Richmond International Airport

[eandslee]

Some more positive news from the airport:

"Beginning February 15, 2007, AirTran Airways will offer daily nonstop flights from RIC to Orlando International Airport (MCO), upgrading the current Saturday-only service.

With flights onboard AirTran's popular Boeing 717 aircraft, featuring free XM Satellite Radio, service to the Florida gateway of Orlando offers convenient access to many of the areas attractions, including Sea World, Universal Studios and the Walt Disney World Resort.

Visit www.airtran.com, call 1-800-AIR-TRAN (1-800-247-8726) or contact your local travel agent for information and reservations."

And here are some sample fares:

Destinations Sample Sale Fares from RIC

Orlando (MCO) $69 (one way)

New Orleans (MSY) $89 (one way)

Atlanta (ATL) $64 (one way)

(Tickets must be purchased by January 18, 2007. Fares are valid for travel to Florida destinations and Grand Bahama Island through March 7, 2007, and other destinations through May 23, 2007.)

If you're shopping for that next great escape, stay informed about AirTran's best airfare deals by registering with NET ESCAPES.

bDestinations Sample Sale Fares from RIC

Miami (MIA) $228 (round trip)

Nashville (BNA) $172 (round trip)

(Tickets must be purchased at least 14 days prior to departure. Fares are valid for travel January 11 through March 7, 2007.)

Remember to join American's AAdvantage program to earn travel credits and receive fare specials by e-mail.

Destinations Sample Sale Fares from RIC

NY/Newark (EWR) $99 (round trip)

(Tickets must be purchased by January 5, 2007. Fares are valid for travel through January 9, 2007.)

With the Continental Airlines OnePass program, travelers can earn OnePass miles that can be redeemed for reward travel or for bidding on unique VIP packages and products at the OnePass Online Auction. Travelers can also earn miles and points that qualify for special Elite status benefits.

Sign up for Delta's SkyMiles program and receive weekly web fare specials, travel updates, partner offers, and SkyMiles statements online.

Destinations Sample Sale Fares from RIC

Boston (BOS) $59 (each way)

New York (JFK) $59 (each way)

Las Vegas (LAS) $129 (each way)

(Tickets must be purchased by January 16, 2007. Fares are valid for travel through February 15, 2007.)

Sign up today to JetBlue's TrueBlue flight gratitude program. With TrueBlue passengers can enjoy faster and easier online booking, advance notice of special promotions and fare sales, and, by collecting TrueBlue points, be eligible to earn free flights.

Make sure to sign up for Northwest's WorldPerks program. With monthly mileage summary and weekly deals & news e-mails, WorldPerks members stay up-to-date on the program and are the first to hear about special offers and bonus miles earning opportunities.

Destinations Sample Sale Fares from RIC

San Francisco (SFO) $284 (round trip)

Columbus (CMH) $149 (round trip)

(Tickets must be purchased by January 5, 2007. Fares are valid for travel from January 13, 2007 through January 16, 2007.)

Join United's Mileage Plus program and stay informed about United's weekly sale fares, last minute flight deals and special promotions.

Destinations Sample Sale Fares from RIC

Charlotte (CLT) $74 (each way)

Philadelphia (PHL) $74 (each way)

(Tickets must be purchased by January 6, 2007, for departure on January 6th. Return travel must be completed by January 9, 2007. Minimum stay one day.)

Sign up for US Airways e-mail specials and receive the latest news, special offers and promotions from US Airways.

These fares are not bad! I just got the information in an email today. Enjoy!

[wrldcoupe4]

Thanks for the update Eric! I look forward to seeing what the final passenger tally was for 2006.

[burt]

Air Tran flights in and out of Richmond are running at 73% capacity. As Eric pointed out, a daily Orlando flight will begin in February.

See story in today's business section of td.

Edited January 4, 2007 by burt

[burt]

Delta affiliate Commair's flights are reunning so late to and from New York airports that it spurred one flyer to say it took longer for the JFK/Richmond segment than it did Dublin to JFK.

Side note: Atlanta is the busiest airport in number of flights and passengers again. In 2006 more than 976,000 flights took off or landed at ATL. O'Hare in Chicago was second with 958,000. This info was in an AP story on the td's business page today.

My uneducated guess is about 75,000 commercial flights departed and arrived RIC.

Edited January 5, 2007 by burt

[eandslee]

I'm just making an observation here, but it appears that most US airports that do a good amount of business usually have parallel runways. There are just a couple of exceptions such as New York's LaGuardia Airport:

Even Jacksonville, Florida has this configuration (which is similar to Richmond's):

Most airport of any real significance has the following configuration - parallel (Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City):

or this one in Memphis:

Even Raleigh has parallel runways:

By comparison, here is Richmond's and Norfolks respectively:

Seems like the Virginia airports need to jump on the bandwagon. Just an observation....

[TBurban]

There's a slight chance that I just may be posting some airport pictures tomorrow

[eandslee]

There's a slight chance that I just may be posting some airport pictures tomorrow

Sweet! Can't wait to see them!

[TBurban]

It was a quick run so I was only able to snap a few, but here they are...

[burt]

Nice pix, as usual, Tommy. Did you go inside? Saturday is historically a slow-volume travel day. Did it appear crowded? I wish they would build a beautiful FLOWING fountain in front of the terminal between the parking decks.

Eric: What is the light gray runway running parallel to RIC's main landing strip? Can it be used for commercial flights? Thanks for posting those images of airport lay-outs.

Edited January 7, 2007 by burt

[TBurban]

Nice pix, as usual, Tommy. Did you go inside? Saturday is historically a slow-volume travel day. Did it appear crowded? I wish they would build a beautiful FLOWING fountain in front of the terminal between the parking decks.

Thanks, Burt. It was just a quick drop off and had to be somewhere afterwards, so I didn't have much time to step inside. When my dad returns from his business trip, Ill ask him about it

[eandslee]

Good...Very good pix! Thanks for giving me the pleasure to see the airport again. Too bad it was a quick trip. Thank you very much nevertheless!

Eric: What is the light gray runway running parallel to RIC's main landing strip? Can it be used for commercial flights? Thanks for posting those images of airport lay-outs.

The light gray "runway" is not a runway at all, but rather a taxi way for aircraft to travel between the terminal and the runway. There is no way that this could even be turned into a runway due to its close proximity to the main runway. The real runways in these airport diagrams are the black strips. Thanks for the inquiry Burt.

[joey]

I wish they would build a beautiful FLOWING fountain in front of the terminal between the parking decks.

I can't tell if you're kidding or not . . . as there was a reflecting pool and fountain between the two decks for a few years, but it was paved over for extra parking. The airport said it needed more parking, and that the fountain was barely visible from the road.

[burt]

I can't tell if you're kidding or not . . . as there was a reflecting pool and fountain between the two decks for a few years, but it was paved over for extra parking. The airport said it needed more parking, and that the fountain was barely visible from the road.

I NEVER kid about fountains -- only grouse about the lack of them and restricted flow in the few that exist.

There appears to be a grassy space betweeen the parking lot and a roadway that might support some type of water feature.

[eandslee]

Here's a link that I found on the Airport Business web page about Richmond International Airport and its expansion and bright future! This is a publication that is national in scope and goes to vitually all airports and airlines around the country! In fact this story is the publication's cover story this month! This is great public exposure for Richmond International!

A Capital Development

Enjoy!

Edited January 10, 2007 by eandslee

[eandslee]

Here's another photo I found of the airport too. Enjoy!

[burt]

All of the above is great, Eric. I wish the picture were up-to-date so we could see all the new roadway work and the expanded terminal building. Also, I'd like to see an aerial of the entire airport showing all runways.

The Airport Business story is terific reading, though latest passenger load figures were for July. The 300,000 mark was passed in November, as well as total for year to date of over 3,000,000.

Tell me which concourse is which. Is A the south one and B the north? When I flew in and out on Jet Blue in October, it was from the south concourse and I didn't notice any construction in that immediate area. The story says that "work on Concourse B is nearing completion.

Also, plans are being made to add 2200 new parking spaces to the north garage according to the story. I didn't know that.

Take care, and thanks for posting all of this.

[eandslee]

I'd like to see an aerial of the entire airport showing all runways.

The Airport Business story is terific reading, though latest passenger load figures were for July. The 300,000 mark was passed in November, as well as total for year to date of over 3,000,000.

Tell me which concourse is which. Is A the south one and B the north? When I flew in and out on Jet Blue in October, it was from the south concourse and I didn't notice any construction in that immediate area. The story says that "work on Concourse B is nearing completion.

Finding an aerial with all of the runways would be fairly easy to find with Google Earth. I'll have to look later when I find the time.

The article in that publication probably needed to be prepared months in advance which is probably why it mentioned July and not any month more recent, but it's still good publicity.

About the concourses: Concourse A is located on the north side and Concourse B is located on the south side. The construction that the article mentions is for the new retail that will be going in that concourse - Concourse B (Concourse B for gate embarking and disembarking is already finished). Anyway, I hope this answers your questions.

[JSI]

It appears JetBlue is really trying to capture the New York market. They have round trip deals going on for $63! A few small restrictions apply.

Travelocity JetBlue Deal

[TBurban]

My aunt and cousins are taking that advantage, I think they've got a one way here and a one way back for 50 some dollars each. Not bad!

[burt]

My aunt and cousins are taking that advantage, I think they've got a one way here and a one way back for 50 some dollars each. Not bad!

Be sure to take your camera when you meet Auntie.

[TBurban]

Will do Their fares turned out to be $51 departing JFK to RIC and $49 departing RIC to JFK.

[burt]

Will do Their fares turned out to be $51 departing JFK to RIC and $49 departing RIC to JFK.

Wow! How far in advance did they book? I paid $167 roundtrip last fall.

[TBurban]

Wow! How far in advance did they book? I paid $167 roundtrip last fall.

I think they're coming in the 16th and leaving the 20th of February(not totally sure) so about a month in advance.

[burt]

I just read on the Norfolk airport thread that Southwest flies daily non-stop from ORF to Vegas. I wish USAir, or better yet, Jet Blue, would inaugerate a competitive flight Richmond/Vegas -- even if it were once a week on a trial basis. I bet they could attract a lot of Central Virginia passengers.

After all, there used to be a fairly frequent charter flight from RIC to the Bahamas which carried loads large enough to keep those flights going for several years. You can bet those travelers weren't going just to lie on the beach. They were attracted by the gambling.

[burt]

When may we expect to see December figures for RIC as well as totals for all of 2006?