Richmond International Airport

[eandslee]

Just now, Downtowner said:

My only worry is what will ORF in Norfolk  get to try and out do us and be the annoying fly that never goes away. I’m very excited for this this is very big. I’m very excited to see this finally come to fruition.

Me too buddy.  However, I didn't read any mention of Norfolk is any part of the article.  Maybe they don't need the upgrade, maybe they won't get international flights...just not sure what the answer is, but RIC has to pull away/separate itself from ORF to become the next biggest/busiest airport in the state behind IAD and DCA (sorry to anyone from the Hampton Roads area).

[I miss RVA]

15 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Me too buddy.  However, I didn't read any mention of Norfolk is any part of the article.  Maybe they don't need the upgrade, maybe they won't get international flights...just not sure what the answer is, but RIC has to pull away/separate itself from ORF to become the next biggest/busiest airport in the state behind IAD and DCA (sorry to anyone from the Hampton Roads area).

Unfortunately, whether or not we like it, RVA and Norfolk are more "sister cities" than any other two cities in this country. And ORF will ALWAYS be that annoying fly that simply won't go away - because it will constantly try to siphon off business from RIC. Because of the huge military presense there - and the fact that Virginia Beach is still growing SO fast and like some certain out-of-state competitor cities is practically lapping the field, air service will always have high demand in Hampton Roads metro - and ORF will forever be firmly in the conversation. It's competition. It's what it is. We need to compete harder and compete better.

[Niccckk]

Breeze Airways is sponsoring at The Diamond! Pretty cool to see.

[I miss RVA]

6 minutes ago, Niccckk said:

Breeze Airways is sponsoring at The Diamond! Pretty cool to see.

VERY cool! We need to flip that score around, tho. 

[jbjust]

13 hours ago, eandslee said:

Not a stretch at all.  RIC used to have direct flights to Toronto some time ago, but not sure how much demand there is for this destination these days.  Would love to see the greatest demanded destinations from RIC without current service.  I'm sure Toronto is on that list somewhere, but I doubt it's near the top.  Just a guess though.

I flew from RIC to Toronto once several years ago and it was the smallest plane I've ever flown on.  I could literally lean forward and smack the pilot in the back of the head if I wanted. 

 

There are plenty of airports (e.g., Toronto, Dublin, some Carribbean islands)) where customs are cleared BEFORE you fly into the U.S., so I don't think this is what was holdings us back from having any international routes. 

[wrldcoupe4]

What are the most popular international destinations from RIC? 

[jbjust]

7 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

What are the most popular international destinations from RIC? 

I don't know if I would necessarily trust that data.  I know lots of people (myself included) who regularly drive to Dulles to fly internationally to avoid the risk of a crapty United connection delay.   

[benstyree]

Obviously this isn't something that would be publicly available, but I would be interested in seeing the most popular international route (or domestic routes, for that matter) by travelers with Richmond-metro zip codes.  I would bet that at least each airline has that data, if not the DOT or FAA.

Edited July 8, 2022 by benstyree

[eandslee]

A different article with some additional information about the international processing area planned for the airport:

https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/richmond-international-airport-federal-funding-modernize-customs-area-modernization

[blopp1234]

30 minutes ago, eandslee said:

A different article with some additional information about the international processing area planned for the airport:

https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/richmond-international-airport-federal-funding-modernize-customs-area-modernization

Good find!

It’s mentioned in the article that Mr Bell with the airport said that the closest international destinations to the south and north would most likely be the first to be added. Guessing that means Toronto with aircanada express and then possibly the Bahamas, Cancun or Jamaica to the south. he also mentioned that they were in talks with multiple airlines already about adding international flights which is a great sign that airlines see international flight potential from RIC.
 

Breeze may still swoop in and add direct flights to Europe, however I don’t think that European expansion will be in their first round of international flights as those would likely need lieback seats and more expansive food service due to the length of the flights.

[I miss RVA]

48 minutes ago, blopp1234 said:

Good find!

It’s mentioned in the article that Mr Bell with the airport said that the closest international destinations to the south and north would most likely be the first to be added. Guessing that means Toronto with aircanada express and then possibly the Bahamas, Cancun or Jamaica to the south. he also mentioned that they were in talks with multiple airlines already about adding international flights which is a great sign that airlines see international flight potential from RIC.
 

Breeze may still swoop in and add direct flights to Europe, however I don’t think that European expansion will be in their first round of international flights as those would likely need lieback seats and more expansive food service due to the length of the flights.

Good points. I figured international destinations would be VERY limited to the close-in places. Sort of the "beggars can't be choosers" and the "well, it's better than nothing" sort of thing. Still feels like a relegation, but I understand it - we have to earn it as a market and as an airport. We can do this! RVA is a LOT bigger as a market than it was 20 years ago when there were actually a few international flights. Here's hoping we get a few Canadian routes - Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City - I don't care. Just something north. I want more than just seasonal vacation spots southeast of here.

It's exciting though - looking forward to getting this service underway!

ALSO - I'm pleased as punch that CBS6 used the moniker of "the River City"  -- something that's been discussed on these forums. Like RVA, it's a moniker with REAL selling power - and it should be used as much as possible as a nickname, particularly in the media and online, where it can reach a lot of eyes and ears.

[plain]

Hello all, long time lurker and this is my first post. I want to chime in on the international flights real quick.

The only time I've ever flown was as a teen back in '94 or '95, and it was to the Bahamas (Freeport), and it was directly from Richmond Intl'. So adding on to the already mentioned Toronto, there was some international flights directly from Richmond at some point already. I'm pretty sure that flight I took might have been seasonal or something though.

 

Actually until I read this conversation came up I had no idea about the Toronto flights and I thought they were still doing Freeport.

 

[eandslee]

Welcome to the forum plain!  Username seems kind of “plain,” but doesn’t matter - come often and post often.  Also, why is it that you’ve only ever flown once in your life (back in the 90s)?  We need to get you out more!  There’s so much of this beautiful world to see and getting there by air is one of the best ways to do it!  RIC is a great springboard for all your travel adventures.  You’ll be amazed by the difference at the airport since the 90s - you won’t recognize the place!

As for the possible International flights…I’m thinking Toronto (which RIC used to have on a twin engine prop plane back in the day), Jamaica, Cancun, Bahamas (Nassau or Freeport)…those to start. Hoping for Europe soon after - gotta have London and or Paris!

Edited July 9, 2022 by eandslee

[plain]

plain is actually my name on the other forums I participate in as well lmao.

I've never been big on flying. One day I might do it again, but I'm more of a road-tripper than anything. I've seen the progress in RIC over the years as I've done work at the place, I love how the terminal looks now. It's gorgeous. I was actually there last week to pick up my neighbors.

[I miss RVA]

13 hours ago, plain said:

Hello all, long time lurker and this is my first post. I want to chime in on the international flights real quick.

The only time I've ever flown was as a teen back in '94 or '95, and it was to the Bahamas (Freeport), and it was directly from Richmond Intl'. So adding on to the already mentioned Toronto, there was some international flights directly from Richmond at some point already. I'm pretty sure that flight I took might have been seasonal or something though.

 

Actually until I read this conversation came up I had no idea about the Toronto flights and I thought they were still doing Freeport.

 

Welcome aboard, @plain! Glad to have you in the fold! Please, by all means, post often and take part in the efforts of fellow Richmonders near and far who love our city and want her to keep moving forward. 

I hear you on not being big on flying. I'm not big on it myself, even through I've flown quite a lot over the years. My favorite method of long-distance travel is by rail. It takes longer, but the scenery is amazing. I keep telling myself that once Covid is REALLY controlled (and these new sub-sub-variants are proving otherwise, unfortunately) I'm going to take the rail trip I've been wanting to take for years - the trek from Chicago to Los Angeles. I've never been to the West Coast - farthest west I've ever flown is Las Vegas and farthest southwest I've ever flown is Phoenix. My ex wife lived for a brief time in Santa Monica and we had always planned to take a vacation there, but with kids in tow, it never happened. Maybe one of these days I'll get out that way. If it ever comes to pass, I'll have to do it during a summer so I can attend a Dodgers game. Even through I'm a diehard Yankees fan, I've always wanted to see Dodgers Stadium up close and personal.

Anyway - all of that is to say, I get where you're coming from, @plain

@eandslee-- to your point: we definitely need to get a direct to Toronto when the int'l flights start back up. The vacation spots are a given. And then - ABSOLUTELY - London and Paris.

How wonderful for RIC would it be if -- within the next year or two - we start to see some synergy between trans-continental direct flights - AND - trans-Atlantic direct flights. There's no question that might help drive traffic here, even through I realize in the chicken-and-egg world of what airports get which service, the presumed traffic needs to be there before the service is initiated -- even though there's as good a chance that initiation of service will actually CREATE the traffic and grow the market.

[mintscraft56]

On 7/7/2022 at 9:34 PM, Downtowner said:

My only worry is what will ORF in Norfolk  get to try and out do us and be the annoying fly that never goes away. I’m very excited for this this is very big. I’m very excited to see this finally come to fruition.

Im sorry you think of us as a annoying fly, but I hope you dont forget we have a city of our own to take care of and grow. Its not in our plans to out run you, its just in our plans to help us and our whole area which supports 7 independent cities with a total cumulative population of 1.7million. I never saw our plans to improve as competition for a city more than 100 miles away. 

[ancientcarpenter]

On 7/8/2022 at 11:00 PM, blopp1234 said:

Good find!

It’s mentioned in the article that Mr Bell with the airport said that the closest international destinations to the south and north would most likely be the first to be added. Guessing that means Toronto with aircanada express and then possibly the Bahamas, Cancun or Jamaica to the south. he also mentioned that they were in talks with multiple airlines already about adding international flights which is a great sign that airlines see international flight potential from RIC.
 

Breeze may still swoop in and add direct flights to Europe, however I don’t think that European expansion will be in their first round of international flights as those would likely need lieback seats and more expansive food service due to the length of the flights.

 

My wife and I just booked a flight to middle of Europe.

 

Flying from RIC>Dulles>Frankfurt>Final Destination was $1250 (round trip) each

Flying from Dulles>Frankfurt>Final Destination was $1200 (round trip) each

 

RIC is going to have to figure out a way to make it significantly cheaper to fly directly to Europe (and I hope they do!) and I would love it! However, $50 additional cost in my total flight package (round trip) is a no brainer - Idk how they even pulled that off because if I buy just the flight from RIC>DC round trip (on same dates) I have to pay $150 each. Maybe bundle deals with Orbitz did it automatically? No clue... 

Also, it's barely an hour flight from RVA to DC (Dulles in my case). RVA will be competing with my package here... I think we can do it but it will be tough for them since DC is just so convenient. 

[Downtowner]

2 hours ago, ancientcarpenter said:

 

My wife and I just booked a flight to middle of Europe.

 

Flying from RIC>Dulles>Frankfurt>Final Destination was $1250 (round trip) each

Flying from Dulles>Frankfurt>Final Destination was $1200 (round trip) each

 

RIC is going to have to figure out a way to make it significantly cheaper to fly directly to Europe (and I hope they do!) and I would love it! However, $50 additional cost in my total flight package (round trip) is a no brainer - Idk how they even pulled that off because if I buy just the flight from RIC>DC round trip (on same dates) I have to pay $150 each. Maybe bundle deals with Orbitz did it automatically? No clue... 

Also, it's barely an hour flight from RVA to DC (Dulles in my case). RVA will be competing with my package here... I think we can do it but it will be tough for them since DC is just so convenient. 

My flight back in 2019 to hartsfield airport in atlanta only took an hour and a half maybe 2 at most from Richmond via delta airlines. Beats driving 8 hours  to atlanta. Although it is a fun drive approaching atlanta by 85 from the Carolina’s going into Gwinnett county.

[jbjust]

On 7/12/2022 at 9:18 AM, ancientcarpenter said:

 

My wife and I just booked a flight to middle of Europe.

 

Flying from RIC>Dulles>Frankfurt>Final Destination was $1250 (round trip) each

Flying from Dulles>Frankfurt>Final Destination was $1200 (round trip) each

 

RIC is going to have to figure out a way to make it significantly cheaper to fly directly to Europe (and I hope they do!) and I would love it! However, $50 additional cost in my total flight package (round trip) is a no brainer - Idk how they even pulled that off because if I buy just the flight from RIC>DC round trip (on same dates) I have to pay $150 each. Maybe bundle deals with Orbitz did it automatically? No clue... 

Also, it's barely an hour flight from RVA to DC (Dulles in my case). RVA will be competing with my package here... I think we can do it but it will be tough for them since DC is just so convenient. 

That flight from IAD to RIC gets cancelled pretty frequently.  Also, unless you have Global Entry, the immigration line can be 2-3 hours, so not sure how much of a layover you've left yourself.  For these reasons, we almost always just drive to Dulles.  

[ancientcarpenter]

55 minutes ago, jbjust said:

That flight from IAD to RIC gets cancelled pretty frequently.  Also, unless you have Global Entry, the immigration line can be 2-3 hours, so not sure how much of a layover you've left yourself.  For these reasons, we almost always just drive to Dulles.  

Yikes, layover is 1.5 hours. We are flying on a friday at 6pm from Dulles if that makes a difference...

[eandslee]

Interesting editorial about the possibility of international flights returning to RIC:

https://richmond.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-international-flights-would-help-ric-reach-new-heights/article_5ff0124a-4f24-5ee3-b61d-359ed12c0de8.html

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Interesting editorial about the possibility of international flights returning to RIC:

https://richmond.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-international-flights-would-help-ric-reach-new-heights/article_5ff0124a-4f24-5ee3-b61d-359ed12c0de8.html

Good editorial. Agree 100% - this is something RIC and RVA desperately need. It's time to make this happen.

[ancientcarpenter]

15 hours ago, eandslee said:

Interesting editorial about the possibility of international flights returning to RIC:

https://richmond.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-international-flights-would-help-ric-reach-new-heights/article_5ff0124a-4f24-5ee3-b61d-359ed12c0de8.html

If RVA airport could just land me anywhere in Europe, I'll take it from there  At this point, beggars can't be choosers. 

A family member that comes to visit us in RVA is an executive at a very big international tech company. He says he really enjoys flying into RVA because of the "perfect size" the airport is. Just yesterday he said that we seem to be ripe for international flights... I gave him the "you don't say..." look. 

Edited July 14, 2022 by ancientcarpenter

[eandslee]

15 minutes ago, ancientcarpenter said:

If RVA airport could just land me anywhere in Europe, I'll take it from there  At this point, beggars can't be choosers. 

A family member that comes to visit us in RVA is an executive at a very big international tech company. He says he really enjoys flying into RVA because of the "perfect size" the airport is. Just yesterday he said that we seem to be ripe for international flights... I gave him the "you don't say..." look. 

Does your executive family member know something we don’t yet?!  Ha ha  Well, I think we all know that International flights are coming…I’d just like to know to what extent…as in, what destinations.  Canada, Mexico, Caribbean are most likely in my mind. But is there the chance we could get that once-a-week flight to London?!  Pretty please?!

Edited July 14, 2022 by eandslee

[jbjust]

On 7/13/2022 at 11:16 AM, ancientcarpenter said:

Yikes, layover is 1.5 hours. We are flying on a friday at 6pm from Dulles if that makes a difference...

It all depends on what is landing right in front of you.  I was stuck for 3 hours behind a flight from Bogota once (after that I got Global Entry).   1.5 hours seems very tight if you have any checked bag as you'll have to collect it and put it back through.