Richmond International Airport

[eandslee]

Just received word that Allegiant Airlines will begin nonstop service from Richmond to Nashville, TN beginning on 14 June!!!  Looks like there will be flights to and from the two airports on Thursdays and Sundays. I saw prices as low as $55 each way!  This is a new market for Richmond!!  I’ve flown Allegiant many times and it is a no frills airline. You do have to pay for your luggage, something to eat or drink (unless you have one of their credit cards , then drinks and snacks are free), and if you don’t want them to assign a seat for you, you have to pay for a seat assignment too. Despite all that though it is still a smashing deal.  When they fly their new A320 aircraft, they are brand new and very nice!  Just no onboard entertainment.  So if you’re wanting to visit Nashville, this is a very economical way to do so from RIC!!!  I love that there is an increase in flights coming in and out of Richmond!  

Spirit Airlines begins daily nonstop service next week (15 March) to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale!!  Traveling to and from RIC has never been cheaper nor has it been so easy!  Jump on this folks...uh, I mean, Ya’ll!!!

[benstyree]

That's awesome news!  I really hope that route does well and more flights are added, along with new routes to other cities.  Looking at RIC's wiki page, it seems like the OneJet service to Pittsburgh has been eliminated?  I see Richmond is still an option on OneJet's website, but didn't find any flights available with a couple searches - are they gone?

[Icetera]

1 hour ago, benstyree said:

That's awesome news!  I really hope that route does well and more flights are added, along with new routes to other cities.  Looking at RIC's wiki page, it seems like the OneJet service to Pittsburgh has been eliminated?  I see Richmond is still an option on OneJet's website, but didn't find any flights available with a couple searches - are they gone?

I just did a few checks and cannot come up with any flights either.  That is a shame as I enjoyed their airline.

[tparkerzut]

So stoked for this! My buddy actually texted me from Nashville telling me about this, can't believe he got to it first. Went to school right outside of Nashville and have been so torn about getting flights out there. I'm used to driving so I always have because tickets are usually at least in the 300's. But I'd take something round trip in the 100's any day. I may be out there this summer. I can't express how excited I am about this!

[wrldcoupe4]

Nashville appears to be seasonal service to start, but if it goes well I’m sure they’ll expand service. 

[eandslee]

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Nashville appears to be seasonal service to start, but if it goes well I’m sure they’ll expand service. 

If what I'm hearing is any indication, this will be a popular route!  I didn't know so many people wanted to go to Nashville, but I was grossly underestimating the Music City!

[jbjust]

On 3/8/2018 at 1:03 PM, eandslee said:

If what I'm hearing is any indication, this will be a popular route!  I didn't know so many people wanted to go to Nashville, but I was grossly underestimating the Music City!

I'm amazed Southwest never tried to develop that route given their heavy presence in Nashville. 

[eandslee]

2 hours ago, jbjust said:

I'm amazed Southwest never tried to develop that route given their heavy presence in Nashville. 

Me too. I was just telling someone that SWA missed out on this opportunity. That doesn’t mean that they won’t add a flight at some point in the future.  I actually hope they do. That will increase the competition on that route and keep costs down. 

[eandslee]

As you may know, yesterday kicked off Spirit Airlines’ new daily service from RIC to MCO and FLL.  I read the RTD article about the new service this morning and revealed in the article was the news that SWA will begin seasonal direct service from RIC to MCO this month (I think it already started it because I’ve already seen a direct flights).  This is good news as normally the only flight SWA has from RIC is RIC to ATL.  

[eandslee]

Article from the RTD talks a lot about Spirit Airlines, how they operate, the good, the bad, the ugly...the ways they are improving service...their new service from RIC, etc.  Really liked the last part of the article, which I quote below.  Really hope RIC sees expansion of service to the west coast soon:

In Richmond, Spirit sees positive market indicators — in housing, employment and others — that make it a good fit for its model, which is aimed at discretionary travels.

“Our primary customer is either traveling on vacation or is traveling to visit friends and relatives,” Kopczak said. “We’re looking for people who have disposable income; they want to travel. Either they want to travel more often or couldn’t afford to with fares in the past.”

The area from which the airport draws passengers — from Hampton Roads to the Blue Ridge Mountains and from the Washington suburbs to northern North Carolina — was also a factor.

“That’s a pretty wide area of a potential customer base that could use the convenience of the Richmond airport rather than going to some of the bigger airports in other cities to fly out of,” Kopczak said.

The airline’s entrance also adds 30 new employees at the airport.

One of them, customer service agent Felicia King, originally from Chesapeake, made the move back to Henrico for the job from a customer call center in Michigan.

“This is totally new for me,” King said. “I’ve flown, but I never knew the behind the scenes. ... First rule: Keep a smile on your face. ... Because this too shall pass.”

Airport officials hope that Spirit’s Florida destinations, which offer connections to a wide variety of other locales — from the Caribbean and South and Central America to domestic destinations such as New Orleans, Las Vegas and Seattle — are just the beginning.

“They are aggressive with expansion,” Bell said. “If they see a good response with these initial two markets, there are certainly other markets they can consider.”

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/a-different-kind-of-airline-touches-down-in-richmond/article_bad97d5e-6e6b-5956-be03-ce0334e8716f.html

[georgeglass]

This is wonderful news!!! 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2018/03/22/ric-accept-bids-45m-expansion-summer/

 

[eandslee]

This is the rendering of the extended terminal. I’m very excited about this because it opens up so many more doors for expansion of air service. Let’s hope the airlines take notice!  We also now have a timetable: vote on contractor selection in July 2018.  Construction will take 18 months and they are looking for opening up the new expansion by Spring of 2020.  Finally, it is good to see that they went with the 6 gate expansion versus the 4 gate expansion!  RIC is on the move!!

 

Edit:  The expansion is a 6-gate expansion, not an 8-gate expansion.

Edited March 22, 2018 by eandslee

[Icetera]

Quote

Bell said additional plans are in the works for a $4 million Concourse B security checkpoint expansion, and $35 million North Garage expansion. RIC also is considering an expansion of its rental car garage.

I am curious as to how they intend to expand the North Garage as it seems to be land-locked.  Perhaps up?  Hoping so and then an increase on the South Garage to keep the symmetry.

[eandslee]

Richmond International Airport broke another record in February as the busiest February on record!  This February was busier than last year by 5.6 percent: from 239,058 passengers to 252,520.  RIC keeps getting busier and I hope it continues!

http://www.richmond.com/business/richmond-international-airport-breaks-another-traffic-record-for-february-passenger/article_01dd53b8-6d25-5aba-a969-f930fea03b8c.html

[eandslee]

Have any of you had the chance to fly Spirit Airlines yet?  If so, what was your experience like and how full was the flight in and out of RIC?  Just wanted to get a first-hand account regarding how well the airline may be doing at RIC.  Thanks!

[georgeglass]

2 hours ago, eandslee said:

Have any of you had the chance to fly Spirit Airlines yet?  If so, what was your experience like and how full was the flight in and out of RIC?  Just wanted to get a first-hand account regarding how well the airline may be doing at RIC.  Thanks!

 

I haven't yet, but I have a return flight booked on them in May, from Orlando. 

[eandslee]

28 minutes ago, georgeglass said:

 

I haven't yet, but I have a return flight booked on them in May, from Orlando. 

Okay - great!  When you get back, tell us what you thought and how full the flight was.  Awesome, thanks!

[georgeglass]

8 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Okay - great!  When you get back, tell us what you thought and how full the flight was.  Awesome, thanks!

Will do.

[JSI]

Anybody see the extensive news story on 60 Minutes (link below) about Allegiant? I've flown on them several times down/back to St. Pete and have had great experiences except one time had to wait a little long to get my baggage in St. Pete. Curious to get people's (especially from @flack4ric) thoughts if they plan to NOT fly them after the news story? Hoping the story lights a fire under their a$$ so the fix their operations. They were created by one of the founders of ValueJet and afraid one major accident and they will be out of business.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/allegiant-air-the-budget-airline-flying-under-the-radar/

 

[eandslee]

On 4/20/2018 at 9:55 AM, JSI said:

Anybody see the extensive news story on 60 Minutes (link below) about Allegiant? I've flown on them several times down/back to St. Pete and have had great experiences except one time had to wait a little long to get my baggage in St. Pete. Curious to get people's (especially from @flack4ric) thoughts if they plan to NOT fly them after the news story? Hoping the story lights a fire under their a$$ so the fix their operations. They were created by one of the founders of ValueJet and afraid one major accident and they will be out of business.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/allegiant-air-the-budget-airline-flying-under-the-radar/

 

I saw the 60 Minutes program and I immediately discredited it.  I've flown Allegiant many times from RIC and I've had no issues whatsoever with the exception of a late departure and a last-minute plane reassignment that caused some seat assignment issues.  Other than that, their operation is really not much different than the other airlines (in fact, they are better in a lot of ways).  I like Allegiant because it doesn't cost much and when I just want to get somewhere, it does the job perfectly.  I'll mention something here that I posted on Facebook the other day after the Southwest fiasco that occurred this week - basically, I said that any airline can be subject to maintenance problems and no airline is immune (just this week, Delta had an issue with a RIC-bound flight that was diverted to Dullus...United, American...they all have maintenance issues that are never broadcast to the public).  Anytime you step onto any aircraft you are taking a risk.  The fact of the matter is that despite all this negative attention toward Allegiant this week, Allegiant has never killed anyone and Southwest just did.  I have no issues flying Allegiant - it is regulated by the FAA just like all the other domestic carriers out there.  I just think this was a case of the muckrakers at 60 minutes coming out with some potentially false information (not sure if other airlines were involved and put them up to it or what).  However, if there really is a problem at Allegiant, the airing of this piece from 60 Minutes will hopefully serve as a wake-up call.  As for me though, I still feel completely safe on Allegiant flights and will continue to fly with them.

Edited April 22, 2018 by eandslee

[eandslee]

More good news from the airport today!  March 2018 passenger traffic saw 324,714 passengers at Richmond International Airport, which comes out to an almost 9% increase in passenger traffic over March of last year at 298,110 passengers (we haven't seen numbers like that in years)!  The addition of Spirit Airlines' daily flights to MCO and FLL, the addition of flights from other airlines, as well as increased capacity due to larger aircraft from various airlines serving the airport are the likely reasons for the sharp increase in passenger traffic.  I expect the numbers to continue to increase as this summer should usher in even more passenger traffic with the additional United Denver flight (totaling 2 nonstop flights from RIC per day), an additional daily flight on United to Houston, TX, and Allegiant starting twice-weekly nonstop service to Nashville, TN (all starting in June)!  RIC continues to grow!  This is great news for the area, great news for local travelers, and who knows...this could lead to some game-changing routes starting at RIC very soon!

http://www.flyrichmond.com/files/stats/RIC_MAR18_Activity_Report.pdf

Edited April 25, 2018 by eandslee

[jbjust]

Is that United flight to Houston still on the RJ-135/145?  I won't fly that route direct because it is a miserable plane to be stuck on for 3 hours -- my legs actually go numb because the seat quality is terrible and super-cramped.  

[eandslee]

5 minutes ago, jbjust said:

Is that United flight to Houston still on the RJ-135/145?  I won't fly that route direct because it is a miserable plane to be stuck on for 3 hours -- my legs actually go numb because the seat quality is terrible and super-cramped.  

I think so, but don't hold me to it.  I'll have to do some digging around to find out for sure.  It would be nice if they upgraded the aircraft, but at the very least, there is an increase in frequency (which is still good news).  I'll see what I can find.

[Shakman]

49 minutes ago, jbjust said:

Is that United flight to Houston still on the RJ-135/145?  I won't fly that route direct because it is a miserable plane to be stuck on for 3 hours -- my legs actually go numb because the seat quality is terrible and super-cramped.  

The last time I flew that route, it was a 145.

[eandslee]

7 hours ago, jbjust said:

Is that United flight to Houston still on the RJ-135/145?  I won't fly that route direct because it is a miserable plane to be stuck on for 3 hours -- my legs actually go numb because the seat quality is terrible and super-cramped.  

After doing mock bookings using United.com, you’ll find that some of the flights to Houston from RIC and vise versa, will be slight upgrades in aircraft - some are the ERJ-145s (which you don’t like), and other flights use the ERJ-175 (a slightly larger aircraft with more seating capacity).  So, looks like there might be some relief from the cramped ERJ-145s on select flights on the horizon. 

Edited April 25, 2018 by eandslee