Richmond International Airport

[Niccckk]

3 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Gosh I wonder how long before we could actually have a rail connector from MSS to the airport. I feel like we’d have flight to Europe before then 

 

Lol probably

I hate how underutilized MSS is... it's such a perfect station and looks beautiful, but instead the suburban Staples Mill station is the big one that everything goes through.

[eandslee]

3 minutes ago, Niccckk said:

Lol probably

I hate how underutilized MSS is... it's such a perfect station and looks beautiful, but instead the suburban Staples Mill station is the big one that everything goes through.

Here’s the funny thing about this - I’ve followed the tracks from MSS and they follow a route right up to (virtually) the front door of the airport!  Seems it would be so easy to do - just plop a train on the tracks and make it so that the train only travels between MSS and the airport.  Scheduling would likely have to be de-conflicted with passenger rail service etc, but dang, it’s practically already there!  The only down side might be less revenue at the airport since much of their revenue comes from parking fees. 

[blopp1234]

2 hours ago, eandslee said:

B747s can already use the long runway at RIC - Air Force One has been there many times (a B747).  However, there are not many B747s left flying. The last one came off the assembly line earlier this year for a cargo company.  The replacement for the B747 is the B787 and B777.  I just looked it up and a B787 needs at minimum, 8,500 ft of runway to take off. Since RWY 16/34 at RIC is only at 9,000 ft, that’s too short for take off.  It would need to be extended to accommodate. 

I also interpret the 1000 ft mentioned in the diagram a total of a 1000 ft extension. I could be wrong though. 

Extending runway 16/34 is already in the airport master plan, but I agree that for regularly scheduled commercial service it is needed. 
 

I will say though that not too long ago, a Norse Atlantic 787 was diverted to Richmond so it is technically possible, just not something that should be commonplace I guess. 

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Gosh I wonder how long before we could actually have a rail connector from MSS to the airport. I feel like we’d have flight to Europe before then 

 

Definitely agree on this tbh. I’d love to have an airport station with Amtrak, as it could make it easier for people from Fredericksburg or the Peninsula to get to RIC for flights.

[Flood Zone]

20 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

I get where you're coming from - and I push back respectfully. But it's this perverse, old-school "leave it as it is" attitude about Richmond's growth, progress and evolution toward something bigger and far better that so many Richmonders seem to have that has IRKED the living scheitze out of me for as long as I can remember.

I completely get that, take no offense, and agree as a matter of sentiment. This is my hometown (and I'm getting up there, though you do have me by just a few years). I want it to have everything possible.

That said, I tend to try to set expectations low. Set a dream to achieve, etc.

But THAT said, 

20 hours ago, eandslee said:

I’ll just leave this here for folks to chew on. This comes from probably the best article I’ve seen about RIC and the vision of Perry Miller who oversees RIC.  Please read it again!

Fair enough!

We'll see what happens!

[I miss RVA]

19 minutes ago, Flood Zone said:

I completely get that, take no offense, and agree as a matter of sentiment. This is my hometown (and I'm getting up there, though you do have me by just a few years). I want it to have everything possible.

That said, I tend to try to set expectations low. Set a dream to achieve, etc.

But THAT said, 

Fair enough!

We'll see what happens!

@Flood Zone- I'm indeed very grateful that you took no offense - for none was intended toward you. My angst (okay - if I'm being honest, it's more like legit "anger") about this old-school RVA mindset is something that goes back to when I started following everything that the city was doing, the beginnings of which started more than 50 years ago and is a tale far too long to share here.  I've held this deep (and yes, fiery) love - this uber-progressive vision - this dream about my beloved hometown since I was little. Even as a child, I completely bought into the concept - and was 100% all-in -- on the idea that was widely held from the late '60s to the very early '70s that RVA was slated to become the "next Atlanta". The mayor (Tom Bliley), the City Manager (Bill Leidinger) -- [both of whom members of my family knew personally and in the case of Tom Bliley, also knew his family personally], the RVA business and financial communities, the local media, civic organizations who were progress-minded (read: not preservation-minded), and others were VERY bullish on RVA's potential to become the northernmost "bookend" major city to Atlanta, anchoring the Southeastern U.S. Moreover, in Richmond's case, she was also seen as potentially "connecting" that burgeoning southeast region with the Northeastern Megalopolis, meaning that RVA would serve the dual role -- again as a MAJOR city -- of anchoring the southeast, and bridging it to the northeast.

Obviously - to my heartbreak - this never materialized - the reasons for which have long been discussed in our community on other threads.

Suffice it to say - my being, basically, a fire-breathing dragon about Richmond's growth and evolution has been in my blood since before my age reached double digits.

Either way - very glad you weren't offended. 

[blopp1234]

Delta has released their schedule for next summer and the following changes impact RIC.

 

RIC-MSP: Increases from 1x to 2x daily flights.

RIC-DTW: Increases from 1x to 2x daily mainline flights on the 717 with 3 overall flights each day.

RIC-LGA: Increases from 4x to 5x daily flights.

RIC-JFK: Increases from 2x to 3x daily flights.

RIC-ATL: Increases from 6x to 9x daily on 757-200.

Southwest also seems to have added a 3rd daily flight to Atlanta out of RIC for next summer as well.

 

Overall great news and a lot of additional capacity being offered out of RIC for next summer.

[I miss RVA]

39 minutes ago, blopp1234 said:

Delta has released their schedule for next summer and the following changes impact RIC.

 

RIC-MSP: Increases from 1x to 2x daily flights.

RIC-DTW: Increases from 1x to 2x daily mainline flights on the 717 with 3 overall flights each day.

RIC-LGA: Increases from 4x to 5x daily flights.

RIC-JFK: Increases from 2x to 3x daily flights.

RIC-ATL: Increases from 6x to 9x daily on 757-200.

Southwest also seems to have added a 3rd daily flight to Atlanta out of RIC for next summer as well.

 

Overall great news and a lot of additional capacity being offered out of RIC for next summer.

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW ... on a number of different fronts. 

1.) First - it's Delta - one of the big guys. I could see if it were Breeze or Spirit or whatever... but DELTA... THIS is certainly a big uptick from, again, one of the Big Three (Does Southwest count? If so, then Big Four).

2.) Man - 8 daily flights to NYC - that's a lot of flights to/from the Big Apple just on Delta.

3.) And NINE daily Delta flights to Hotlanta? And all of them are on 757s? With three on Southwest, next summer we'll see 12 dailies to ATL. WOW...

4.) All in all - Delta's coming in with 7 additional flights per day - which will be 49 per week. Are these "permanent" additions (meaning, not just for the summer) that will simply start in like May or June?

5.) Together (Delta/Southwest) - if all these flights are permanent adds, we're looking at 240 additional flights per month (210 from Delta, 30 from Southwest). From a passenger volume standpoint, that's 480 additional flight operations (takeoffs/enplanements and landings/deplanements) per month. This is REALLY robust and should provide a really noticeable bump-up in passenger volume. WOW. Who saw this coming?

6.) Aside from the 757s - what aircraft are flying the NYC, Detroit and  Minneapolis routes? I was watching that "LA Flights" style RIC plane watching video, and it seems like just about everything Delta is flying out of RIC are the little pea-shooters. Are they flying anything bigger than those commuter jets I saw on the video?

So this will be the second NEW Southwest route from RIC, no? What was the one added earlier this year - was is PHX or Vegas? I can't recall. Southwest is coming in with 737's, yes?

Holy moly - this is outstanding news.

 

Edited November 3, 2023 by I miss RVA

[blopp1234]

2 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW ... on a number of different fronts. 

1.) First - it's Delta - one of the big guys. I could see if it were Breeze or Spirit or whatever... but DELTA... THIS is certainly a big uptick from, again, one of the Big Three (Does Southwest count? If so, then Big Four).

2.) Man - 8 daily flights to NYC - that's a lot of flights to/from the Big Apple just on Delta.

3.) And NINE daily Delta flights to Hotlanta? And all of them are on 757s? With three on Southwest, next summer we'll see 12 dailies to ATL. WOW...

4.) All in all - Delta's coming in with 7 additional flights per day - which will be 49 per week. Are these "permanent" additions (meaning, not just for the summer) that will simply start in like May or June?

5.) Together (Delta/Southwest) - if all these flights are permanent adds, we're looking at 240 additional flights per month (210 from Delta, 30 from Southwest). From a passenger volume standpoint, that's 480 additional flight operations (takeoffs/enplanements and landings/deplanements) per month. This is REALLY robust and should provide a really noticeable bump-up in passenger volume. WOW. Who saw this coming?

6.) Aside from the 757s - what aircraft are flying the NYC, Detroit and  Minneapolis routes? I was watching that "LA Flights" style RIC plane watching video, and it seems like just about everything Delta is flying out of RIC are the little pea-shooters. Are they flying anything bigger than those commuter jets I saw on the video?

So this will be the second NEW Southwest route from RIC, no? What was the one added earlier this year - was is PHX or Vegas? I can't recall. Southwest is coming in with 737's, yes?

Holy moly - this is outstanding news.

 

4.) All in all - Delta's coming in with 7 additional flights per day - which will be 49 per week. Are these "permanent" additions (meaning, not just for the summer) that will simply start in like May or June?

 

This is just the schedule for the summer season. Likelihood is the schedule will be scaled back during the winter season.

 

6.) Aside from the 757s - what aircraft are flying the NYC, Detroit and  Minneapolis routes? I was watching that "LA Flights" style RIC plane watching video, and it seems like just about everything Delta is flying out of RIC are the little pea-shooters. Are they flying anything bigger than those commuter jets I saw on the video?

 

Delta flies the following jets out of RIC: Boeing 757-200 (190+ seats), Boeing 717-200 (110 seats),  Embraer 175 (76 seats), CRJ-900 (76 seats). The 757 is by far the largest plane Delta flies to RIC and it serves as a way for Delta to funnel the most passengers possible into Atlanta, their biggest hub. I don’t foresee the 757 being used on any other routes out of RIC that Delta offers as they really only use it for service to Atlanta or International service out of Atlanta.

 

7.) So this will be the second NEW Southwest route from RIC, no? What was the one added earlier this year - was is PHX or Vegas? I can't recall. Southwest is coming in with 737's, yes?

 

This isn’t a new route from Southwest as Atlanta is currently served by 2x per day 737 flights. The route added earlier this fall was a returning service to Denver, which flies 1x per day on a 737.

[Niccckk]

2 hours ago, blopp1234 said:

This isn’t a new route from Southwest as Atlanta is currently served by 2x per day 737 flights. The route added earlier this fall was a returning service to Denver, which flies 1x per day on a 737.

Hopefully sooner or later Southwest gets ATL back up to 4x daily, if I recall we had them 4x daily before the pandemic? Although now we have Midway so I'm sure some connection traffic is going through Midway instead of Atlanta now.

My sister flies RIC-MCO quite often and most of the times she has flown, it has been almost full flights each way.

5 hours ago, blopp1234 said:

RIC-MSP: Increases from 1x to 2x daily flights.

Seems like they're really trying to push Sun Country out huh? Do we think Sun Country will last till' next summer, or will Delta shoo them out?

5 hours ago, blopp1234 said:

RIC-ATL: Increases from 6x to 9x daily on 757-200.

Do we think there will be a point with Delta where there is so many people going through ATL that it would make sense to open up some new nonstops? Since obviously there is a crap ton of people flying to Atlanta, and I imagine most of those people are connecting there? (ex: Lessen the ATL daily flights, and to  compensate, start nonstops for the most common connecting airports out of RIC-ATL?

Edited November 4, 2023 by Niccckk

[Merrittk92]

10 hours ago, blopp1234 said:

Delta has released their schedule for next summer and the following changes impact RIC.

 

RIC-MSP: Increases from 1x to 2x daily flights.

RIC-DTW: Increases from 1x to 2x daily mainline flights on the 717 with 3 overall flights each day.

RIC-LGA: Increases from 4x to 5x daily flights.

RIC-JFK: Increases from 2x to 3x daily flights.

RIC-ATL: Increases from 6x to 9x daily on 757-200.

Southwest also seems to have added a 3rd daily flight to Atlanta out of RIC for next summer as well.

 

Overall great news and a lot of additional capacity being offered out of RIC for next summer.

I do love an increase in frequency so overall this is wonderful news. I was hoping Delta would bring a SLC flight our way this time..oh well!

Edited November 4, 2023 by Merrittk92

[Richhamleigh, DC]

Aeromexico announced service to RDU joining Air France, Lufthansa this year and Icelandair and Bahamasair last year.  American flies nonstop to London Heathrow.  I'm wondering if I wanted to fly nonstop to say Paris or Frankfurt would I use RDU or IAD.  They are both about the same mileage but obviously traffic to Raleigh Durham has to be less of a hassle.  Which would you do?

[eandslee]

32 minutes ago, Phillydog said:

Aeromexico announced service to RDU joining Air France, Lufthansa this year and Icelandair and Bahamasair last year.  American flies nonstop to London Heathrow.  I'm wondering if I wanted to fly nonstop to say Paris or Frankfurt would I use RDU or IAD.  They are both about the same mileage but obviously traffic to Raleigh Durham has to be less of a hassle.  Which would you do?

Neither, if I could help it. This is my frustration with all the airports around Richmond getting all the good routes (international and domestic).  I know that you have to do what you have to do, but dang, you are another potential RIC passenger who will go elsewhere to travel since RIC doesn’t have what you’re looking for.  Damn it!

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Neither, if I could help it. This is my frustration with all the airports around Richmond getting all the good routes (international and domestic).  I know that you have to do what you have to do, but dang, you are another potential RIC passenger who will go elsewhere to travel since RIC doesn’t have what you’re looking for.  Damn it!

!!!!  THIS!!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I'm #@%$& sick and damn tired of it, quite frankly.

Edited November 14, 2023 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, Phillydog said:

Aeromexico announced service to RDU joining Air France, Lufthansa this year and Icelandair and Bahamasair last year.  American flies nonstop to London Heathrow.  I'm wondering if I wanted to fly nonstop to say Paris or Frankfurt would I use RDU or IAD.  They are both about the same mileage but obviously traffic to Raleigh Durham has to be less of a hassle.  Which would you do?

Two thoughts:

1.) With all due respect, but WHY would anyone publicize this out-of-state "news" on the Richmond forum? Quite frankly, I have to ask: WHO CARES about what one of our chief competitors is doing? 

2.) I'm with @eandslee-- I personally would do neither. To be bloody honest, if I was flying from Richmond to Europe at this point, I would fly RIC to New York and fly to Europe out of JFK. At least that way, I'm patronizing RIC and counting toward OUR airport's passenger total (and hopefully counting on the PDEW of Richmond travelers flying to Europe) - and I would happily do that before I spent even one penny supporting either IAD or RDU.

[Brent114]

I would never choose Raleigh.  That place may as well be 5,000 miles away it is so far off of my radar.  Not in 100 years would it  occur  to me to catch a flight from there.  
 

I love Dulles.   The airport is sophisticated, the dive is far more interesting and it keeps my business in the commonwealth.   That said, my days of driving for a flight are past me.   This March I’m traveling to London.  Flying from Richmond to New York City then to London. 

[Flood Zone]

11 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

To be bloody honest, if I was flying from Richmond to Europe at this point, I would fly RIC to New York and fly to Europe out of JFK.

To each their own, and I certainly see your point of view.

IF I were flying to Europe (my wife and I have many hypothetical destinations!), I'd be flying as a group of 4 that includes 2 kids. Absolutely no way I'd fly RIC to JFK - for the purpose of giving RIC some business - because the headache of connecting, etc. just wouldn't be worth it. 

(Back in the late 1990s, IcelandAir offered super-affordable flights from BWI to Luxembourg, with a stop in Reykjavic. I did it straight through; my friend stayed a day or two in Reykjavic. Either way, the price was the same. No idea whether IcelandAir still does that sort of thing, but if it did, that would be the kind of European route I could see RIC trying to snag. NoVa people might even drive down here if the price undercut the big carriers flying into Paris.)

[I miss RVA]

33 minutes ago, Flood Zone said:

To each their own, and I certainly see your point of view.

IF I were flying to Europe (my wife and I have many hypothetical destinations!), I'd be flying as a group of 4 that includes 2 kids. Absolutely no way I'd fly RIC to JFK - for the purpose of giving RIC some business - because the headache of connecting, etc. just wouldn't be worth it. 

(Back in the late 1990s, IcelandAir offered super-affordable flights from BWI to Luxembourg, with a stop in Reykjavic. I did it straight through; my friend stayed a day or two in Reykjavic. Either way, the price was the same. No idea whether IcelandAir still does that sort of thing, but if it did, that would be the kind of European route I could see RIC trying to snag. NoVa people might even drive down here if the price undercut the big carriers flying into Paris.)

Your situation certainly makes a difference, particularly having two kids (I'm guessing fairly young, no?) Convenience in your case isn't just "convenience" -- I totally get that. 

Re: IcelandAir: 100%!!! That SO makes sense as a possible first foray of international carriers that could - at least in theory - fly out of RIC. I believe @wrldcoupe4suggested the same. Something tells me Perry Miller has IcelandAir firmly on his radar - and as you said, it might be a fantastic option that could draw passengers from outside of what's viewed to be RIC's catchment area.

Edited November 14, 2023 by I miss RVA

[Richhamleigh, DC]

33 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Your situation certainly makes a difference, particularly having two kids (I'm guessing fairly young, no?) Convenience in your case isn't just "convenience" -- I totally get that. 

Re: IcelandAir: 100%!!! That SO makes sense as a possible first foray of international carriers that could - at least in theory - fly out of RIC. I believe @wrldcoupe4suggested the same. Something tells me Perry Miller has IcelandAir firmly on his radar - and as you said, it might be a fantastic option that could draw passengers from outside of what's viewed to be RIC's catchment area.

Don't count on it. 

 

4 hours ago, Brent114 said:

I would never choose Raleigh.  That place may as well be 5,000 miles away it is so far off of my radar.  Not in 100 years would it  occur  to me to catch a flight from there.  
 

I love Dulles.   The airport is sophisticated, the dive is far more interesting and it keeps my business in the commonwealth.   That said, my days of driving for a flight are past me.   This March I’m traveling to London.  Flying from Richmond to New York City then to London. 

Wow, you people are provincial.  

[Richhamleigh, DC]

13 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Two thoughts:

1.) With all due respect, but WHY would anyone publicize this out-of-state "news" on the Richmond forum? Quite frankly, I have to ask: WHO CARES about what one of our chief competitors is doing? 

2.) I'm with @eandslee-- I personally would do neither. To be bloody honest, if I was flying from Richmond to Europe at this point, I would fly RIC to New York and fly to Europe out of JFK. At least that way, I'm patronizing RIC and counting toward OUR airport's passenger total (and hopefully counting on the PDEW of Richmond travelers flying to Europe) - and I would happily do that before I spent even one penny supporting either IAD or RDU.

"Publicize"?  It's news and it's relevant, and it's as close as IAD.  My god, it's an airport not a life-support system.  But seriously, you think Raleigh and Dulles are your "competitors"?  No offense, but bless your heart.   I just moved to the area and like to travel - frankly air service out of RIC is not great.   

[I miss RVA]

30 minutes ago, Phillydog said:

Don't count on it. 

 

Wow, you people are provincial.  

1.) "Don't count on it":  And you base this assessment on WHAT exactly? You have inside information that the rest of us don't have? If so, please share.

2.) "You people"??   To think I wasted my time beginning my response by saying "with all due respect..."  WTF is YOUR problem?

SMDH.

Edited November 14, 2023 by I miss RVA

[wrldcoupe4]

I’d go Dulles for European flights. More options if there is a cancellation, and would think a shorter flight. 

[I miss RVA]

37 minutes ago, Phillydog said:

"Publicize"?  It's news and it's relevant,

But seriously, you think Raleigh and Dulles are your "competitors"? 

 - frankly air service out of RIC is not great.   

1.) Yes  "publicize". Take all of that RDU "rah rah" bullsheitze over to the Raleigh UP forum - it's not even remotely pertinent to anything regarding RVA development.

2.) Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metro absolutely is one of metro RVA's regional economic competitors. 

3.) I won't argue with you here. We all know this to be a very sad state of affairs. HOWEVER - what you are doing -- publicizing this crap about RDU's example of "the rich getting richer" -- is part of the problem for RIC, NOT part of the solution. We tout RIC on here because we all want RIC to grow a lot faster and offer more robust air service. Bleeding away potential traffic out of state -- regardless of how incremental (so please spare me that push-back) only hinders that process.

4.) You just moved to the area - great!! So how about trying to HELP the area advance and grow? What does coming on here and putting folks down and touting other cities' offerings do to help matters? What drew you to the RVA metro? Was it out of your hands? (work-related) - or was it a choice? 

5.) If your handle is any indication, safe to say you're from Philly? Cool! Love the city. Have been there many times - one of my favorite places to visit and I had actually considered moving there more than 20 years ago. I've always had a good time in the city now being made famous for the "Brotherly Shove".

Edited November 14, 2023 by I miss RVA

[Brent114]

55 minutes ago, Phillydog said:

Don't count on it. 

 

Wow, you people are provincial.  

How exactly is choosing Dulles over Raleigh provincial?   Dulles is closer and the drive is better, IMO Dulles is 50 miles closer.   That’s not an insignificant distance.  Even BWI is 20 miles closer.   Why would anyone in Richmond think about going to Raleigh to catch a flight? 
 

And Dulles is sexy AF.  Don’t hate. 

 

[eandslee]

14 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

I’d go Dulles for European flights. More options if there is a cancellation, and would think a shorter flight. 

This is likely the right answer because, I get it - the airport you end up using depends on a number of factors that line up better than RIC for international travel. I just hate that RIC loses ridership because it can’t offer the same or similar level of air service/amenities.  I know it happens all the time…and it just frustrates me.  I don’t blame anyone for going to IAD though.  It probably makes more logistical and economic sense (in other words, “it pencils out,” as we say on this site).  It would be awesome, but it’s not feasible to expect everyone to use RIC no matter their destination.  However, it would help the PDEW statistics. I just don’t expect anyone to sacrifice money or time (to connect) for that purpose alone. I just wish that RIC offered more.  I hope somehow airlines are capturing the data that doesn’t go through RIC…or those that live in the RIC catchment area who are flying out of other airports due to RIC’s limited offerings.

 

With that said, RIC is getting better.  It’s not where we would like it to be yet, but we are cheering it on so that one day, it will be THE airport for all Virginians outside of the DC area.  Just something to look forward to!  I believe it will happen one day!

[I miss RVA]

27 minutes ago, eandslee said:

This is likely the right answer because, I get it - the airport you end up using depends on a number of factors that line up better than RIC for international travel. I just hate that RIC loses ridership because it can’t offer the same or similar level of air service/amenities.  I know it happens all the time…and it just frustrates me.  I don’t blame anyone for going to IAD though.  It probably makes more logistical and economic sense (in other words, “it pencils out,” as we say on this site).  It would be awesome, but it’s not feasible to expect everyone to use RIC no matter their destination.  However, it would help the PDEW statistics. I just don’t expect anyone to sacrifice money or time (to connect) for that purpose alone. I just wish that RIC offered more.  I hope somehow airlines are capturing the data that doesn’t go through RIC…or those that live in the RIC catchment area who are flying out of other airports due to RIC’s limited offerings.

 

With that said, RIC is getting better.  It’s not where we would like it to be yet, but we are cheering it on so that one day, it will be THE airport for all Virginians outside of the DC area.  Just something to look forward to!  I believe it will happen one day!

I just hope I live long enough to see this come to pass.