Richmond International Airport

[I miss RVA]

Interesting nugget: article quotes that the DEN route took 2 1/2 years from grant to actualization. What's the over/under on getting the SEA route underway? Any hope we see it operational before 2025?

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

8 hours ago, Niccckk said:

Haha! I saw a similar article too, also had some mistakes... "50k passengers daily?!?!?"

https://mcclellan.house.gov/media/press-releases/mcclellan-announces-usdot-grant-funding-richmond-international-airport

50k a day, if only....

[Merrittk92]

2 hours ago, RVA-Is-The-Best said:

50k a day, if only....

Dare to dream!!! 

[I miss RVA]

7 hours ago, Merrittk92 said:

Dare to dream!!! 

I turn 61 today  - I'm hoping I'll live long enough to see this come to pass (50K passengers (or more) per day, that is!)

[eandslee]

27 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

I turn 61 today  - I'm hoping I'll live long enough to see this come to pass (50K passengers (or more) per day, that is!)

Happy 61st! Birthday!  Hoping you see 50K passengers per day at RIC!  Let’s just start with an international flight announcement…hope one comes soon!  At last check (last week) the new FIS (international customs and gate facility) was on track to be completed by early next year!  Me thinks it’s about time to hear something to coincide with its grand opening.

[I miss RVA]

3 hours ago, eandslee said:

Happy 61st! Birthday!  Hoping you see 50K passengers per day at RIC!  Let’s just start with an international flight announcement…hope one comes soon!  At last check (last week) the new FIS (international customs and gate facility) was on track to be completed by early next year!  Me thinks it’s about time to hear something to coincide with its grand opening.

Thank you, my dear friend!! Much appreciated! Gonna enjoy a shot of Fireball tonight and will have everyone in mind with the traditional Jewish blessing of "L'Chaim" - which means, "to life".

Indeed, hoping and praying I'll see 50K passengers per day at RIC in my lifetime - please God, SOONER rather than later. I'd definitely welcome international flight announcements. Love the nugget in the Times-Dispatch article:

Long-term plans call for flights to popular vacation routes in the Caribbean, and possibly Europe.

That the airport is even making this public, to me, is encouraging. Glad they're not only setting goals (such as service to Europe) but that they're making them public-facing goals. That's VERY important going forward.

[eandslee]

37 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Thank you, my dear friend!! Much appreciated! Gonna enjoy a shot of Fireball tonight and will have everyone in mind with the traditional Jewish blessing of "L'Chaim" - which means, "to life".

Indeed, hoping and praying I'll see 50K passengers per day at RIC in my lifetime - please God, SOONER rather than later. I'd definitely welcome international flight announcements. Love the nugget in the Times-Dispatch article:

Long-term plans call for flights to popular vacation routes in the Caribbean, and possibly Europe.

That the airport is even making this public, to me, is encouraging. Glad they're not only setting goals (such as service to Europe) but that they're making them public-facing goals. That's VERY important going forward.

Yeah, maybe ten years ago, European routes from RIC would have never even been discussed or thought of as a possibility!  RIC has come a long way in the positive direction, but there’s much more to do.  Hope they put the pedal to the metal!  Let’s get things rolling!

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, eandslee said:

Hope they put the pedal to the metal!  Let’s get things rolling!

Or, given that we're talking about aviation, let's hope they hit the afterburners on this one. 

[eandslee]

Just wanted to post this screenshot of a memo to the Assistant Secretary of Aviation and International Affairs (from our local political leaders) that offers a few more details regarding the goal of nonstop flights on Alaska Airlines between RIC and SEA:

Interesting to note:  the goal is DAILY nonstop service!

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by eandslee

[I miss RVA]

6 hours ago, eandslee said:

Just wanted to post this screenshot of a memo to the Assistant Secretary of Aviation and International Affairs (from our local political leaders) that offers a few more details regarding the goal of nonstop flights on Alaska Airlines between RIC and SEA:

Interesting to note:  the goal is DAILY nonstop service!

 

Daily flights between RIC-SEA via Alaska Airlines would be a HUGE boost for us. Securing Seattle will give RIC direct flights to SIX destinations -- three West Coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle) and three Mountain West/Desert Southwest (Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix) that not all that long ago were not even a pipe-dream away from happening here. This really gives me a good feeling that 2024 will likely be the year we break through the 5 million passenger threshold (not saying we'll have Seattle locked down by next year - but we WILL have the international gate coming online!). And as I think about it, while there are still plenty of other U.S. destinations I'd like us to secure (Austin, SLC, Portland, St. Louis, Kansas City, something regular/year-round to/from Cincinnati), as well as significantly increased frequencies to our current roster of destinations, I can't help but think that once the international gate opens, we'll be surprised by some unexpected destinations that just might suddenly materialize (and the carriers that will provide service). For sure the Caribbean and Mexico. I think Toronto would be on the short list. And if the airport higher-ups are openly discussing Europe... (starts licking my chops like Pavlov's dog).

Folks, once we crack through the 5 million passenger threshold, I honestly think we're going to start "movin' on up" in terms of greater/increased frequency of flights, more destinations (domestic AND international) at a robust and impressive rate. Not saying we'll keep setting the world on fire with just under 20% year-over-year increases in passenger volume - but I don't think annual growth is going to slow down to just incremental either. And you KNOW, given all their irons in the fire, that Greater Richmond Partnership - which has been courting several UBER-BIG fish to relo/set up shop in metro RVA - is going to play the airport card HARD, particularly once we get Seattle and once international service picks up steam. We're in a completely different place and paradigm from where we were even just five years ago, much less 10, 15, 20 years ago. This airport is poised for some impressive growth - and I keep getting the feeling "we ain't seen nothin' yet." Hey - from MY keyboard to God's eyes, yeah?

We gotta press ahead. Who knows - with all the potential growth that could come in the next few years, the powers that be at RIC might just dust off that new master plan and start making a big push to get us to:

44 GATES!!!

[Merrittk92]

So what’s goin’ on here with concourse B? There’s usually a nice view at the end of the concourse by gate 14 but now they have this temporary wall up. Any guesses? 
 

 

[eandslee]

1 hour ago, Merrittk92 said:

So what’s goin’ on here with concourse B? There’s usually a nice view at the end of the concourse by gate 14 but now they have this temporary wall up. Any guesses? 
 

 

Probably the Federal Inspection Service (FIS) facility.  This is probably part of the new international gate and customs area that we’ve been touting to be a game-changer for RIC.  When this is complete and ready (around the fist part of the year…January?), RIC is likely to become a no kidding, real international airport again!  Thanks for posting the photo!

[I miss RVA]

5 hours ago, Merrittk92 said:

So what’s goin’ on here with concourse B? There’s usually a nice view at the end of the concourse by gate 14 but now they have this temporary wall up. Any guesses? 
 

 

If, in fact, this is part of the new international gate/customs area, then there's something oddly comforting about this picture. Makes me wonder if this temporary wall will be re-opened or how the international gate will be handled. Either way, it portends VERY well for the future, methinks. Would love to see an initial roster of offerings of even just Cancun, St. Thomas, Puerto Vallarta, Toronto (would it be too much to ask for Montreal as well?) Who knows what destinations could be/will be added down the road, particularly if Perry Miller and the folks at the CRAC are openly discussing European destinations. Of Mr. Miller, I've said it before and I'll say it again - we've finally got the right man for the job. He is to the airport commission what Maritza Pechin has been to the city planning department - a true home run hitter with tremendous vision and the drive to make the improbable possible. 

[Merrittk92]

6 hours ago, Merrittk92 said:

So what’s goin’ on here with concourse B? There’s usually a nice view at the end of the concourse by gate 14 but now they have this temporary wall up. Any guesses? 
 

 

Forgot to mention that United RIC-DEN was sold out! 

[I miss RVA]

49 minutes ago, Merrittk92 said:

Forgot to mention that United RIC-DEN was sold out! 

Fantastic!! If we keep this up, it's going to be time to start boosting flight frequency on that RIC-DEN route. 

[Niccckk]

2 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Fantastic!! If we keep this up, it's going to be time to start boosting flight frequency on that RIC-DEN route. 

I've noticed lately United has been using their MAX 9 & 737-900 on these routes!
Also notable that Southwest has also primarily used their larger aircraft(s), the 737-800 & 737 MAX 8 for their Denver flights as well. Must be really good demand for that route if TWO airlines can use their larger planes for the route!

[eandslee]

16 minutes ago, Niccckk said:

I've noticed lately United has been using their MAX 9 & 737-900 on these routes!
Also notable that Southwest has also primarily used their larger aircraft(s), the 737-800 & 737 MAX 8 for their Denver flights as well. Must be really good demand for that route if TWO airlines can use their larger planes for the route!

Also, American has been using their A321s for their RIC-CLT route (for the most part), which is an upgrade from the A320s or A319s they had been using.

Additionally, American Airlines has been using their mainline 737-800/900s for their RIC-MIA routes as of late. This route was once served by a small regional jet (RJ-145) several years ago. Then, it upgraded to a 175, but since the return of flights after the pandemic, all have been mainline aircraft on this route.  Great news!

Separately, I did read a rumor that Breeze will end all flights between RSW and RIC…as well as several other airports next year (not sure exactly when). This route was just announced and hasn’t even started yet at RIC. I tried a couple mock bookings to see how the flights are filling up and…it looks like they’re really not filling up.  Hope things change.  Some speculated that these would be seasonal and it would make sense that they would end flights at some point next year, but others are saying that the ending of flights would be permanent. Not sure what the truth is, so take this news with a grain of salt.  Just passing in what I’ve heard/read. 

[I miss RVA]

9 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Also, American has been using their A321s for their RIC-CLT route (for the most part), which is an upgrade from the A320s or A319s they had been using.

Additionally, American Airlines has been using their mainline 737-800/900s for their RIC-MIA routes as of late. This route was once served by a small regional jet (RJ-145) several years ago. Then, it upgraded to a 175, but since the return of flights after the pandemic, all have been mainline aircraft on this route.  Great news!

Separately, I did read a rumor that Breeze will end all flights between RSW and RIC…as well as several other airports next year (not sure exactly when). This route was just announced and hasn’t even started yet at RIC. I tried a couple mock bookings to see how the flights are filling up and…it looks like they’re really not filling up.  Hope things change.  Some speculated that these would be seasonal and it would make sense that they would end flights at some point next year, but others are saying that the ending of flights would be permanent. Not sure what the truth is, so take this news with a grain of salt.  Just passing in what I’ve heard/read. 

Very glad that United, American and Southwest have been boosting the size of the aircraft on these flights - certainly a very good sign that the routes are being very well supported - and gives us a chance to further boost our passenger numbers, even if it's only incremental for these routes. Good to see.

So it's not really a loss, per se, rather a loss of potential volume. Glad it won't impact our numbers (it's not a reduction in flights - just the elimination of flights that haven't happened yet).

What was the planned frequency on this route?

Edited October 6, 2023 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

46 minutes ago, Niccckk said:

I've noticed lately United has been using their MAX 9 & 737-900 on these routes!
Also notable that Southwest has also primarily used their larger aircraft(s), the 737-800 & 737 MAX 8 for their Denver flights as well. Must be really good demand for that route if TWO airlines can use their larger planes for the route!

One has to wonder what it would take to get one of those sweet-looking 757 "flying pencils" on some of these routes?  (or is that the 777?)  The 787 is a fat boy, no?

[Niccckk]

22 hours ago, eandslee said:

Separately, I did read a rumor that Breeze will end all flights between RSW and RIC…as well as several other airports next year (not sure exactly when). This route was just announced and hasn’t even started yet at RIC. I tried a couple mock bookings to see how the flights are filling up and…it looks like they’re really not filling up.  Hope things change.  Some speculated that these would be seasonal and it would make sense that they would end flights at some point next year, but others are saying that the ending of flights would be permanent. Not sure what the truth is, so take this news with a grain of salt.  Just passing in what I’ve heard/read. 

RIC - RSW is a seasonal flight w/ Breeze at some points up to 4x weekly. To be honest, I think Breeze will win the "fight" in the route with Spirit, mainly because of the timing of the route. I assume most people will be leisure flyers from Richmond going to RSW, and not vise versa. I say this since for Spirit, the RSW flight leaves at 9:30PM, and isn't scheduled to get to Fort Myers until MIDNIGHT, which to be honest is not an ideal flight. Breeze, on the other hand, has their RSW flights midday, much more favorable for leisure travelers from Richmond.

Based on their CURRENT schedule, (could change), it looks like Jacksonsville & Islip will be coming back seasonally next year as planned. However, as of now, Providence & Cincinnati flights are nowhere to be found on their schedule (which goes to September at the moment).

To be honest, the only one I'm said to see go (if the schedule pans out) is Cincinnati, since it seems those flights actually filled up. Providence, to me at least, just seemed like the final stop for Breeze-Thru flights to SFO or LAX.

[I miss RVA]

On 10/7/2023 at 2:16 PM, Niccckk said:

RIC - RSW is a seasonal flight w/ Breeze at some points up to 4x weekly. To be honest, I think Breeze will win the "fight" in the route with Spirit, mainly because of the timing of the route. I assume most people will be leisure flyers from Richmond going to RSW, and not vise versa. I say this since for Spirit, the RSW flight leaves at 9:30PM, and isn't scheduled to get to Fort Myers until MIDNIGHT, which to be honest is not an ideal flight. Breeze, on the other hand, has their RSW flights midday, much more favorable for leisure travelers from Richmond.

Based on their CURRENT schedule, (could change), it looks like Jacksonsville & Islip will be coming back seasonally next year as planned. However, as of now, Providence & Cincinnati flights are nowhere to be found on their schedule (which goes to September at the moment).

To be honest, the only one I'm said to see go (if the schedule pans out) is Cincinnati, since it seems those flights actually filled up. Providence, to me at least, just seemed like the final stop for Breeze-Thru flights to SFO or LAX.

Man - I hope the Cincinnati route comes back. Especially since those flights apparently were full, I'd like to think that Breeze would etch that route in stone just a bit more.

[blopp1234]

Flew on Southwest to Chicago Midway airport on Friday and back via Atlanta today and figured I’d share some airport insights.

 

First, the airport was really busy Friday evening. Almost every table at all the food places in Concourse B were full and the passenger holding areas were busy. The parking garages next to the terminal were also packed and it was tough even finding a spot to park! 
 

The amount of passengers on the flight to Chicago was alittle disappointing as the flight was only about 60% full (around 104 people on a 175 seat Boeing 737-800). With that being said, the plane came in from Denver and there seemed to be almost a full load of passengers disembarking at RIC, which is a good sign for those flights. The flight back from Atlanta was packed today, with 95% (around 167 people on a 175 seat Boeing 737-800) of the plane full. Which is a great sign for a Monday morning flight. 

Another cool air catch was a FedEx 767 coming in from Memphis. Very cool to see a wide body aircraft landing and taxiing at RIC, even if it’s not transporting passengers. Hopefully one day within the next decade we see some wide body passenger aircraft.

 

Some more updates include:

1. JetBlue seems to have replaced one of their 3 daily flights to Boston with an A320, which adds an additional 50 seats each way between RIC and BOS.
 

2. American has seemed to upguage atleast one of their multiple daily flights between RIC and both Philadelphia and Chicago O’Hare from a 50 seat E145 to a 76 seat E175. Hopefully this trend continues and RIC can start seeing more 76 seat planes and less 50 seat planes.

 

3. Spirit has moved the return flight from Las Vegas to RIC from a flight arriving late at night to a red eye, which leaves Las Vegas alittle after 9 pm and arrives at RIC around 5 am. To my knowledge, this is the first true redeye flight that has been offered to RIC. Even with this change in time, the flights still seem to be consistently over 75% full, which is a great sign for a service offered daily. Definitely demonstrates that there is significant west coast demand out of RIC.

 

Overall, seems like the airport is doing very well heading into the fall, especially if airlines are still upguaging aircraft at the airport. Should be very interesting to see what developments happen for next summer (hopefully some more capacity on existing routes and maybe some new routes if we are lucky (I’d love Southwest to Nashville, Orlando and Tampa, and American to Austin.)

[eandslee]

12 minutes ago, blopp1234 said:

Flew on Southwest to Chicago Midway airport on Friday and back via Atlanta today and figured I’d share some airport insights.

 

First, the airport was really busy Friday evening. Almost every table at all the food places in Concourse B were full and the passenger holding areas were busy. The parking garages next to the terminal were also packed and it was tough even finding a spot to park! 
 

The amount of passengers on the flight to Chicago was alittle disappointing as the flight was only about 60% full (around 104 people on a 175 seat Boeing 737-800). With that being said, the plane came in from Denver and there seemed to be almost a full load of passengers disembarking at RIC, which is a good sign for those flights. The flight back from Atlanta was packed today, with 95% (around 167 people on a 175 seat Boeing 737-800) of the plane full. Which is a great sign for a Monday morning flight. 

Another cool air catch was a FedEx 767 coming in from Memphis. Very cool to see a wide body aircraft landing and taxiing at RIC, even if it’s not transporting passengers. Hopefully one day within the next decade we see some wide body passenger aircraft.

 

Some more updates include:

1. JetBlue seems to have replaced one of their 3 daily flights to Boston with an A320, which adds an additional 50 seats each way between RIC and BOS.
 

2. American has seemed to upguage atleast one of their multiple daily flights between RIC and both Philadelphia and Chicago O’Hare from a 50 seat E145 to a 76 seat E175. Hopefully this trend continues and RIC can start seeing more 76 seat planes and less 50 seat planes.

 

3. Spirit has moved the return flight from Las Vegas to RIC from a flight arriving late at night to a red eye, which leaves Las Vegas alittle after 9 pm and arrives at RIC around 5 am. To my knowledge, this is the first true redeye flight that has been offered to RIC. Even with this change in time, the flights still seem to be consistently over 75% full, which is a great sign for a service offered daily. Definitely demonstrates that there is significant west coast demand out of RIC.

 

Overall, seems like the airport is doing very well heading into the fall, especially if airlines are still upguaging aircraft at the airport. Should be very interesting to see what developments happen for next summer (hopefully some more capacity on existing routes and maybe some new routes if we are lucky (I’d love Southwest to Nashville, Orlando and Tampa, and American to Austin.)

What an absolutely fantastic trip report!!  Loved the photos and the first-hand accounts!!  RIC looked the busiest I’ve seen it in your photos…definitely a great sign!  Also loved the report on the upgraded aircraft on those select routes (most of which I knew about, but others I did not). Awesome report!  Please do another soon!

[I miss RVA]

53 minutes ago, blopp1234 said:

Flew on Southwest to Chicago Midway airport on Friday and back via Atlanta today and figured I’d share some airport insights.

 

First, the airport was really busy Friday evening. Almost every table at all the food places in Concourse B were full and the passenger holding areas were busy. The parking garages next to the terminal were also packed and it was tough even finding a spot to park! 
 

The amount of passengers on the flight to Chicago was alittle disappointing as the flight was only about 60% full (around 104 people on a 175 seat Boeing 737-800). With that being said, the plane came in from Denver and there seemed to be almost a full load of passengers disembarking at RIC, which is a good sign for those flights. The flight back from Atlanta was packed today, with 95% (around 167 people on a 175 seat Boeing 737-800) of the plane full. Which is a great sign for a Monday morning flight. 

Another cool air catch was a FedEx 767 coming in from Memphis. Very cool to see a wide body aircraft landing and taxiing at RIC, even if it’s not transporting passengers. Hopefully one day within the next decade we see some wide body passenger aircraft.

 

Some more updates include:

1. JetBlue seems to have replaced one of their 3 daily flights to Boston with an A320, which adds an additional 50 seats each way between RIC and BOS.
 

2. American has seemed to upguage atleast one of their multiple daily flights between RIC and both Philadelphia and Chicago O’Hare from a 50 seat E145 to a 76 seat E175. Hopefully this trend continues and RIC can start seeing more 76 seat planes and less 50 seat planes.

 

3. Spirit has moved the return flight from Las Vegas to RIC from a flight arriving late at night to a red eye, which leaves Las Vegas alittle after 9 pm and arrives at RIC around 5 am. To my knowledge, this is the first true redeye flight that has been offered to RIC. Even with this change in time, the flights still seem to be consistently over 75% full, which is a great sign for a service offered daily. Definitely demonstrates that there is significant west coast demand out of RIC.

 

Overall, seems like the airport is doing very well heading into the fall, especially if airlines are still upguaging aircraft at the airport. Should be very interesting to see what developments happen for next summer (hopefully some more capacity on existing routes and maybe some new routes if we are lucky (I’d love Southwest to Nashville, Orlando and Tampa, and American to Austin.)

Great intel and awesome photos, @blopp1234. As usual, a few thoughts:

Seeing wides at RIC: I figured cargo might be coming in on the bigger birds. Agreed - I can't wait to see some wides saddling up to the passenger gates at RIC within the next decade (and sooner rather than later in that period!)

1.) JetBlue going bigger: Excellent! That's big - even though it's only incremental - it's still big.  Consider: those extra 50 seats - if they're filled in both directions - potentially add an additional average of 3,000 passengers a month (using a 30-day average) ON JUST THAT ONE FLIGHT. (1,500 passenger each way.) Annualized, that's (ballpark) roughly 36,000 additional passengers over the course of a full year ON JUST ONE FLIGHT. Wondering at what point they'll upgrade to A320s on all three of their dailies to Boston?  

2.) American upsizing: Excellent news there too. Curious if demand for ORD isn't there yet to get them to move this route to one of the newer/larger 737s or an A319 or A320? Kinda surprised that as a route, Chicago wouldn't be drawing larger planes. As a corollary to your point: I'm hopeful RIC will start seeing fewer E's and more Boeing and Airbus liveries. Let's really step this up!

3.) Spirit LAS to RIC: Wow! A legit red-eye. Pretty cool, all in all. What time is the outbound flight to Sin City from River City?

Agreed all the way around - I think the remainder of this year is going to be very strong and that 2024 will be even stronger, particularly if/when we get international service re-established. Hopefully we'll continue to see upsizing on routes across the board as well as significantly increased flight frequencies and good/convenient flight times for travelers, such that RIC will be a VERY inviting choice. Agreed on routes: Southwest to Nashville, Orlando, Tampa would be good and American to Austin. Do we have anything going to St. Louis at this point? Curious if that's a route that someone might pick up? Also hoping Breeze will do a stunning turnaround and bring Cincinnati back next year - and make it permanent. The more options RIC can offer (at a competitive cost), the increased likelihood a traveler will fly out of Richmond than elsewhere. I'm not expert by any stretch on the airline industry, but I would hazard to guess that after costs, the most important thing to travelers choosing an airport would be options/convenience. If RIC can offer more, she'll do more business. It's as simple as that.

All of this has me more convinced than ever that we are inching ever closer, day-by-day, to reaching a number of significant milestones - especially further expansion with the construction that will get us to:

44 GATES!!!

[blopp1234]

2 hours ago, eandslee said:

What an absolutely fantastic trip report!!  Loved the photos and the first-hand accounts!!  RIC looked the busiest I’ve seen it in your photos…definitely a great sign!  Also loved the report on the upgraded aircraft on those select routes (most of which I knew about, but others I did not). Awesome report!  Please do another soon!

Would love to be able to provide more frequent updates but flying is so expensive now a days that I don’t get to do it very often.

49 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Great intel and awesome photos, @blopp1234. As usual, a few thoughts:

Seeing wides at RIC: I figured cargo might be coming in on the bigger birds. Agreed - I can't wait to see some wides saddling up to the passenger gates at RIC within the next decade (and sooner rather than later in that period!)

1.) JetBlue going bigger: Excellent! That's big - even though it's only incremental - it's still big.  Consider: those extra 50 seats - if they're filled in both directions - potentially add an additional average of 3,000 passengers a month (using a 30-day average) ON JUST THAT ONE FLIGHT. (1,500 passenger each way.) Annualized, that's (ballpark) roughly 36,000 additional passengers over the course of a full year ON JUST ONE FLIGHT. Wondering at what point they'll upgrade to A320s on all three of their dailies to Boston?  

2.) American upsizing: Excellent news there too. Curious if demand for ORD isn't there yet to get them to move this route to one of the newer/larger 737s or an A319 or A320? Kinda surprised that as a route, Chicago wouldn't be drawing larger planes. As a corollary to your point: I'm hopeful RIC will start seeing fewer E's and more Boeing and Airbus liveries. Let's really step this up!

3.) Spirit LAS to RIC: Wow! A legit red-eye. Pretty cool, all in all. What time is the outbound flight to Sin City from River City?

Agreed all the way around - I think the remainder of this year is going to be very strong and that 2024 will be even stronger, particularly if/when we get international service re-established. Hopefully we'll continue to see upsizing on routes across the board as well as significantly increased flight frequencies and good/convenient flight times for travelers, such that RIC will be a VERY inviting choice. Agreed on routes: Southwest to Nashville, Orlando, Tampa would be good and American to Austin. Do we have anything going to St. Louis at this point? Curious if that's a route that someone might pick up? Also hoping Breeze will do a stunning turnaround and bring Cincinnati back next year - and make it permanent. The more options RIC can offer (at a competitive cost), the increased likelihood a traveler will fly out of Richmond than elsewhere. I'm not expert by any stretch on the airline industry, but I would hazard to guess that after costs, the most important thing to travelers choosing an airport would be options/convenience. If RIC can offer more, she'll do more business. It's as simple as that.

All of this has me more convinced than ever that we are inching ever closer, day-by-day, to reaching a number of significant milestones - especially further expansion with the construction that will get us to:

44 GATES!!!

1. JetBlue is likely going to switch to the A220-300 (the same plane type that Breeze uses) which will replace all their E190s, which primarily fly up and down the east coast. As they continue to receive deliveries of the A220s, the E190s will become a less likely sight at RIC as JetBlue will likely switch to solely flying A220s to Boston and A320s to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale in the coming years.

 

2. The main reason Richmond sees a lot of E145 regional jets is due to Piedmont Airlines, a regional subsidiary of American, having a maintenance facility at RIC. Because of this, they cycle some of their E145s back from their hubs at Chicago and Philadelphia to RIC for maintenance. I’m not sure if we will ever see anything bigger than an American Airlines A319 flying from RIC to Ohare or Philadelphia because of this, but who knows. As far as A320s and 737s flying to Ohare, United consistently flies 737s between Ohare and RIC.

 

3. The Spirit redeye from Las Vegas arrives at around 5 am and departs RIC alittle after 6 am. 
 

4. As far as service to St Louis goes, RIC hasn’t had direct service to St Louis since it was dropped in the mid 2000s by American when they dehubbed St. Louis. With Southwest being the dominant carrier at St Louis now, they would be the most likely if service were to be reinstated between the two cities. However, with an average PDEW of about 40-50 passengers, they would need to stimulate a decent amount of demand and offer lots of connections for it to be worth flying a 150+ seat 737. I would think Nashville and Orlando would be the most likely as both are large crew bases for Southwest and RIC is one of the largest markets not served by Southwest for each of those airports.