Richmond International Airport

[eandslee]

53 minutes ago, Icetera said:

We paid $227 each, after taxes, for a one way flight booked just under 30-days ahead.

Yikes!  That's steep for a 55-60 minute one-way flight.  Then again you booked within 30 days...but still.

[Wahoo 07]

On 7/19/2017 at 11:33 AM, eandslee said:

Not sure how or why, but Richmond is not on Frontier Airlines' list of new cities/routes.  New cities Frontier Airlines will be serving are:

Albuquerque, NM

Palm Springs, CA

Oklahoma City, OK

Reno, NV

Ontario, CA

San Jose, CA

Boise, ID

Buffalo, NY

Calgary, AB Canada

Charleston, SC

El Paso, TX

Fargo, ND

Fresno, CA

Grand Rapids, MI

Jackson Hole, WY

Jacksonville, FL

Little Rock, AK

Louisville, KY

Pensacola, FL

Spokane, WA

Tulsa, OK

So why isn't Richmond on this list?  There is no Frontier Airline service in the whole state of Virginia except for at Dulles and DCA (which don't count since they are in DC Metro area).  Really, what does Fargo, ND going for it that Richmond doesn't?  I could ask the same for virtually every other city on that list too!  Flack4RIC, are you around?  Perhaps you can help answer this question.  Thanks!

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2017/07/18/blockbuster-expansion-frontier-add-21-cities-85-routes/488214001/

I read that almost all of those cities are "restored routes."  Only three are truly new cities so I do not think that RIC really missed out here.  Hopefully, the folks at Frontier will realize that RIC would be a great addition to their network.

[eandslee]

2 hours ago, Wahoo 07 said:

I read that almost all of those cities are "restored routes."  Only three are truly new cities so I do not think that RIC really missed out here.  Hopefully, the folks at Frontier will realize that RIC would be a great addition to their network.

I get your point, but still, I would have thought that Richmond would be a more important destination than say, Jackson Hole, Wy!  How many people even live in Jackson Hole anyway?  I just looked it up...only 10,500 people.  Are they ALL flying to Denver each week?  I don't think so, but I did notice that there is a large ski resort there.  I wonder if RIC is even trying to court Frontier at all?  I'd also like to see Alaska Airlines have RIC as a destination.  One of the main reasons I'm pushing for these two airlines is because they fly west and I think that is what RIC needs - more direct destinations west.  For example, I can't imagine Richmond not being able to support at RIC - LAS route at least twice a week.  I think there are enough Central Virginians out there who would love to take frequent trips to Las Vegas.  I also think there would be quite a bit of demand for direct flights to cities in California (Los Angeles for sure).  If the tickets are reasonable enough, I can even see folks (who live further north) come down to RIC to catch a decent direct flight to one of these places.  Oh yeah, another one that would do very well (in my opinion - I don't have actual facts to back it up) - Phoenix, AZ!!  Why don't we already have flights to these places?  Just makes me wonder.

The answer might be that they are all going to DC to catch these sort of flights, but I contend that if RIC had these flights (at a reasonable price), then Central Virginians (and others) would fly out of RIC than DC.  Really, not many people want to fight the traffic up in Northern Virginia just to catch a flight...but they do because RIC doesn't have an option...other than a connecting option, which people are willing to avoid - so they fly out of DCA, IAD, or even BWI to get to these destinations.  That's just frustrating to me.

Edited July 21, 2017 by eandslee

[Icetera]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

I get your point, but still, I would have thought that Richmond would be a more important destination than say, Jackson Hole, Wy!  How many people even live in Jackson Hole anyway?  I just looked it up...only 10,500 people.  Are they ALL flying to Denver each week?  I don't think so, but I did notice that there is a large ski resort there.  I wonder if RIC is even trying to court Frontier at all?  I'd also like to see Alaska Airlines have RIC as a destination.  One of the main reasons I'm pushing for these two airlines is because they fly west and I think that is what RIC needs - more direct destinations west.  For example, I can't imagine Richmond not being able to support at RIC - LAS route at least twice a week.  I think there are enough Central Virginians out there who would love to take frequent trips to Las Vegas.  I also think there would be quite a bit of demand for direct flights to cities in California (Los Angeles for sure).  If the tickets are reasonable enough, I can even see folks (who live further north) come down to RIC to catch a decent direct flight to one of these places.  Oh yeah, another one that would do very well (in my opinion - I don't have actual facts to back it up) - Phoenix, AZ!!  Why don't we already have flights to these places?  Just makes me wonder.

The answer might be that they are all going to DC to catch these sort of flights, but I contend that if RIC had these flights (at a reasonable price), then Central Virginians (and others) would fly out of RIC than DC.  Really, not many people want to fight the traffic up in Northern Virginia just to catch a flight...but they do because RIC doesn't have an option...other than a connecting option, which people are willing to avoid - so they fly out of DCA, IAD, or even BWI to get to these destinations.  That's just frustrating to me.

As far as LAS, myself and many friends have all taken flights there within the past few months from RIC as the price vs. time difference was not worth driving to DC area, so anecdotally, I can see some demand.  I wonder if the numbers are enough to sustain a B737 / A320 a few times a week?  I am surprised we do not have direct to PHX given that it was a hub for USAir and LAX is definitely surprising (shakes fist at ATL).

As far as Frontier, almost all of those routes are out West so they make sense given that is Frontier's market (much like Southwest dominating Texas).  I am surprised by a few such as Charleston, Buffalo and Louisville.  Perhaps our proximity to DC is killing our chances.

Edited July 21, 2017 by Icetera

[Shakman]

Jackson Hole, WY is a major tourist destination.  Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks are in this area as well as ski resorts.  

 

Let's not forget non-stop to DIA was added, which was then upgraded to mainline service.  It maybe a slow process but RIC is heading in the right direction.

 

Edited July 21, 2017 by Shakman

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

Was bored and taking a look at the RIC master plan. Hope that with the steadily increasing monthly passenger counts the two concourse expansions will happen. The other big thing would be the parallel runway 16R-34L and taxiways.

http://www.flyrichmond.com/files/ric_alpmap.pdf

Hope something's on the books for the near future.

Edited August 1, 2017 by RVA-Is-The-Best

[blopp1234]

21 minutes ago, RVA-Is-The-Best said:

Was bored and taking a look at the RIC master plan. Hope that with the steadily increasing monthly passenger counts the two concourse expansions will happen. The other big thing would be the parallel runway 16R-34L and taxiways.

http://www.flyrichmond.com/files/ric_alpmap.pdf

Hope something's on the books for the near future.

With traffic at an all time high, I don't think it will be to long till the airport will need an expansion. I think we will get an expanded concourses A and B first, but only with more westward flights or if an airline decides to put a hub here, in which case, we could see a major concourse expansion.

[eandslee]

Interesting that you bring up the airport today. I noticed on Reddit (r/rva) that someone suggested that we put pressure on Norwegian Airlines to fly out of Richmond.   Norwegian is known for flying out of smaller airports closer to larger cities and thought RIC would be a good alternative airport. I clicked on the link and submitted the suggestion as well as a few others. I'm hoping the small movement gains traction. Just imagine flying to Europe direct, right out of Richmond all while doing it on a budget!  That would definitely increase passenger numbers at the airport and would even bring people in from other nearby cities to take advantage of the cheap prices (think folks coming from Raleigh, Norfolk, and the NOVA/DC area).  All of this could help expedite the very projects planned you mentioned above. I've got my fingers crossed!

Here's the link to submit the suggestion:

http://norwegian.custhelp.com/app/ask

Take a few minutes to do it. You never know how this may turn out. Most airlines listen to folks when they submit requests such as these. At least it will get them to give us a look. It can't hurt. 

[Wahoo 07]

RIC to Europe would be incredible!  London, Paris, Oslo, doesn't matter where -- it would be a game changer.

[georgeglass]

Have any of you ever heard of or flown Wow Airlines? I just read this article how they are planning to start flying from Cincinnati to Europe as a low cost carrier. I wonder if they are considering RVA. It would seem an easier route than Cincy and I would imagine there would be decent demand here, especially if the prices could beat D.C. Metro options.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2017/08/22/another-new-airline-coming-cvg-who-time/591645001/

[eandslee]

I like where you're going with this. I say we contact them and ask them to come to RIC!

[Icetera]

1 hour ago, georgeglass said:

Have any of you ever heard of or flown Wow Airlines? I just read this article how they are planning to start flying from Cincinnati to Europe as a low cost carrier. I wonder if they are considering RVA. It would seem an easier route than Cincy and I would imagine there would be decent demand here, especially if the prices could beat D.C. Metro options.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2017/08/22/another-new-airline-coming-cvg-who-time/591645001/

They moved into BWI in 2015.  I looked at them for an upcoming Europe trip for the Iceland stopover but sadly had to cut down the length of my stay.  Perhaps next year!  There is also similar competition from Icelandic out of DCA.

[Shakman]

20 hours ago, Icetera said:

They moved into BWI in 2015.  I looked at them for an upcoming Europe trip for the Iceland stopover but sadly had to cut down the length of my stay.  Perhaps next year!  There is also similar competition from Icelandic out of DCA.

Did you mean Icelandair?  They fly out of IAD.

Edited August 24, 2017 by Shakman

[Icetera]

1 hour ago, Shakman said:

Did you mean Icelandair?  They fly out of IAD.

Yup, that is it.  For some reason I thought I was looking at them from DCA rather than IAD.

[rjp212]

On 8/23/2017 at 1:15 PM, georgeglass said:

Have any of you ever heard of or flown Wow Airlines? I just read this article how they are planning to start flying from Cincinnati to Europe as a low cost carrier. I wonder if they are considering RVA. It would seem an easier route than Cincy and I would imagine there would be decent demand here, especially if the prices could beat D.C. Metro options.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2017/08/22/another-new-airline-coming-cvg-who-time/591645001/

I've flown WOW out of Baltimore.  They definitely charge you for everything, but the staff was very nice and the plane was cleaner than most AA/Delta flights. I plan on doing it again. 

[eandslee]

Went on WOW's Facebook page and asked them to consider Richmond as a destination. Never hurts to petition and ask!

[Shakman]

Could you please ask Norwegian as well? 

[eandslee]

Yep!  Already did, but got no response. That doesn't mean that they're not listening. If we ask on social media they should answer because they don't want their public perception to be tarnished. Get on their web page or Facebook page and beg for the service. I try to every chance I get. 

[RiverYuppy]

Where do y'all get your airline tickets? I'm going to meet some family in Jacksonville, FL for Christmas.  I'll be going from RIC - JAX round trip.

[eandslee]

41 minutes ago, RiverYuppy said:

Where do y'all get your airline tickets? I'm going to meet some family in Jacksonville, FL for Christmas.  I'll be going from RIC - JAX round trip.

Man, wish Allegiant was still flying from RIC-JAX direct. That would have saved you tons!  I took that flight once and was very pleased. 

[Shakman]

18 hours ago, RiverYuppy said:

Where do y'all get your airline tickets? I'm going to meet some family in Jacksonville, FL for Christmas.  I'll be going from RIC - JAX round trip.

I usually use hotwire.com.  

Edited August 29, 2017 by Shakman

[meegwell]

Just picked up a November round-trip direct to NYC (LGA) for $156.  Thought that was quite reasonable!

 

 

 

[eandslee]

Just FYI - 

I got a nice "warm fuzzy" from someone who works at RIC that the Denver flights are doing very well out of RIC.  This is very encouraging news. Hopefully, this will lead to new direct flights west from RIC!

[meegwell]

Considering flight costs and schedule options out of RIC, is there an "island" (carrib, bermuda, turks, mexico, cayman, bahamas, etc etc) destination that is typically more favorable than others?  I want to take a large family on a trip and the actual specific destination is not as important as the flight cost and convenience.  Any experiences?  Easy Florida connection to destination after driect from RIC for example....

[jbjust]

1 hour ago, meegwell said:

Considering flight costs and schedule options out of RIC, is there an "island" (carrib, bermuda, turks, mexico, cayman, bahamas, etc etc) destination that is typically more favorable than others?  I want to take a large family on a trip and the actual specific destination is not as important as the flight cost and convenience.  Any experiences?  Easy Florida connection to destination after driect from RIC for example....

Bermuda.