Richmond International Airport

[I miss RVA]

16 minutes ago, walmartjamesbond said:

Avelo has tried to compete with Breeze but it has been very hard. They opened PHF but I would be very surprised if it lasts past the summer. The amount of traffic that PHF could attract is almost slim to none. The population is either in RVA or VB/Norfolk.

I'm really impressed with how Breeze is using RIC. I've said it before but I don't foresee a hub there. BUT, I think it is showing other airlines what potential is available to be had. 

I am almost sure ORF and RIC will get a route to Provo, Utah at some point in 2023.

It seems to be the trend where RIC gets the same new rotes the focus cities get.   

1.) Avelo: If they decide to pull out of PHF, the CRAC and other central Virginia powers that be need to put a FULL COURT PRESS on Avelo to bring them to RIC. Make sure they know they'll always have a gate here - and, as the fastest-growing region in the Commonwealth, I don't foresee the metro RVA region having ANY difficulty supporting them.

2.) No hub: Well, for Breeze, that certainly makes sense - they're in up to the neck at ORF - and it wouldn't necessarily make sense duplicating flight ops at airports less than 100 miles apart. QUESTION: When you say "showing other airlines what potential is available to be had", do you mean, significantly beefing up their destinations out of RIC?

3.) Provo:  BRING IT ON!! From your keyboard to God's eyes, my friend! 

4.) RIC getting the same new routes as focus cities: BRING IT ON!!! Again, from your keyboard to God's eyes! May this trend continue UNABATED!! It's ALMOST like RIC is becoming like a "focus city" without the title or benefit of actual flight ops.  Hell, we'll take it for now!

[eandslee]

Looks like there is already service to Provo, UT from Richmond. The catch is that you have to “Breeze Thru” SFO:

 

[blopp1234]

I’ve also heard Avelo hasn’t been doing well out of Newport News. Even though Newport News is closer to me now than RIC is, I still prefer RIC simply due to more departure times to just about anywhere, plus way more direct routes.

I think it would make sense for them to move to RIC if they leave PHF more than Norfolk. They’d be going head to head against Breeze on almost any route out of Norfolk whereas RIC doesn’t have Breeze service to many of their popular destinations (ie. Florida). I could see routes such as Orlando, West Palm, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers or Sarasota being added. They seem like they’d have a lot of potential. Who knows though. I doubt Avelo would give a big announcement as they tend to be very very slow growth.

 

I do like to hear Breeze is looking at more west coast destinations, as well as central and South America (would love flights to Cancun, Punta Cana, Montego Bay, Mexico City, etc). Do you have any sort of timeline as to when we may get an announcement on international routes? (No worries if not!)

[I miss RVA]

47 minutes ago, blopp1234 said:

I’ve also heard Avelo hasn’t been doing well out of Newport News. Even though Newport News is closer to me now than RIC is, I still prefer RIC simply due to more departure times to just about anywhere, plus way more direct routes.

I think it would make sense for them to move to RIC if they leave PHF more than Norfolk. They’d be going head to head against Breeze on almost any route out of Norfolk whereas RIC doesn’t have Breeze service to many of their popular destinations (ie. Florida). I could see routes such as Orlando, West Palm, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers or Sarasota being added. They seem like they’d have a lot of potential. Who knows though. I doubt Avelo would give a big announcement as they tend to be very very slow growth.

 

I do like to hear Breeze is looking at more west coast destinations, as well as central and South America (would love flights to Cancun, Punta Cana, Montego Bay, Mexico City, etc). Do you have any sort of timeline as to when we may get an announcement on international routes? (No worries if not!)

Would it be amazing if Breeze starts adding international destinations right about the time that the international facilities at RIC come back on line. From what our friend formerly-from-Breeze mentioned previously (if I remember correctly) RIC's international facilities will be up and running WELL before ORF's (I think he said that there hasn't been any work yet on Norfolk's) - and as such, RIC should get first crack at any/all international destinations that become available. Thus - Breeze's timing could be critical - because if they launched system-wide international service around the time RIC's facilities are operational, it would stand to reason that RIC could very well have several destinations in the pocket before ORF's facilities are functional. This could be one of those RARE opportunities for RIC/RVA to be (FINALLY) first vis a vis Norfolk.

So imagine Breeze (and maybe another carrier even?) filling out a robust dance card of southern international destinations while Air Canada rolls in and connects us up with Montreal and Toronto. I'm ALMOST envisioning Terminal 2 and Concourse C coming into reality! 

And wouldn't it be really cool if Avelo came to Richmond and added a handful of Florida destinations as well? 

Edited February 15, 2023 by I miss RVA

[walmartjamesbond]

14 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

2.) No hub: Well, for Breeze, that certainly makes sense - they're in up to the neck at ORF - and it wouldn't necessarily make sense duplicating flight ops at airports less than 100 miles apart. QUESTION: When you say "showing other airlines what potential is available to be had", do you mean, significantly beefing up their destinations out of RIC?

Yes. I think it’s showing other airlines what RIC can offer. You do have GoJet based there now, and they seem to do well. JetBlue might give you some new routes after the merger with Spirit. ORF now has Spirit, so I’m not sure what that entails.

 

12 hours ago, blopp1234 said:

I’ve also heard Avelo hasn’t been doing well out of Newport News. Even though Newport News is closer to me now than RIC is, I still prefer RIC simply due to more departure times to just about anywhere, plus way more direct routes.

I think it would make sense for them to move to RIC if they leave PHF more than Norfolk. They’d be going head to head against Breeze on almost any route out of Norfolk whereas RIC doesn’t have Breeze service to many of their popular destinations (ie. Florida). I could see routes such as Orlando, West Palm, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers or Sarasota being added. They seem like they’d have a lot of potential. Who knows though. I doubt Avelo would give a big announcement as they tend to be very very slow growth.

 

I do like to hear Breeze is looking at more west coast destinations, as well as central and South America (would love flights to Cancun, Punta Cana, Montego Bay, Mexico City, etc). Do you have any sort of timeline as to when we may get an announcement on international routes? (No worries if not!)

Yes, it’s really the story of Avelo. David Neilman (Breeze CEO) and the Avelo CEO actually were partners to create Breeze. But due to the way they wanted to run the Airline, they split off and made their own. Long story short, David Neilman knew what he was doing. This is his 5th Airline. 

I don’t know a lot anymore. When I was there the plan was always to make Tampa the starting Hub for international flights. Mainly going out to the islands & South America. So when that international travel kicks off, it’s all going to be test driven out of there. Mainly on BreezeThrus. I would imagine that to happen sometime soon. Maybe Q4 Or Q1 2024? The west coast flights I’d imagine before summer or a first flight in July or August. 

If RIC or ORF Im really not sure. I really think they will push this “One Stop, no getting off the plane.” That way they can get passengers in RIC and TPA all in one go. BUT, if say they launch that route but it’s completely full out of RIC and everyone’s going to South America, why even stop in Tampa? I hope that makes sense. 

Everyone likes to forget that ORF is actually designed to be a Charter base. That was the plan from the start. If ORF gets a A220 based there, maybe international in the future but to start it would definitely be west coast. But it really isn’t in Breeze’s priority to expand rapidly out of there. It will, in time, but not at the rate BDL or say PVU will. PVU (Provo) will have non stop flights to Hawaii. David Neilman himself said that was his dream in an interview. 

RIC and ORF could very well see a BreezeThru to Hawaii. That I think would be a game changer.

[blopp1234]

5 minutes ago, walmartjamesbond said:

Yes. I think it’s showing other airlines what RIC can offer. You do have GoJet based there now, and they seem to do well. JetBlue might give you some new routes after the merger with Spirit. ORF now has Spirit, so I’m not sure what that entails.

 

Yes, it’s really the story of Avelo. David Neilman (Breeze CEO) and the Avelo CEO actually were partners to create Breeze. But due to the way they wanted to run the Airline, they split off and made their own. Long story short, David Neilman knew what he was doing. This is his 5th Airline. 

I don’t know a lot anymore. When I was there the plan was always to make Tampa the starting Hub for international flights. Mainly going out to the islands & South America. So when that international travel kicks off, it’s all going to be test driven out of there. Mainly on BreezeThrus. I would imagine that to happen sometime soon. Maybe Q4 Or Q1 2024? The west coast flights I’d imagine before summer or a first flight in July or August. 

If RIC or ORF Im really not sure. I really think they will push this “One Stop, no getting off the plane.” That way they can get passengers in RIC and TPA all in one go. BUT, if say they launch that route but it’s completely full out of RIC and everyone’s going to South America, why even stop in Tampa? I hope that makes sense. 

Everyone likes to forget that ORF is actually designed to be a Charter base. That was the plan from the start. If ORF gets a A220 based there, maybe international in the future but to start it would definitely be west coast. But it really isn’t in Breeze’s priority to expand rapidly out of there. It will, in time, but not at the rate BDL or say PVU will. PVU (Provo) will have non stop flights to Hawaii. David Neilman himself said that was his dream in an interview. 

RIC and ORF could very well see a BreezeThru to Hawaii. That I think would be a game changer.

Thank you for the insight! 
 

1. Good to know Tampa is the place they want to start internationals out of. I’d assume that could mean more flights to Tampa from RIC (multiple per day) as there is already daily service between the pair so I’d assume that the planes will be packed either way. I think that the strategy they would go for funneling everything through Tampa would make sense as there is already sufficient O&D at Tampa and adding on other destinations that could have international flights would make sense to gauge demand. I would hope though that a route like RIC-Cancun would be direct though as demand is absolutely there and no other major airlines seem interested in it as far as I know.

2. Provo absolutely makes sense for Breeze thrus to Hawaii from eastern cities. I’d guess if this is the plan that we will see a TON of new routes at Provo in the next year as most eastern cities (Hartford, Providence, Richmond, Norfolk, Raleigh, Charleston, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Jacksonville, Tampa, New Orleans) seem like they could fill an a220 to Provo IF said A220 continues to Hawaii as it would be a lot quicker than having a multiple hour layover in a place like Atlanta, Dallas or Denver.

[Shakman]

1 hour ago, walmartjamesbond said:

Yes. I think it’s showing other airlines what RIC can offer. You do have GoJet based there now, and they seem to do well. JetBlue might give you some new routes after the merger with Spirit. ORF now has Spirit, so I’m not sure what that entails.

 

Yes, it’s really the story of Avelo. David Neilman (Breeze CEO) and the Avelo CEO actually were partners to create Breeze. But due to the way they wanted to run the Airline, they split off and made their own. Long story short, David Neilman knew what he was doing. This is his 5th Airline. 

I don’t know a lot anymore. When I was there the plan was always to make Tampa the starting Hub for international flights. Mainly going out to the islands & South America. So when that international travel kicks off, it’s all going to be test driven out of there. Mainly on BreezeThrus. I would imagine that to happen sometime soon. Maybe Q4 Or Q1 2024? The west coast flights I’d imagine before summer or a first flight in July or August. 

If RIC or ORF Im really not sure. I really think they will push this “One Stop, no getting off the plane.” That way they can get passengers in RIC and TPA all in one go. BUT, if say they launch that route but it’s completely full out of RIC and everyone’s going to South America, why even stop in Tampa? I hope that makes sense. 

Everyone likes to forget that ORF is actually designed to be a Charter base. That was the plan from the start. If ORF gets a A220 based there, maybe international in the future but to start it would definitely be west coast. But it really isn’t in Breeze’s priority to expand rapidly out of there. It will, in time, but not at the rate BDL or say PVU will. PVU (Provo) will have non stop flights to Hawaii. David Neilman himself said that was his dream in an interview. 

RIC and ORF could very well see a BreezeThru to Hawaii. That I think would be a game changer.

Non-stop to Hawaii would be a ten-hour flight.  Currently Breeze does not have an aircraft in their fleet that can fly non-stop flight to Hawaii.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Shakman

[blopp1234]

31 minutes ago, Shakman said:

Non-stop to Hawaii would be a ten-hour flight.  Currently Breeze does not have an aircraft in their fleet that can fly non-stop flight to Hawaii.

It wouldn’t be nonstop. There would be a one stop through Provo Utah.

[walmartjamesbond]

14 minutes ago, blopp1234 said:

It wouldn’t be nonstop. There would be a one stop through Provo Utah.

This is correct!

[I miss RVA]

5 hours ago, walmartjamesbond said:

Yes. I think it’s showing other airlines what RIC can offer. You do have GoJet based there now, and they seem to do well. JetBlue might give you some new routes after the merger with Spirit. ORF now has Spirit, so I’m not sure what that entails.

 

Yes, it’s really the story of Avelo. David Neilman (Breeze CEO) and the Avelo CEO actually were partners to create Breeze. But due to the way they wanted to run the Airline, they split off and made their own. Long story short, David Neilman knew what he was doing. This is his 5th Airline. 

I don’t know a lot anymore. When I was there the plan was always to make Tampa the starting Hub for international flights. Mainly going out to the islands & South America. So when that international travel kicks off, it’s all going to be test driven out of there. Mainly on BreezeThrus. I would imagine that to happen sometime soon. Maybe Q4 Or Q1 2024? The west coast flights I’d imagine before summer or a first flight in July or August. 

If RIC or ORF Im really not sure. I really think they will push this “One Stop, no getting off the plane.” That way they can get passengers in RIC and TPA all in one go. BUT, if say they launch that route but it’s completely full out of RIC and everyone’s going to South America, why even stop in Tampa? I hope that makes sense. 

Everyone likes to forget that ORF is actually designed to be a Charter base. That was the plan from the start. If ORF gets a A220 based there, maybe international in the future but to start it would definitely be west coast. But it really isn’t in Breeze’s priority to expand rapidly out of there. It will, in time, but not at the rate BDL or say PVU will. PVU (Provo) will have non stop flights to Hawaii. David Neilman himself said that was his dream in an interview. 

RIC and ORF could very well see a BreezeThru to Hawaii. That I think would be a game changer.

Really great insight, as always. Thanks so much for taking the time to share such good information.

Three questions:

1.) So if not Breeze, WHO would pick up the mantle of international destinations out of RIC?

2.) SETTING ASIDE THE PLAN TO BREEZE-THRU VIA TAMPA:  You mentioned if ORF gets an A220 based there - "maybe international" later on. RIC's international operations will be up and running WELL before ORF's comes on line. Why NOT fly out of RIC if the facilities are available? I don't want to sound like a jerk - but honestly - if RIC's physical plant is ready for international destinations and ORF's isn't, then "F"-Norfolk, you know? It's not like they WON'T get international destinations when they come online. If we have the market (and clearly we do), and if we get to the starting line first (which clearly we will) - why blow us off and then fly out of ORF if/when they're ready? That makes no sense to me - AT ALL.

3.) What specifically is a "Charter base"? I have an idea - but I'd like to know more.

[Niccckk]

2 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Really great insight, as always. Thanks so much for taking the time to share such good information.

Three questions:

1.) So if not Breeze, WHO would pick up the mantle of international destinations out of RIC?

2.) SETTING ASIDE THE PLAN TO BREEZE-THRU VIA TAMPA:  You mentioned if ORF gets an A220 based there - "maybe international" later on. RIC's international operations will be up and running WELL before ORF's comes on line. Why NOT fly out of RIC if the facilities are available? I don't want to sound like a jerk - but honestly - if RIC's physical plant is ready for international destinations and ORF's isn't, then "F"-Norfolk, you know? It's not like they WON'T get international destinations when they come online. If we have the market (and clearly we do), and if we get to the starting line first (which clearly we will) - why blow us off and then fly out of ORF if/when they're ready? That makes no sense to me - AT ALL.

3.) What specifically is a "Charter base"? I have an idea - but I'd like to know more.

I think once we get the international facility up and running, if we're talking trans-atlantic flights, I think we could see the likes of Iceland Air do flights to Reykjavik. TBH I think only Breeze or JetBlue would bring trans-atlantic flights to places like LHR or Dublin... (which is stretching the A220s range). I don't think we'll see any other carrier step up for international flights to be honest since most airlines already operate those flights at their connecting hubs.

I do 100% believe that we can get some good South American / Latin American flights since there is definitely demand. As well as for Canada.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Niccckk

[I miss RVA]

18 minutes ago, Niccckk said:

I think once we get the international facility up and running, if we're talking trans-atlantic flights, I think we could see the likes of Iceland Air do flights to Reykjavik. TBH I think only Breeze or JetBlue would bring trans-atlantic flights to places like LHR or Dublin... (which is stretching the A220s range). I don't think we'll see any other carrier step up for international flights to be honest since most airlines already operate those flights at their connecting hubs.

I do 100% believe that we can get some good South American / Latin American flights since there is definitely demand. As well as for Canada.

From your keyboard to God's eyes on grabbing these international destinations, my friend! 

[walmartjamesbond]

10 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Really great insight, as always. Thanks so much for taking the time to share such good information.

Three questions:

1.) So if not Breeze, WHO would pick up the mantle of international destinations out of RIC?

2.) SETTING ASIDE THE PLAN TO BREEZE-THRU VIA TAMPA:  You mentioned if ORF gets an A220 based there - "maybe international" later on. RIC's international operations will be up and running WELL before ORF's comes on line. Why NOT fly out of RIC if the facilities are available? I don't want to sound like a jerk - but honestly - if RIC's physical plant is ready for international destinations and ORF's isn't, then "F"-Norfolk, you know? It's not like they WON'T get international destinations when they come online. If we have the market (and clearly we do), and if we get to the starting line first (which clearly we will) - why blow us off and then fly out of ORF if/when they're ready? That makes no sense to me - AT ALL.

3.) What specifically is a "Charter base"? I have an idea - but I'd like to know more.

Great questions.

So, I think to start Breeze isn’t really going to honestly worry about who has international capabilities since they can funnel everyone through Tampa on a breeze through.

I think in order for Breeze to launch an international flight out from Richmond it would require them to change how they do their operations. Right now Breeze crews only operate on “Turns.” Which means a route from say ORF-BDL-PIT-BDL-ORF. The route starts and returns to home base. The saves Breeze money by not having to pay crew hotels and fees to RON (remain over night) at a different airport. 

So knowing that, a breeze crew wouldn’t have a lot of time to fly from say CHS-RIC-Brazil-RIC-CHS. It just couldn’t happen. What would have to happen is a more traditional layover. Where the Crew would fly, overnight in Brazil, and return to CHS the next day.  Right now that’s not the business model. There has always been talks of changing it but I think this is where it would be implemented.  

As far as ORF getting an international route, I say that only because it takes away the need for a layover. A crew could fly directly from ORF to Brazil and turn right back around. No hotels and no RON fees.

That being said I firmly believe all international traffic will be based out of TPA for awhile so they can get some number on what routes are preforming the best/ could skip the breeze through.

For both airports I am honestly thinking Canada before anything else international. Just my 5 cents. Also, I have no idea if they actually plan on going to Brazil, just a example.

 

And to your second question:

A charter base is an airport where an Airline holds aircraft and crews to serve flights going to specific destinations. Most people don’t know this but this is where Breeze makes a whole lot of its money. The plan always was to eventually phase out the E-Jets from their domestic fleet and use them strictly for charters after the A220 is fully operational. ORF will have a hefty fleet in the next 4 years. Something over 10 aircraft. 

Breeze charters sports teams, college athletes, etc. I was on a trip with the Panthers to Newark at the end of 2021.

[I miss RVA]

12 hours ago, walmartjamesbond said:

Great questions.

So, I think to start Breeze isn’t really going to honestly worry about who has international capabilities since they can funnel everyone through Tampa on a breeze through.

I think in order for Breeze to launch an international flight out from Richmond it would require them to change how they do their operations. Right now Breeze crews only operate on “Turns.” Which means a route from say ORF-BDL-PIT-BDL-ORF. The route starts and returns to home base. The saves Breeze money by not having to pay crew hotels and fees to RON (remain over night) at a different airport. 

So knowing that, a breeze crew wouldn’t have a lot of time to fly from say CHS-RIC-Brazil-RIC-CHS. It just couldn’t happen. What would have to happen is a more traditional layover. Where the Crew would fly, overnight in Brazil, and return to CHS the next day.  Right now that’s not the business model. There has always been talks of changing it but I think this is where it would be implemented.  

As far as ORF getting an international route, I say that only because it takes away the need for a layover. A crew could fly directly from ORF to Brazil and turn right back around. No hotels and no RON fees.

That being said I firmly believe all international traffic will be based out of TPA for awhile so they can get some number on what routes are preforming the best/ could skip the breeze through.

For both airports I am honestly thinking Canada before anything else international. Just my 5 cents. Also, I have no idea if they actually plan on going to Brazil, just a example.

 

And to your second question:

A charter base is an airport where an Airline holds aircraft and crews to serve flights going to specific destinations. Most people don’t know this but this is where Breeze makes a whole lot of its money. The plan always was to eventually phase out the E-Jets from their domestic fleet and use them strictly for charters after the A220 is fully operational. ORF will have a hefty fleet in the next 4 years. Something over 10 aircraft. 

Breeze charters sports teams, college athletes, etc. I was on a trip with the Panthers to Newark at the end of 2021.

Really great information!! Thanks so much @walmartjamesbond! I feel like we all go to school when you bring this kind of insight and expertise to the discussion. Really helps knowing some of the nuts and bolts of how these things work - cuts down on a lot of needless speculation about something that flat isn't going to happen no matter what. So regarding the charter base - if I'm understanding this correctly, the E-jets would be used for the charter portion of the business, whereas the A220s would fly commercially.

So for RIC - looks like real international flights will have to come from other airlines, because it won't come via Breeze. Good to know. And by "real" I mean - RIC to (pick international destination). Breeze-thrus are nice - but that benefits the "hub" that handles the breeze-thru much more than the spoke airport. I'm honestly long-since tired of RIC being a "spoke" airport. At least domestically - while not a true "hub" - at least Breeze's continuing to expand the roster of direct destinations from  RIC is generally rendering it unnecessary for RVA travelers to connect through somewhere (like a Dallas or Atlanta) to go to somewhere else on most routes. Obviously - a Provo or SFO breeze-thru to Hawaii is a different animal - but I think you get my point. Very much hoping Breeze will continue adding more and more direct destinations from RIC - AND - beefing up frequency. As you said, that's a must.

[blopp1234]

Not Breeze related but there are rumors that American Airlines may have some competition on its route from RIC to Philadelphia.

 

Connect Airlines, a new airline operating 70ish seat turbo props out of Toronto Bill Bishop, Chicago Ohara and Philadelphia has seemingly been testing flights with its turbo prop aircraft in the past few weeks. 

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n881wm
 

While I don’t think this will mean direct service to Toronto, it could be another Airline entering Richmond to Philadelphia. Any new airline service is a plus but again this is still a rumor at this point as they have only announced Chicago, Toronto and Philadelphia as cities they will serve and have yet to offer any flights.

 

[walmartjamesbond]

5 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Really great information!! Thanks so much @walmartjamesbond! I feel like we all go to school when you bring this kind of insight and expertise to the discussion. Really helps knowing some of the nuts and bolts of how these things work - cuts down on a lot of needless speculation about something that flat isn't going to happen no matter what. So regarding the charter base - if I'm understanding this correctly, the E-jets would be used for the charter portion of the business, whereas the A220s would fly commercially.

So for RIC - looks like real international flights will have to come from other airlines, because it won't come via Breeze. Good to know. And by "real" I mean - RIC to (pick international destination). Breeze-thrus are nice - but that benefits the "hub" that handles the breeze-thru much more than the spoke airport. I'm honestly long-since tired of RIC being a "spoke" airport. At least domestically - while not a true "hub" - at least Breeze's continuing to expand the roster of direct destinations from  RIC is generally rendering it unnecessary for RVA travelers to connect through somewhere (like a Dallas or Atlanta) to go to somewhere else on most routes. Obviously - a Provo or SFO breeze-thru to Hawaii is a different animal - but I think you get my point. Very much hoping Breeze will continue adding more and more direct destinations from RIC - AND - beefing up frequency. As you said, that's a must.

Yes, you are correct. E Jets will be used for charters and A220’s will be the domestic fleet. David loves Airbus and I wouldn’t doubt a distant future order for the A321 XLR. JetBlue current uses these for JFK- London.

I wouldn’t lose hope though. Richmond is in the perfect location to be a breeze through for bases like Bradly and Providence.

For example, BDL-RIC- South America. That would be a true non stop out of RIC. Only time will tell!

 

[I miss RVA]

2 minutes ago, walmartjamesbond said:

Yes, you are correct. E Jets will be used for charters and A220’s will be the domestic fleet. David loves Airbus and I wouldn’t doubt a distant future order for the A321 XLR. JetBlue current uses these for JFK- London.

I wouldn’t lose hope though. Richmond is in the perfect location to be a breeze through for bases like Bradly and Providence.

For example, BDL-RIC- South America. That would be a true non stop out of RIC. Only time will tell!

 

From your keyboard to God's eyes, my friend!! Very much hoping that Breeze will make that happen! And indeed - it would be a true, legit, non-stop out of RIC. 

Given all of the expansion that's been going on with Breeze adding a lot of flights/destinations at RIC - makes me wonder if folks actually ARE viewing RIC as one of those hidden gems that could fit very nicely (hand-in-glove, so to speak) for exactly those kinds of breeze-throughs as you just mentioned? And it makes me think back to something you said just the other day (and clarified earlier today) - showing other airlines how much as-of-yet untapped potential that RIC -- and by extension the RVA market -- has. Would be interesting if Breeze undertook beefing up destinations and frequencies out of RIC hoping to get ahead of any competition that might come here - if, as you said, other airlines start to really "get it" and decide to ramp up service to/from the River City.

Wow - I really like hearing an airline professional describe Richmond as "the perfect location" for a new level of service (such as the Providence breeze through) to be established. That is VERY heartening. 

[eandslee]

December stats FINALLY came out for the airport and it tells a mostly, positive story.  2022 was a pretty good year for RIC, especially coming out of the pandemic (which still had quite an effect on air travelers in 2022 - most notably toward the beginning of the year - notice the severe dip in the line graph below).  Despite all that, RIC still saw over 4 million passengers for the Calendar Year at 4,068,689 passengers.  December 2022 was a little more than 8% better than December 2021, but was still down compared to October and November 2022.  I still think the future is bright for the airport and I believe this year should rival the airport's best year (2019) and hopefully, it exceeds the traffic seen in 2019.   

To piggyback on that thought:  2019 saw 4.37 million passengers.  If the airport continues on its current passenger count trajectory, it will effectively match the airport's best year (2019) for the year between the months of June 2022 and June 2023.  How about that!?  Without further ado, here is the updated chart:

Edited February 17, 2023 by eandslee

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, eandslee said:

December stats FINALLY came out for the airport and it tells a mostly, positive story.  2022 was a pretty good year for RIC, especially coming out of the pandemic (which still had quite an effect on air travelers in 2022 - most notably toward the beginning of the year - notice the severe dip in the line graph below).  Despite all that, RIC still saw over 4 million passengers for the Calendar Year at 4,068,689 passengers.  December 2022 was a little more than 8% better than December 2021, but was still down compared to October and November 2022.  I still think the future is bright for the airport and I believe this year should rival the airport's best year (2019) and hopefully, it exceeds the traffic seen in 2019.   

To piggyback on that thought:  2019 saw 4.37 million passengers.  If the airport continues on its current passenger count trajectory, it will effectively match the airport's best year (2019) for the year between the months of June 2022 and June 2023.  How about that!?  Without further ado, here is the updated chart:

Holy wow! Believe it or not, I got REALLY close! I was just pulling pretend number out of my tuchus last week when I wrote this:

 

So we're just a shade under 4.1 million for 2022 - in a post-pandemic year when the airline/travel industry hasn't quite caught up to 2019 peaks - but is almost all the way back. AND - from an RIC perspective - we have a TON of either brand new or re-starting service coming on line throughout this year - with Breeze alone now flying to 12 - count 'em - TWELVE - DIRECT destinations out of RIC. Not to mention work progressing apace on the international flight facilities. All things being equal and if the economy remains strong (AND - if, please God, inflation comes down even more) - I'm thinking we should eclipse 2019's total - and make a serious run at between 4.4 M and 4.5 M for 2023. 

Breeze already is becoming a HUGE game-changer for RIC. The re-start of international service will be another game-changer, particularly since RIC will be the ONLY airport in Virginia that does not currently offer international service that will be coming online with operational international facilities over the next year (if I recall what's been posted previously in this thread, ORF is in the neighborhood of a year behind RIC from being ready for international service.) IF that is, in fact, correct, that will be HUGE for RIC to be the only airport in the Commonwealth outside of NOVA that - at least for "x" amount of time will offer international flights - even if it's just to Cancun, Toronto, Montreal, the Bahamas, etc.

Now - with all of THAT said - we NEED... NEED NEED NEED NEED NEED to chase down Frontier and get them flying out of RIC. They offer a flight out of ORF (I think only one destination). Frankly, I don't care one bit if all Frontier were to offer were connections to a small handful of destinations including a hub - let's at least get them on the roster and get gate space for them. Add them into the mix. Surely they are flying to at least a couple of destinations that are NOT being served currently out of RIC - OR - at worst, they could bring a nice level of competition to current destinations.

Let's also hope the Southwest seriously gets back into the game at RIC and changes up from what they've been doing previously. ANY decent bump-up in service from Southwest will be a WIN for RIC.

IF Avelo pulls out of PHF - let's put on a full-court press and roll out the red runway carpet for them to have a gate at RIC! THEY WILL MAKE MONEY HERE!

Hopefully Breeze will CONTINUTE to add routes flying out of RIC - and, as our friend @walmartjamesbondastutely pointed out - they really pump up the frequency of flights out of RIC. 

There are a LOT of very promising things that can take shape for our airport in 2023 -- all of which could lead to a facility record for passenger traffic. Barring anything unforeseen - I think we could be looking at a BANNER year at RIC. If the powers that be REALLY go pedal-to-the-metal on all fronts - strong marketing, strong airline recruitment (for airlines, flights, destinations, frequency), strong lobbying for any/all state and federal funding needed for further improvements eith an eye toward expansion down the road - then, quite honestly - pun intended - the sky's the limit for RIC.

For whatever reason, I feel VERY bullish about the future of this airport, if we play our cards right. A LOT stars, suns and moons have been aligning lately - and if that continues through this year and into the coming years, we're going to be VERY pleasantly surprised by a TON of good things that could potentially come to pass.

Edited February 17, 2023 by I miss RVA

[blopp1234]

51 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

IF Avelo pulls out of PHF - let's put on a full-court press and roll out the red runway carpet for them to have a gate at RIC! THEY WILL MAKE MONEY HERE!

I don’t know if Avelo will move to RIC but I don’t see them staying at PHF for very much longer regardless. It currently is their worst performing station by load factor of any of their cities served outside of Lexington Kentucky, which they will be pulling out of in the coming months. If load factors don’t improve, I’d assume it’s only a matter of time before they fully pull out of Newport News.

Edited February 17, 2023 by blopp1234

[I miss RVA]

17 minutes ago, blopp1234 said:

I don’t know if Avelo will move to RIC but I don’t see them staying at PHF for very much longer regardless. It currently is their worst performing station by load factor of any of their cities served outside of Lexington Kentucky, which they will be pulling out of in the coming months. If load factors don’t improve, I’d assume it’s only a matter of time before they fully pull out of Newport News.

Yeah - it's probably a stretch to think of Avelo coming to RIC - but it's certainly worth a try at least, no?

What about Frontier? I'd think that's one that the powers-that-be at RIC should really make a serious attempt to bring here.

[I miss RVA]

Axios Richmond is reporting today that 83% of flights departing RIC in November left on time, according to the most recent data available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That's a pretty good on-time departure score!

The article did NOT mention on-time arrivals, however.

A couple of other takeaways:

• December data - and the debacle with Southwest - is not yet available. It will be interesting to see how the overall statistics shake out with December figures factored in.
• Breeze - despite a rapidly growing flight load out of RIC is not included in the data (the BTS does not consider them (Breeze) large enough to be required to report on-time data.
• Of cities with Axios Local newsrooms - Washington (specifically Dulles) topped November's on-time performance at 88%

Didn't realize this - apparently Richmond is one of just 26 cities with Axios Local newsrooms. I would have thought that figure to be much higher - and for RVA to be included in this rather elite grouping it, to me, VERY impressive and speaks well of Richmond.

From today's Axios Richmond:

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-richmond-0133a11e-3b12-4678-add1-8df1ac667a2a.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_richmond&stream=top

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by I miss RVA

[Niccckk]

27 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Breeze - despite a rapidly growing flight load out of RIC is not included in the data (the BTS does not consider them (Breeze) large enough to be required to report on-time data.

Yeah... they would've tanked our numbers
Breeze's on-time data isn't the best yet haha. 

 

17 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Now - with all of THAT said - we NEED... NEED NEED NEED NEED NEED to chase down Frontier and get them flying out of RIC. They offer a flight out of ORF (I think only one destination). Frankly, I don't care one bit if all Frontier were to offer were connections to a small handful of destinations including a hub - let's at least get them on the roster and get gate space for them. Add them into the mix. Surely they are flying to at least a couple of destinations that are NOT being served currently out of RIC - OR - at worst, they could bring a nice level of competition to current destinations.

I'm gonna be the devils advocate, but I don't think Frontier makes much sense out of here. 
Almost all of their big hubs are already served by airlines out of RIC, notably Denver, which United (and now Southwest again) serve. I dunno, I think there is too much competition on their airports already for them to make sense here. Maybe I'm wrong, I dunno.

 

17 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Let's also hope the Southwest seriously gets back into the game at RIC and changes up from what they've been doing previously. ANY decent bump-up in service from Southwest will be a WIN for RIC.

Agreed 100%. There is so many potential markets they can tap into here, and I just don't know why they haven't. I really hope Breeze persuades Southwest to get moving here since they having VERY similar point to point models.

I genuinely hope we get a few new routes back this year from Southwest (Orlando & Tampa), and then hopefully they increase their presence out of here.

17 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Hopefully Breeze will CONTINUTE to add routes flying out of RIC - and, as our friend @walmartjamesbondastutely pointed out - they really pump up the frequency of flights out of RIC. 

 

YES YES YES! I think if the jetBlue / Spirit merger goes through, we might see Breeze hop on with Orlando. I only say this because if they merge, they will be the only "Airline" to operate to MCO (yes allegiant goes to SFB).

I think it will take a few years for us to see increases frequencies with Breeze though, not because of us though. Breeze is still a growing airline and they're still receiving 1 new A220 each month. There is definitely demand for their flights. I think by the END of this year we can definitely see increased frequencies on a lot of their routes.

17 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

IF Avelo pulls out of PHF - let's put on a full-court press and roll out the red runway carpet for them to have a gate at RIC! THEY WILL MAKE MONEY HERE!

I agree, but once Avelo enters into Breeze's market, Breeze will match Avelo's route imeediately, and most likely win. This can be see when Avelo tried to launch flights from MCO to Charleston, and then like 2 days later Breeze announced the same route, and Avelo's route got ditched a few months later.

 

BUT OVERALL, this is AMAZING for RIC!
Really excited to see what this year has in store for us.

[Flood Zone]

40 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Didn't realize this - apparently Richmond is one of just 26 cities with Axios Local newsrooms. I would have thought that figure to be much higher - and for RVA to be included in this rather elite grouping it, to me, VERY impressive and speaks well of Richmond.

Kind of makes sense to me. It's a state capital, with a federal court of appeals and a federal reserve bank, as well as a notable energy supplier.

On-topic, I don't know exactly what Avelo is but I'm also not sure why we'd want it because every post in this thread suggests to me that it's a loser that will be gone before long.

[eandslee]

8 minutes ago, Niccckk said:

Yeah... they would've tanked our numbers
Breeze's on-time data isn't the best yet haha. 

 

I agree, but once Avelo enters into Breeze's market, Breeze will match Avelo's route imeediately, and most likely win. This can be see when Avelo tried to launch flights from MCO to Charleston, and then like 2 days later Breeze announced the same route, and Avelo's route got ditched a few months later.

True story.  Breeze's on-time stats suck.  Almost none of their transcon flights leave or arrive on time.  It's amazing, but despite that, passenger counts are strong  to and from RIC from what I can tell.

Regarding Avelo - RDU has both a Breeze hub AND an Avelo hub (recently announced).  Granted there aren't a lot of Breeze flights out of RDU yet (maybe 5-6) and about that same amount of Avelo flights (I'm just trying to remember the number of flights off the top of my head, so those numbers could be off a bit).  It'll be interesting to see how this turns out.  One may beat out the other, but if they can both have a hub there, then certainly, RIC could sustain both airlines as well.  Time will tell on this.

Regarding Frontier - Frontier does not have a mid-Atlantic hub.   Richmond would be perfect for one.  Sure, some of the destinations they fly might be the same as some of our current airlines, but isn't that the beauty of competition?  It would be a very bold move, but I think a hub at RIC could make sense...but then again, I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

13 minutes ago, Flood Zone said:

On-topic, I don't know exactly what Avelo is but I'm also not sure why we'd want it because every post in this thread suggests to me that it's a loser that will be gone before long.

Not sure I agree.  We don't talk about Avelo too much here because RIC doesn't have Avelo...(yet).  From what I've read, they are a pretty nice airline.  They do have a slightly different strategy from Breeze, but it still may be a successful one.  I'm not tracking that they (the airline) will be gone before too long...just gone (maybe) from Newport News airport due to low passenger loads.