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Richmond International Airport


eandslee

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55 minutes ago, Wahoo 07 said:

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/jetblue-adds-second-flight-to-fort-lauderdale-from-richmond/article_7dbc7027-0b83-5b87-9ab4-dccc1baa4953.html

JetBlue with another Ft. Lauderdale flight.  Hopefully more new destinations on JetBlue are forthcoming!

This is very good news!  Hoping for a new market in the next announcement though.

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  • 4 weeks later...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-back-door-route-to-a-european-vacation-1491408205

No directly about RIC, but the linked article talks about the increase in trans Atlantic discount carrier flights.  Would RIC be a realistic candidate for Norwegian Air Shuttle or WOW?  I suspect that it could potentially work, especially in the summer.

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  • 3 weeks later...

RIC seems like a great potential growth spot for Southwest, any idea why they haven't expanded here (and if I recall correctly, actually discontinued one of their routes a year or two ago)?  They have a very small presence at Dulles and Norfolk, a slightly larger but not huge presence at Reagan and RDU, and of course their hub at BWI.  I would think they would do well adding routes from RIC to Nashville, New Orleans, Austin, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Francisco, and/or LAX.  RIC is an excellent facility, but adding destinations would do wonders for the airport and the city at large.  Southwest seems like a perfect match to do so, and I'm not sure why they haven't yet.  

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6 minutes ago, benstyree said:

RIC seems like a great potential growth spot for Southwest, any idea why they haven't expanded here (and if I recall correctly, actually discontinued one of their routes a year or two ago)?  They have a very small presence at Dulles and Norfolk, a slightly larger but not huge presence at Reagan and RDU, and of course their hub at BWI.  I would think they would do well adding routes from RIC to Nashville, New Orleans, Austin, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Francisco, and/or LAX.  RIC is an excellent facility, but adding destinations would do wonders for the airport and the city at large.  Southwest seems like a perfect match to do so, and I'm not sure why they haven't yet.  

I would think that Midway and Love Field would be logical additions

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  • 1 month later...

I was a bit saddened to see that the airport passenger counts declined last month. Looks like growth at the airport is slowing down.  I haven't heard much of any new services too recently and I would have hoped to see a new airline or at least new western non-stop routes by now, but nothing. Kind of has me concerned. 

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Appreciate the update Flack!  Forgot about the aircraft upgrades for the Denver flight and the added service to MSP.  As far as the new airline comment - I'm really hoping RIC can attract additional airlines like Frontier and Alaska Airlines (equates to more competition and new destinations).  So despite fewer airlines due to consolidation, there are still airlines to be had at RIC.  Almost forgot the new service to Pittsburg on OneJet (new airline there, albeit a super small one). 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Good news from the airport today...well, it's recapped news in their newsletter that talks about larger aircraft and more flights to select cities!  If you don't get their email newsletter, here's an excerpt:

Denver
 
Due to increased demand for western destinations, United Airlines has recently upgauged Richmond-Denver service to a mainline 128-seat Airbus A319 aircraft.  United launched RIC's first-ever daily service between Richmond and Denver in April 2015. At 1,482 miles, the new route is the longest and most westerly flight originating from RIC. Denver ranks as the 11th-most popular destination for Richmond Region travelers with more than 60,000 passengers a year travel between Denver and Richmond.
 
For more information and reservations, visit united.com.
 
Ft. Lauderdale
 
JetBlue Airways will add a second daily roundtrip between Richmond International Airport (RIC) and Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) starting June 15, 2017. The two markets were first connected by JetBlue in 2008.
 
With the addition of a second Ft. Lauderdale flight, JetBlue will provide nonstop service between Richmond and Boston (four departures per day), Orlando (twice-daily service), and Ft. Lauderdale.
 
The enhanced JetBlue schedule is now available for purchase on jetblue.com
 
Minneapolis
 
Beginning later this month, Delta Air Lines will offer a second daily non-stop flight between RIC and the airline's Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) hub. The twice-daily flights are operated by Delta Connection carrier ExpressJet Airlines on 69-seat CRJ-700 aircraft, which features First Class and Economy seating.
 
From RIC, Delta offers nonstop service to Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Detroit (DTW), Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP), New York-LaGuardia (LGA), and New York-JFK (JFK).
 
Book you next trip today: delta.com.
 
Atlanta
 
Southwest Airlines' has upgaged one of their three daily nonstops to Atlanta to a larger 175-seat 737-800 aircraft. In its 46th year of service, Southwest Airlines continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 54,000 Employees to more than 100 million Customers annually.  Southwest proudly operates a network of 101 destinations in the United States and nine additional countries with more than 3,900 departures a day during peak travel season. 
 
Progress is being made, albeit small progress, but I'll take it!
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  • 4 weeks later...

I am going to give OneJet a shot for their PIT direct flight this weekend.  I have never flown in a plane that small without jumping out of it so this should be different!  I cannot find any information on gates or alternative hangers so hopefully it is safe to assume they fly out of the main terminals...

On another note, while booking Hawaii and Europe trips I have been finding RIC to be just a tad higher than the DC area airports, which has been a pleasant surprise!

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13 minutes ago, Icetera said:

I am going to give OneJet a shot for their PIT direct flight this weekend.  I have never flown in a plane that small without jumping out of it so this should be different!  I cannot find any information on gates or alternative hangers so hopefully it is safe to assume they fly out of the main terminals...

On another note, while booking Hawaii and Europe trips I have been finding RIC to be just a tad higher than the DC area airports, which has been a pleasant surprise!

Awesome and thanks for the information regarding great rates flying out of RIC!  When you return from your trip to PIT, please let us know about your experience with OneJet.  I have a hunch that there is more demand out there for more passengers on that route.  Would love to see a big airline take that route over in a larger aircraft.  I look forward to hearing about your experience.

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4 minutes ago, drayrichmond said:

I'll be flying out this weekend on Allegiant to St. Pete, I have family there so the direct flight is awesome, the flights always packed and you can't beat the price for a direct flight.

I have also flown Allegiant to Jacksonville, FL when they still served the two cities (not sure why that ended).  The flight was about 90% filled and it was an A319/20.  A very pleasant experience for the most part.  Glad to hear that the flights to and from St. Pete are full!  The price is awesome!  One could almost go down every weekend!

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2 hours ago, benstyree said:

When did the RIC-JAX route end?  I wasn't aware of that.  I flew it last October and it was full or almost full.  That's really disappointing, I'm ready to see new cities ADDED, not removed...

It definitely wasn't announced.  All I know is that I went to book a flight to JAX and there were no more flights.  I'm hoping that there is only a seasonal pause, but I have a feeling that those flights are gone for good. 

Edited by eandslee
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I just got back from a trip to Denver and flew United out of RIC. Both ways, the plane was near capacity if not full. It was an A319/20 and the flight was amazing, hopefully United adds either a third flight or upgrades to a larger plane, both of which I don't think they would have a problem filling.

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2 hours ago, blopp1234 said:

I just got back from a trip to Denver and flew United out of RIC. Both ways, the plane was near capacity if not full. It was an A319/20 and the flight was amazing, hopefully United adds either a third flight or upgrades to a larger plane, both of which I don't think they would have a problem filling.

They just upgraded the aircraft to an A319, but maybe they need to add another flight!  This is great news BTW.  Thanks for the report!

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14 hours ago, blopp1234 said:

I just got back from a trip to Denver and flew United out of RIC. Both ways, the plane was near capacity if not full. It was an A319/20 and the flight was amazing, hopefully United adds either a third flight or upgrades to a larger plane, both of which I don't think they would have a problem filling.

A straight shot to California would be a nice addition too.  I guess that would depend on how many RIC-DEN passengers connect on to LAX or SFO.

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1 hour ago, Wahoo 07 said:

A straight shot to California would be a nice addition too.  I guess that would depend on how many RIC-DEN passengers connect on to LAX or SFO.

If I had to bet, I would say 75%+ connect on to a California destination.  

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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/

Edited by eandslee
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On 7/11/2017 at 0:08 PM, eandslee said:

Awesome and thanks for the information regarding great rates flying out of RIC!  When you return from your trip to PIT, please let us know about your experience with OneJet.  I have a hunch that there is more demand out there for more passengers on that route.  Would love to see a big airline take that route over in a larger aircraft.  I look forward to hearing about your experience.

Had a great experience with OneJet.  Despite its size (7 seater) the flight was quick at 500 MPH and surprisingly smooth (though you feel each cloud).  Gate/ground crew was excellent.  Though security was completely empty, all seats are counted as first class for the priority security check-in.  There is no cabin service (just pilot and copilot for crew) but there is provided in-flight WIFI for the short 55-60 minute flight to PIT.  They run both a morning and an evening flight daily (week-days, not sure about weekends).

The arriving flight had 5-6 passengers and our flight was at the 7 passenger capacity.

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16 hours ago, eandslee said:

Thanks for the report!!!  Your experience sounds very promising!  Do you know what to cost is to fly OneJet?  Seems expensive. 

 

I was curious so I just checked a 30-day out booking - prices are $175 (non-refundable) to $400 (refundable) each way.  This is cheaper than a standard sh!tty commercial flight from RIC to NYC right now.

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