Richmond International Airport

[jbjust]

It all depends on how you define Northern Virginia. If you live in Fredricksburg, it's going to be faster to go to Richmond than to Dulles (or even National depending on traffic).

[NYCJSW]

Unfortunately, I find it difficult to believe that "many air travelers" are coming from NOVA/DC or Norfolk. NOVA/DC airports offer more non-stop flights at reasonable prices on legacy carriers. I just cannot see a person from the NOVA/DC area driving to RIC just to save $100-$150.00. The time driving down to RIC along with gas and then the tiring drive back up on the return would not be practical.

You are probably correct. But RIC will get a lot of people who used to fly into to NOVA/DC airports or Norfolk airports for business. Previously if someone had business to do in the state, RIC was not really an option. As someone else mentioned people from Fredericksburg often fly out of RIC. Someone doing business in that area or in Williamsburg now may also choose RIC. Clearly the increase in travelers in coming from somewhere. We have had out of town guests who used the Norfolk airport.

[eandslee]

Maybe the word "many" would be a bit of an over statement, but I would say that at least some are coming to RIC to fly. Case in point, my father-in-law had his flight canceled in DC this past weekend and then opted to catch a flight out of Richmond...unfortunately for him, all flights were full out of Richmond (that's good for Richmond!) and he ended up having to drive down to RDU to catch a flight! Amazing that people are willing to drive even as far as RDU from DC to catch a flight if they need to. This was just a small example, but I'm sure things like this happen virtually everyday! I don't think that it's out of the question to think that quite a few people come to Richmond to fly from the NoVA/DC and even the Norfolk area...even people from Raleigh probably come to RIC to fly if there is a good enough deal.

[eandslee]

BTW, here's a cool link that speaks of the Airport Connector Road in more detail (with diagram):

http://www.pocahontasparkway.com/FactSheet.pdf

[burt]

From what I understand, Skybus currently has a total of 7 (5 working / 2 reserves) aircrafts in their operating fleet with more on order. I have heard that they are doing well so far.

West coast flights.........RIC needs to have consistant O/D numbers to support flights to the west coast.

As stated :

"with many air travelers coming from Washington DC, Norfolk and other parts of the central east coast to fly in and out of RIC to catch flights from airlines like Skybus. "

Unfortunately, I find it difficult to believe that "many air travelers" are coming from NOVA/DC or Norfolk. NOVA/DC airports offer more non-stop flights at reasonable prices on legacy carriers. I just cannot see a person from the NOVA/DC area driving to RIC just to save $100-$150.00. The time driving down to RIC along with gas and then the tiring drive back up on the return would not be practical. Don't forget to throw in the NOVA/DC traffic and still be at the airport 1.5 hours before your flight. Thats a minimum of 3.5 hours of travel (w/o traffic) BEFORE setting foot on the plane. I could see some passengers from Norfolk doing the drive though I would not say "many" since there are 2 airports that service SE Virginia. But the same applies to the driving aspect of the trip.

RIC passenger counts are up only because Richmond Citizens are utilizing the Legacy and LCC's that fly out of RIC and the airfares are reasonable!

For that, we can congratulate the Managment @ RIC for the hardwork they have done!

Mico Miles, I get the impression that you sadistically enjoy putting our little airport down . God knows plenty of Central Virginians had no qualms about flying off to NOVA, ORF and RDU to obtain cheaper seats before RIC came into its own with a handful of low-cost carriers. Why shouldn't the reverse, to a lesser degree, be true now?

Jet Blue, via connections at JFK has opened up RIC to cross-country flyers bound for Williamsburg who might have flown into Hampton Roads.

And what was all that talk about Skybus re-routing via GSO to CMH? If that has happened, the carrier's information doesn't reflect it. A same day return definitely would attract more business.

Full flights and bumpings are occurring more than ever this summer at RIC. Are bigger planes and more destinations far behind?

West coast non-stops may still be a dream, but I'll bet a quarter that daily direct service to Vegas from RIC on a LLC would be a profitable operation.

[burt]

BTW, here's a cool link that speaks of the Airport Connector Road in more detail (with diagram):

http://www.pocahontasparkway.com/FactSheet.pdf

Thanks for this, Eric. The connector, despite a combined Pocohontas/Airport toll of $3.25, is going to be very attractive to Chesterfield, Petersburg and points south.

And with expected Fort Lee growth, I predict I-295 to Pocahontas, then the connector will be heavily used by flyers from that region.

[MicoMiles]

Mico Miles, I get the impression that you sadistically enjoy putting our little airport down . God knows plenty of Central Virginians had no qualms about flying off to NOVA, ORF and RDU to obtain cheaper seats before RIC came into its own with a handful of low-cost carriers. Why shouldn't the reverse, to a lesser degree, be true now?

Jet Blue, via connections at JFK has opened up RIC to cross-country flyers bound for Williamsburg who might have flown into Hampton Roads.

And what was all that talk about Skybus re-routing via GSO to CMH? If that has happened, the carrier's information doesn't reflect it. A same day return definitely would attract more business.

Full flights and bumpings are occurring more than ever this summer at RIC. Are bigger planes and more destinations far behind?

West coast non-stops may still be a dream, but I'll bet a quarter that daily direct service to Vegas from RIC on a LLC would be a profitable operation.

Burt,

I am not, as you say, "sadistically" putting our little airport down! I even congratulated the Mgmt. of RIC of the on-going successes that are happening at RIC. I like whats going on at RIC. I just look at the airline industry in a realistic manner from the right seat of the cockpit........hopefully left in a few years

I too would like to see west coast service of of RIC but the passenger loads have to warrant the need. Its called Origin/Destination Traffic. Just because RIC is seeing a surge in passenger loads doesn't necessarily mean that airlines officials will take a closer look at RIC just to see if we have the O/D traffic to the west coast. Their are a lot of other mid-sized airports just like RIC who are seeing an increase in passenger loads.

As far as direct service to Vegas, I think Long Beach or Oakland, CA (JetBlue Hubs) would fare much better than Vegas. Both cities are connecting points to other west coast cities.

The RIC-GSO-CMH was a "proving run". Thats all it was. A test to see if this point-to-point scheduling may work out for Skybus. I never once said that it was going to happen anytime soon. It may happen since Skybus only has 5 aircrafts flying on their daily schedule with 2 as reserve. Thats what it may take to get a second flight in and out of RIC.

[burt]

I'm in agreement about the west coast, but still hold on to my bet about Vegas. If ORF can support a daily Southwest to Vegas, an LLC out of RIC could attract a more affluent audience within a hundred mile radius.

The Skybus "proving-run" thing confuses me. If it proved there's not enough traffic for a non-stop RIC/CMH, why on earth would they even consider a second daily flight instead of simply bumping GSO and/or RIC off their schedules? I still wish we could hear exactly how well or poorly Skybus is doing at RIC. A same-day return would definitely improve sales, but with limited equipment I suppose there's no hope for that.

Incidentally, I think when checking schedules a month or so ago I discovered that Richmond passengers can connect at CMH to either Oakland or another California city, but return would not be as simple.

Always good to hear from you MM and hope you'll occupy that left seat sooner than later.

[MicoMiles]

I'm in agreement about the west coast, but still hold on to my bet about Vegas. If ORF can support a daily Southwest to Vegas, an LLC out of RIC could attract a more affluent audience within a hundred mile radius.

The Skybus "proving-run" thing confuses me. If it proved there's not enough traffic for a non-stop RIC/CMH, why on earth would they even consider a second daily flight instead of simply bumping GSO and/or RIC off their schedules? I still wish we could hear exactly how well or poorly Skybus is doing at RIC. A same-day return would definitely improve sales, but with limited equipment I suppose there's no hope for that.

Incidentally, I think when checking schedules a month or so ago I discovered that Richmond passengers can connect at CMH to either Oakland or another California city, but return would not be as simple.

Always good to hear from you MM and hope you'll occupy that left seat sooner than later.

Thanks Burt!

I hoping it will be sooner but in this business, anything can happen. I'm happy with my 3 stripes over the "furlough line" !

ORF can support daily SW flights to Vegas because of the large population base in the Hampton Roads area (7 cities and surrounding counties). But keep in mind, Vegas is a SW hub so its probably a safe bet that many on the Vegas flight out of ORF will be making a connection to other SW cities. And the same applies on the return trip back to Norfolk. I think the same will happen if RIC has direct flights to LGB or OAK via JetBlue. I have also heard rumors that either Delta or SW is considering Norfolk-San Diego flights, which I can see happening due to the naval bases and shipyard industries in both cities.

Skybus is still working out all of their "kinks" in their schedules. Until they take possession of their new planes, they will need to be more creative on their flight schedules. IMO, Point-to-Point is their best option for now with only 5 planes.

[burt]

Shouldn't June passenger load figures be out by now? Anxious to know if RIC is continuing its growth.

[burt]

A friend in Richmond just told me that there is a supplement in today's Times Dispatch all about the airport. She's saving it for me.

Wish it were online at inRich.

[AFA2012]

I dont know if you guys have noticed but Richmond doesn't have direct flights to Ft Lauderdale and Tampa any more.

[wrldcoupe4]

A friend in Richmond just told me that there is a supplement in today's Times Dispatch all about the airport. She's saving it for me.

Wish it were online at inRich.

I saved it as well and was thinking of sending it to Eric

[jbjust]

AFA2012 -- There haven't been direct flights to Fort Lauderdale for at least several months. I had to go to Ft. Lauderdale in February and connected through Atlanta.

I subsequently learned that AirTran has direct flights from Newport News to Fort Lauderdale. Maybe they're holding off on adding that flight to Richmond for fear of cannibalizing PHF.

[burt]

Coupe, have you seen June load figures? Chip Jones at the TD usually keeps us informed.

Edited July 30, 2007 by burt

[wrldcoupe4]

The airport hasn't released a press release for passenger statistics in June yet.

Official dedication ceremony for the airport expansion is today, so they may have been pre-occupied recently. I'd expect an article tomorrow from Chip Jones given today's event. Perhaps he'll include passenger stats?

[burt]

I haven't seen the Sunday TD supplement yet, but here's a short piece from today's inRich about the Official Opening yesterday:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/cva/ric/news/...07-31-0027.html

Wish we could find out the June numbers!

[wrldcoupe4]

Your wish is my command...

For June, passenger numbers were up 11% over last year, with more than 336,000 passengers coming through RIC, up from 302,821 a year ago. Year to date, passenger traffic is up 11.36%, with nearly 1.75 million passengers through the month of June.

[burt]

Your wish is my command...

For June, passenger numbers were up 11% over last year, with more than 336,000 passengers coming through RIC, up from 302,821 a year ago. Year to date, passenger traffic is up 11.36%, with nearly 1.75 million passengers through the month of June.

You're a good man, Coupe!!!

That's another big increase, although May's increase was not in double digits.

Northwest's "sick-outs" may make a dent in July's figures, but I don't believe that carrier is a major one at RIC.

[wrldcoupe4]

More on passenger counts at RIC

Passenger traffic at Richmond International Airport has hit an all-time high.

With more than 3.4 million passengers flying into and out of RIC during the fiscal year ending June 30, an 11.5 percent increase over the previous year, the airport has posted its best year ever, according to the Capital Region Airport Commission.

In June, more than 336,000 passengers flew into and out of RIC, an 11 percent increase over the same month a year ago and a new monthly record.

"We've never had a better month," said airport spokesman Troy Bell, pointing to strong traveler enthusiasm for low-fare carriers Skybus Airlines and JetBlue Airways.

[burt]

More on passenger counts at RIC

I take it that means Skybus is doing well. AirTran wasn't mentioned but I hope its numbers are up, too.

[eandslee]

More on passenger counts at RIC

Wow! This is very good news indeed! If RIC keeps numbers up like this, we're well on our way to becoming a great airport! It is very reassuring to see that despite JetBlue and AirTran being here for more than a year, we continue to see double digit growth. June could, however, be the result of the busy summer traveling season, but I'll take it! Great news! I'm jumping for joy all the way over here in California! Yoo Hoo!!!

[wrldcoupe4]

RIC has its best (fiscal) year ever!

With more than 3.4 million passengers flying into and out of the airport during the fiscal year that ended June 30, the airport has posted its best year ever, the Capital Region Airport Commission said yesterday.

The year's traffic represents an 11.5 percent increase over the 2006 fiscal year.

Burt, no need to worry about AirTran numbers -- For the month of June:

"JetBlue was up more than 10 percent and AirTran more than 25 percent from a year ago," Bell said.

Other air carriers also showed strong gains in June, with United Airlines' traffic up 14.8 percent from a year ago and Delta Air Lines' up 12.8 percent.

More info from the article:

The airport:

- has just dedicated a $46.8 million expansion of its terminal;

- is beginning design on a $55 million, 2,700-space expansion of its parking garages, with construction due to begin next spring;

- should open a new, 1,000-space surface parking lot next summer; and

- is making $13 million in improvements to Airport Drive, the main access road for the airport.

[burt]

Wish we could get actual word on how well or poorly Skybus is doing at RIC.

RIC is still behind ORF in June figures by about 10K, but it is way ahead in percentage growth.

Interesting to note that US Airways, still the leading carrier, showed very little percentage growth in June.

[jbjust]

I think the parking garages are the most urgent need. I think one of RIC's big advantages is convenient parking at the airport. Most business do not see satellite parking as a viable alternative.