]

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

May numbers seem to be rebounding well. 
https://richmond.com/business/passenger-traffic-at-richmond-international-airport-improves-in-may/article_7671ba5d-8e8e-56d8-af3f-abb5b85074e4.html

Crazy!  I've been watching all day for these stats to come out and the one time I take a break from watching, the stats come out and I miss it!  Oh well, thanks for being vigilant Coupe!

These numbers are very encouraging and hopefully, get better as the summer progresses.  Here is an updated chart showing the number of passengers served over the past 2.5 years, which illustrates the current rebound with respect to the prior two years (each dot represents a month...the latest plot/dot represents May 2021, a 33% increase over the previous month (April 2021)):

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by eandslee

[eandslee]

Just a quick PSA…Breeze Airways begins service from RIC to CHS (Charleston) tomorrow.  There is a flight that arrives at RIC at 0810 and departs just 30 minutes later at 0840.  This begins Breeze Airways nonstop service to 3 destinations from RIC.  Nonstop service on Breeze to New Orleans begins on 15 July and nonstop service to Tampa begins on 22 July.  Looking at preliminary passenger loads for the flight to CHS tomorrow does not look strong.  Hopefully, that changes as the word gets out on the new airline and the new routes.  We’ll see if these routes stick. 

Edited July 7, 2021 by eandslee

[benstyree]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Just a quick PSA…Breeze Airways begins service from RIC to CHS (Charleston) tomorrow.  There is a flight that arrives at RIC at 0810 and departs just 30 minutes later at 0840.  This begins Breeze Airways nonstop service to 3 destinations from RIC.  Nonstop service on Breeze to New Orleans begins on 15 July and nonstop service to Tampa begins on 22 July.  Looking at preliminary passenger loads for the flight to CHS tomorrow does not look strong.  Hopefully, that changes as the word gets out on the new airline and the new routes.  We’ll see if these routes stick. 

Are you just looking at the available seats on the flight?  If so, I think Breeze is doing a lot of the seat-assigned-at-checkin thing that ULCCs often do, so it may be better than it looks...maybe?