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Richmond International Airport


eandslee

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  • 2 months later...

Yeah, this is good news for sure.  I was hoping for something more permanent though - say Frontier Airlines with destinations to Florida and the west (Denver et al).  Maybe if RIC can prove that it can support Allegiant well, then maybe, just maybe Frontier or some other airline will show up with destinations to the west...gotta satisfy the need for points west - come on Richmond!  Great news though - I'm glad Allegiant is coming!

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 months later...

Fascinating story -- can't believe Boston is the #1 destination from Richmond.  Also interesting that LA and SFO are in the top ten.

 

http://www.richmond.com/business/article_d3a2ab1a-238d-569c-a58d-b1b341f767b8.html

 

Yeah the LAX and SFO locations surprise me (LAS, I can understand), but all of this just begs for a service that flies non-stop to points west.  We just need an airline with the balls to do it.  I would love to see Southwest or Jetblue pull the trigger.  I think there is an untapped market for this from RIC that airlines are missing out on.  I'd love to see what would happen with non-stop service from RIC to LAS and LAX.  I'd better a dollar those flights would do really well!

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  • 7 months later...

This is old, but very good news.  I'm posting the link below because this report and one out of Fredericksburg are the only two reports that talks about how RIC landed this flight and the effects it will have on tourism and economic development in the region.  I don't particularly like how we got the flight (enticed with money), but glad we got it and I hope it proves successful to show other airlines that a direct western flight from Ruchmond can be successful.  Would love to see discount airlines join in (i.e Frontier Airlines) and would like to see offerings to other western cities, particularly LA, Pheonix, San Francisco, Las Vegas (I think that one would do very well - Alligent Airlines?), Salt Lake City, and Seattle...St. Louis as well.  These are clutch western markets and Richmond needs to directly connect to them.  Hope this one flight is packed each day!

http://m.dailyprogress.com/news/business/cbj/ric-to-get-nonstop-flight-to-denver/article_67cce88e-b94f-11e5-9c28-13a653df0050.html?mode=jqm

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  • 1 month later...
On 1/20/2016 at 7:44 PM, eandslee said:

This is old, but very good news.  I'm posting the link below because this report and one out of Fredericksburg are the only two reports that talks about how RIC landed this flight and the effects it will have on tourism and economic development in the region.  I don't particularly like how we got the flight (enticed with money), but glad we got it and I hope it proves successful to show other airlines that a direct western flight from Ruchmond can be successful.  Would love to see discount airlines join in (i.e Frontier Airlines) and would like to see offerings to other western cities, particularly LA, Pheonix, San Francisco, Las Vegas (I think that one would do very well - Alligent Airlines?), Salt Lake City, and Seattle...St. Louis as well.  These are clutch western markets and Richmond needs to directly connect to them.  Hope this one flight is packed each day!

http://m.dailyprogress.com/news/business/cbj/ric-to-get-nonstop-flight-to-denver/article_67cce88e-b94f-11e5-9c28-13a653df0050.html?mode=jqm

I'm booked to fly on that RIC-Denver flight next month!

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is very good news indeed!  This ramp up in traffic reminds me of before 2008 when the airport was considered one of the fastest growing airports in the country. I hope we continue to move up and get more flights to the west and beyond!  A hub would be nice too. Just saying.

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Okay, not so much about RIC, but dude, the busiest airport in the world is Atlanta's Airport with over 100 million passengers last year!  Holy cow!  That totally dwarfs RIC's measly 3.5 million. Crazy how busy Atlanta is!  And to think Richmond was a bigger city than Atlanta at one time.  Atlanta has left us in the dust!

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2016/04/04/atlanta-defends-title-as-worlds-busiest-airport.html?intcmp=features

 

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12 hours ago, eandslee said:

Okay, not so much about RIC, but dude, the busiest airport in the world is Atlanta's Airport with over 100 million passengers last year!  Holy cow!  That totally dwarfs RIC's measly 3.5 million. Crazy how busy Atlanta is!  And to think Richmond was a bigger city than Atlanta at one time.  Atlanta has left us in the dust!

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2016/04/04/atlanta-defends-title-as-worlds-busiest-airport.html?intcmp=features

 

I'm glad Richmond isn't Atlanta. That's why I live in Richmond instead of Atlanta. 

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I would love for RIC to grow and stimulate the growth of RVA.

I actually haven't used RIC yet but I'll be landing there for my private pilot's training soon.  I'm not sure how much increased traffic would change my ability to go on leisure flights over RVA.  Regardless, I'd rather have more people visiting RVA though.

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12 hours ago, eandslee said:

Okay, not so much about RIC, but dude, the busiest airport in the world is Atlanta's Airport with over 100 million passengers last year!  Holy cow!  That totally dwarfs RIC's measly 3.5 million. Crazy how busy Atlanta is!  And to think Richmond was a bigger city than Atlanta at one time.  Atlanta has left us in the dust!

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2016/04/04/atlanta-defends-title-as-worlds-busiest-airport.html?intcmp=features

 

But how much of that traffic is actually local versus transfers?

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  • 1 month later...

WARNING - Long post!

I just wanted to share my experience this weekend flying in and out of Richmond and comparing our airport with the airport in Jacksonville, FL (a city of similar size to Richmond, but one that is in a bigger city league, if you will).  

First of all, most of you know that I don't live in Richmond, I live in Springfield, VA (NOVA).  Richmond is my hometown (was born at MCV).  I chose to fly out of Richmond because I needed to get to the Space Coast of Florida and Jacksonville, FL is pretty close. I have been eyeing the goings on at the airport and knew that Allegiant Airways now flies directly from RIC to JAX.  The fare was extremely cheap and surprisingly cheaper than flying out of either of the DC airports. So, I thought I'd give it a shot.  Since I had not been to RIC in a number of years, I was excited to see how busy it was and how the new terminal was holding up.  I got there early Friday morning (7:30) and at that time, the airport is just starting to get busy. I was impressed with how large the TSA security areas were (huge for a smaller airport and plenty of room to grow). I was disappointed to see some of the ceiling tiles in the curved ceiling of the main terminal had water stains on them (surprising for a newer building).  As I waiting for my flight, I was encouraged to see the slowly increasing amount of people filtering in the terminal (definitely no ATL, but not a sleepy airport either).  I was also encouraged to see the various shops, bars, eateries as well (similar to larger airports).  The airfield traffic was not very busy, but did show spurts of busy-ness as planes came in. At one point there appeared to be a plane landing every few minutes or so (which was nice to see.  If only it were that way continuously throughout the day). Anyway, my aircraft showed up and was surprised to see an Airbus 320 (larger aircraft with one center aisle and three seats on each side).  I really was worried that Richmond wouldn't be able to fill such a large aircraft (especially one going to Jacksonville), but by the time everyone had boarded, there were 133 people on board (plane was about 90-95% full). This is important because if there is not enough ridership, the airline will pull out of this market or pull out of the airport altogether.  Since this is a very new route from RIC, I think this is a very encouraging sign (it could be better though with a completely full flight). So we took off and were headed to Jacksonville. Once we landed in Jacksonville I noticed that their airport is very similar in size as RIC (theirs is a little bit larger, definitely busier as they serve 5.5 million people/year to Richmond serving 3.5 million/year).  Their terminal was also new, but the ceilings were much taller, airier, and brighter than RIC's. I liked this a lot. They also had two moving sidewalks (one in the A terminal and one in the C terminal). Everything else was similar in size and maybe a little bit bigger. Their airfield was much busier. Probably an airplane landing an average of every 5 minutes or so with some spurts where there were planes landing every minute or so. All of this made me realize that RIC has a lot of potential and could be just as busy, if not busier than JAX.  People in central Virginia need to use RIC if at all possible so that it can get more flights that people want.  Maybe an airline will one day use RIC as a hub if more people would use the airport and it continues to grow.  That, in turn, will help Richmond's overall economy and lure more businesses and inevitably, more towers downtown!  All in all, I left feeling encouraged and was proud of our little airport.  Also I'd like to note that we should not under estimate the attractions/tourist market we have in Richmond. Today, on the flight back to RIC from JAX (on a flight that was nearly as full as the flight going down to JAX, also on an A320), I sat next to a couple who was coming to visit Richmond for the first time solely to see the art exhibit at the VMFA (what?)!  I knew the VMFA was well known, but didn't realize that it was nationally known!  Wow!  Anyway, this couple is staying until Friday and will be in the Crown Plaza hotel downtown.  I wanted to be their personal tour guide for the week (not possible), so I did the next best thing and gave them all kinds of recommendations for sightseeing and places to visit. They were really excited and I hope they have a great time, so much so, that they will tell their friends when they return home. I felt like a natural Richmond ambassador!  Love "talking up" my hometown!

By the way, Allegiant Airways is a budget airline, so they charge for nearly every creature comfort, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well everything went. For the price, you can't beat it!  Please tell your friends!  It's very economical and the times it goes down to Florida are great. Incidentally, Allegiant flies to Jacksonville, Orlando (via Sandford) and Tampa (via Clearwater/St. Pete).  Hopefully they expand service at RIC soon.  I would also like to see Frontier Airlines come to RIC. They have a similar business model as Allegiant, but fly to more places out west (something RIC needs).  

Anyway, just wanted to share my thoughts and let you know that I'm encouraged by what I see happening at RIC and that the airport is poised for being a lot busier. People in central Virginia (even folks in Fredericksburg) just need to use the airport as much as possible.  With rates for some flights nowadays (being so low), you can easily take weekend trips out of RIC at a low cost.  Check it out next time you want to get away for the weekend.  RIC is great and I think that together we can make it even better and busier!  Tell your friends to fly RIC!

Edited by eandslee
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I actually flew Allegiant to Saint Pete/Clearwater the other month, similar experience as you had except the flight was 100% packed to and from (but disclaimer it was around spring break so I can't say this is normal). RIC would make a decent hub for one of the many expanding discount flight airlines, it's already well known as a fair weather airport. 

I'll be flying out on Delta from RIC next month, I've been sold on RIC since my wife and I flew down here from NYC for her job interview, the airport was just so easy to navigate and it's clean (the opposite of LaGuardia); now that we're here we've been encouraging our friends and family to use it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey guys,

Recently flew from RIC to SNA (John Wayne in Orange County) via Newark. Not a bad way to get to the west coast. I was daydreaming of having a direct flight though, being that both Richmond and SNA or so easy to navigate... that would be amazing.

My sister also flew out there recently on what was supposed to be the same RIC to SNA via Newark, but her flight got changed and I believe she went directly from RIC to Denver to SNA. I need to confirm, but I'll see what she thought about it.

 

 

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Great!  Also want to know if the flight to Denver was full. If we can get those direct flights to Denver full, overflowing even, then you just might get your direct flights to the west coast from RIC. I know Richmond can sustain direct flights to the west, we just have to prove it by filling the one direct flight west that we have. I'm hopeful that more direct flights west will be announced soon. 

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