Richmond International Airport

[burt]

A story from today's inRich about the closure of the Virginia Air National Guard Base on the eastern side of RIC. It's not known what will replace the military presence. Perhaps, as we speculated earlier, commercial maintenance facilities will be placed there Or, maybe eventually, an International Terminal :.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/cva/ric/news....09-17-0137.html

[wrldcoupe4]

WOW.

RIC Sets 4th Straight All-time Monthly Record

For the fourth month in a row, Richmond International Airport reported an all-time monthly record for passenger traffic.

Almost 340,000 passengers arrived at and departed from the regional airport in August, a 15 percent increase over the same month a year ago, the Capital Region Airport Commission said this morning.

There appears to be no slowdown in growth at RIC!

[burt]

WOW.

RIC Sets 4th Straight All-time Monthly Record

There appears to be no slowdown in growth at RIC!

My guess is they will end the year with a total passenger count of about 3.8 mil.

Edited September 25, 2007 by burt

[jbjust]

I flew to Atlanta last week on AirTran. The flight down on Monday night was about 1/3 to 1/2 full. The flight back only had two empty seats.

Also, when I arrived Monday night, both parking garages were completely full.

Edited September 25, 2007 by jbjust

[eandslee]

WOW.

RIC Sets 4th Straight All-time Monthly Record

There appears to be no slowdown in growth at RIC!

This a consistent report month after month - SWEET! This, again, is SUPER news! All I can say is that I hope it continues on like this for a long while! No wonder we're the 2nd fastest growing top 100 airports in the nation! I'm surprised by jbjust's reports of only 1/3 to 1/2 full flights, but apparently something is going right somewhere at RIC or else the numbers would not be so high. Perhaps jbjust was on a "fluke" flight.

[burt]

This is a more complete story than yesterday's at inRich about record loadings at RIC. It also looks soberly at the future:

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/busines...09-26-0068.html

Edited September 26, 2007 by burt

[Shakman]

For those who would like to get a photo of the Delta 752 at RIC, the opportunity awaits you on the top floor of the South Garage. Delta has shifted some of there gates to where United use to be. Not sure where United has moved to.

Anyways, I saw 95% of the Delta 752 parked at a gate at the end of Concourse B one night.

[burt]

For those who would like to get a photo of the Delta 752 at RIC, the opportunity awaits you on the top floor of the South Garage. Delta has shifted some of there gates to where United use to be. Not sure where United has moved to.

Anyways, I saw 95% of the Delta 752 parked at a gate at the end of Concourse B one night.

Delta also had a 752 flight at around one or two o'clock in the afternoon when I was there last October. It was parked and left from a jetway in the southern concourse within view of Applebee's restaurant overlooking the apron. (I don't know whether it's A or B, but it's the newer, long concourse from which Jet Blue operates.)

[wrldcoupe4]

Passenger counts are up nearly 12% so far this year. Through August, over 2,419,176 million passengers came through RIC compared to 2,161,958 during the same time frame in 2006. I think we'll see over 3.6 million passengers in 2007.

[burt]

Passenger counts are up nearly 12% so far this year. Through August, over 2,419,176 million passengers came through RIC compared to 2,161,958 during the same time frame in 2006. I think we'll see over 3.6 million passengers in 2007.

Two of the heaviest traffic months are coming up - November and December. I think the yearly total will top 3.7 mil -- down a 100K from my previous prediction.

[wrldcoupe4]

New Airport Connector will be complete by 2010:

Project Fact Sheet (PDF)

[burt]

If I were forced to make a single negative comment about the new terminal at RIC, it would be that it is TOO large for its presnet passenger loads. I arrived, after a day of visiting the Willimasburg/Yorktown/Jamestown Triangle, at 5:30 yesterday for a 7:45PM flight and the place was rattling with emptiness. When checking in at Jet Blue, the agent said that flights had been running at capacity during the last few weeks, but that my flight was an anomaly with only 26 flyers. However, I counted 90 passengers de-boarding the plane which was turned around for the return to JFK with us 26.

[wrldcoupe4]

Better to grow into a space, IMO. Did you see a lot of hot shot execs? Maybe your flight was chartered by the "Gang of 26" for a trip to the Big Apple

[eandslee]

Better to grow into a space, IMO. Did you see a lot of hot shot execs? Maybe your flight was chartered by the "Gang of 26" for a trip to the Big Apple

Yeah, I agree. The new RIC terminal was built for the airport to grow in the 21st century, so it may seem big now, but hopefully we'll be able to fill it up soon!

Thanks also for the Airport Connector link - It's about time it be built. They've been talking about this thing for years!

[Shakman]

Yeah, I agree. The new RIC terminal was built for the airport to grow in the 21st century, so it may seem big now, but hopefully we'll be able to fill it up soon!

Thanks also for the Airport Connector link - It's about time it be built. They've been talking about this thing for years!

The same went for Dulles (IAD) when it was built in the 60's. Congress at that time saw IAD as a waste of money. Since when it first opened, the Main Terminal has doubled in size as well as numerous gates have been added and are being added. (i.e. currently an additional 12 gates are being added to Concourse B).

When IAD first opened, I do not think many visitors to the airport would have thought IAD of being a major hub for a major world carrier (United) in addition to the numerous foreign carriers that serve the airport.

Point being... Market studies must have indicated that RIC needs the capacity to handle the expected future growth. RIC so far has proven itself.

[wrldcoupe4]

RIC to Land Second Skybus Hub??

Airport representatives have been talking to Skybus about increasing service and the possibility of creating a base, or hub, here.

Skybus has narrowed its choices to the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C., and Richmond, said the Winston-Salem Alliance, an economic-development group.

The group sent a letter to that area's tourism authority saying Richmond and the state of Virginia "have been very aggressive in the recruitment of Skybus," with combined financial assistance of $50 million over 10 years.

RIC airport officials have denied the $50 million figure though.

Edited October 19, 2007 by wrldcoupe4

[eandslee]

RIC to Land Second Skybus Hub??

RIC airport officials have denied the $50 million figure though.

Yeah, I read that too, but the article was very...well, weird. It read as if Richmond has no clue what is going on (at least to me anyway). Surely, airport officials know what the deal is and even though it may not be 50 million dollars that's being offered, it could be 49 million! Airport officials just denied the 50 million dollar offer. Seems like folks at the airport are very tight-lipped about this. But, boy, what a wonderful proposition! Could you imagine Richmond landing a hub here! This is what I've been dreaming about for a long time! At any rate, looks like we've gots some good competition with Greensboro, NC on Skybus's radar as well. Here's hoping that Richmond pulls this thing off!

[burt]

RIC to Land Second Skybus Hub??

RIC airport officials have denied the $50 million figure though.

This is a contradictory story if ever there was one -- "he said, she said" -- local sources saying a second flight will be added and the airline denying it.

But wouldn't it be nice to have a Skybus hub at RIC offering up to 22 daily flights as well as mainternance facilities and 400 new jobs? It might be worth a $50 million incentive package.

It appears Greensboro/Winston Salem is the big competition.

[eandslee]

This is a contradictory story if ever there was one -- "he said, she said" -- local sources saying a second flight will be added and the airline denying it.

But wouldn't it be nice to have a Skybus hub at RIC offering up to 22 daily flights as well as mainternance facilities and 400 new jobs? It might be worth a $50 million incentive package.

It appears Greensboro/Winston Salem is the big competition.

Go here to learn more about all of this from Greensboro's perspective. Quite interesting.

[burt]

The Carolina Triad's airport serving Greensboro, Winston Salem and High Point appears to be making a serious pitch to Skybus. According to sources there, "Skybus must bring in 500,000 new passengers annually to PTI (the local airport) before it would be eligible for assistance."

Skybus claims "The airline promises 1.2 million passengers at its second 'focus' city..."

The latter figure would bring PTI's annual load factor to approximately the numbers RIC presently enjoys.

It strikes me as odd that early figures for Skybus placed Kansas City, Greensboro and Richmond as the least performing airports among the fifteen Skybus destinations, yet two of these cities now are vying to become a "focus" (or hub) airport for Skybus.

We can be sure there are behind-the-scene negotiations underway. And as always in Richmond, dealings are held close to the vest and leaks to the press are at a minimum.

[eandslee]

The Carolina Triad's airport serving Greensboro, Winston Salem and High Point appears to be making a serious pitch to Skybus. According to sources there, "Skybus must bring in 500,000 new passengers annually to PTI (the local airport) before it would be eligible for assistance."

Skybus claims "The airline promises 1.2 million passengers at its second 'focus' city..."

The latter figure would bring PTI's annual load factor to approximately the numbers RIC presently enjoys.

It strikes me as odd that early figures for Skybus placed Kansas City, Greensboro and Richmond as the least performing airports among the fifteen Skybus destinations, yet two of these cities now are vying to become a "focus" (or hub) airport for Skybus.

We can be sure there are behind-the-scene negotiations underway. And as always in Richmond, dealings are held close to the vest and leaks to the press are at a minimum.

I don't have my hopes up too high, but I certainly hope we land this one. Airport officials seem to deny what's going on, but I hope the whole community, behind closed doors, are working their magic. Just imagine 1.2 million more passengers flying in and out of Richmond! This would definitely bump us up to the next level! I can't wait to hear who wins. I'm fearful of the great competition that PTI offers. Boy, this is going to be a tough wait for me. GO RIC!

[wrldcoupe4]

I think we could easily top the Triad as far as incentives go...Virginia is very liberal when it comes to incentives for business development. Richmond is also well positioned for growth given it's central location to Central VA, Hampton Roads, and NOVA/DC and the recently completed expansion. Richmond's larger corporate presence certainly helps our chances as well.

Still, I'm sure it's a very competitive process and the Triad seems to be pursuing it very aggressively... looks like we'll have to wait till month's end to see the outcome.

[eandslee]

I think we could easily top the Triad as far as incentives go...Virginia is very liberal when it comes to incentives for business development. Richmond is also well positioned for growth given it's central location to Central VA, Hampton Roads, and NOVA/DC and the recently completed expansion. Richmond's larger corporate presence certainly helps our chances as well.

Still, I'm sure it's a very competitive process and the Triad seems to be pursuing it very aggressively... looks like we'll have to wait till month's end to see the outcome.

According to the following article I found, the possibility of Skybus moving to the Triad has gone very public and has been for some time! In fact, many business leaders are putting together quite a package to entice Skybus. I'm worried because today is the first day I've heard that Richmond was even considered for a Skybus hub! I just hope some big Virginia leaders with some very deep pockets are putting something unrefusable together...without us knowing.

In addition to Greensboro's incentive package to lure Skybus there, they also are paying $2.15 for each passenger who boards any airline's nonstop flight to a destination not previously being served from PTI! WOW! That's huge! I'm still keeping my fingers crossed!

PTI Skybus enticements grow

[wrldcoupe4]

Richmond added an incentive to airlines about a month or two ago for adding direct flights to cities not currently available from RIC. See this article dated August 29th:

Richmond is the second-fastest-growing airport among the nation's 100 largest, Bell said. More passengers mean better service for air travelers and more revenue for the airport, allowing it to pay for improved and expanded facilities.

To help those trends continue, the commission yesterday agreed to offer landing-fee rebates to airlines providing nonstop, daily service to cities not being served by another carrier.

The new round-trip flights would have to continue for a year, be made in jet aircraft carrying at least 70 passengers and fly at least six days a week.

Also, just because local officials aren't banging pots and pans together drawing attention to the SkyBus discussion doesn't mean they aren't taking the prospect seriously. There was no public mention of MeadWestvaco's plans to move to the area until the day they held a press conference with the Governor to announce the done deal...

Check back a few pages for the link to the article quoted above.

Edited October 19, 2007 by wrldcoupe4

[burt]

Richmond added an incentive to airlines about a month or two ago for adding direct flights to cities not currently available from RIC. See this article dated August 29th:

<a href='http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/ipb_seo.php?url=http://&quot;http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-co...08-29-0104.html&quot;' rel='nofollow' target="_blank" onclick="java script:urchinTracker('/outgoing/"http');"><a href="http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-co...08-29-0104.html" target="_blank">http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-co...08-29-0104.html</a></a>

Also, just because local officials aren't banging pots and pans together drawing attention to the SkyBus discussion doesn't mean they aren't taking the prospect seriously. There was no public mention of MeadWestvaco's plans to move to the area until the day they held a press conference with the Governor to announce the done deal...

Edited October 19, 2007 by burt