Richmond International Airport

[burt]

The area does have a fast growing Hispanic population. However, most the of ones I have met are from Central America not South America.

Speaking of international flights, I had no idea RIC has customs. I remember seeing it while flying to SAT via IAH.

Isn't the customs office at RIC primarily there to screen cargo? There is the occasional diverted international commercial flight, as well. Customs facilities are also in place at Richmond's Deep Water Terminal. I suppose they had a bit of a surprise when the arriving UVA undergrad and 13 other passengers walked down the gangplank of a container ship arriving recently from Liverpool.

Eric, PTI really IS taking on an expensive and risky venture with Skybus. I wish them every success, but wonder how other airlines serving the airport are reacting?

Edited October 26, 2007 by burt

[wrldcoupe4]

September was another good month for RIC.

[burt]

September was another good month for RIC.

More, please! Where are the figures?

[burt]

I'm not absolutely sure about this, but it looks like Jet Blue is cutting one roundtrip JFK/RIC/JFK in early November. Whereas there are now four daily flights in each direction, there are only three each way after November 1st. That pretty much coincides with the addition of the once-a-day roundtrip RIC/FLL/RIC (Lauderdale.)

The two daily roundtrips RIC/BOS/RIC are not affected.

Also, though it does not yet affect Richmond flights, Jet Blue is moving some New York operations to White Plains (HPN) and Newburgh (SWF) in order to lessen congestion at JFK.

Edited October 26, 2007 by burt

[eandslee]

Eric, PTI really IS taking on an expensive and risky venture with Skybus. I wish them every success, but wonder how other airlines serving the airport are reacting?

If Richmond has made a mistake here and if Skybus becomes a big airline like JetBlue and Southwest, then Richmond will be kicking themselves in the @ss for years to come! Since that is the case, I cannot really hope the airline does well. However, that only comes from the fact that Richmond didn't try hard enough or gave up which has made me angry because you never know and I think the risk might have been a good one to take. So I hope Skybus doesn't do well, only for Richmond's sake.

[wrldcoupe4]

I think we'll see passenger counts north of 295,000 in September compared to 265,000 a year ago.

[wrldcoupe4]

If Richmond has made a mistake here and if Skybus becomes a big airline like JetBlue and Southwest, then Richmond will be kicking themselves in the @ss for years to come! Since that is the case, I cannot really hope the airline does well. However, that only comes from the fact that Richmond didn't try hard enough or gave up which has made me angry because you never know and I think the risk might have been a good one to take. So I hope Skybus doesn't do well, only for Richmond's sake.

Would it be worth pissing off Jet Blue and AirTran if we doled out millions of dollars to SkyBus? I can totally see that being an issue... And maybe SkyBus preferred PTI all along and it simply beat out Richmond. No need to dwell on what we don't know. Eric, contact the airport and see if they will say anything... it's worth a shot.

[burt]

I think we'll see passenger counts north of 295,000 in September compared to 265,000 a year ago.

Percentage-wise, that would put the increase into double digits again.

[wrldcoupe4]

And it would also be another consecutive monthly record.

[wrldcoupe4]

RIC posts another Record Month in September (stat sheet PDF)

295,500 passengers went through RIC in September compared to 266,000 a year ago representing growth of 11.11%.

For the year, 2,714,672 passengers have passed through RIC compared to 2,427,905 passengers at this point a year ago.

[burt]

RIC posts another Record Month in September (stat sheet PDF)

295,500 passengers went through RIC in September compared to 266,000 a year ago representing growth of 11.11%.

For the year, 2,714,672 passengers have passed through RIC compared to 2,427,905 passengers at this point a year ago.

Great figures! Where does RIC go from here? Can double digit growth continue?

I think our pal Chip Jones no longer writes for the RTD.

[eandslee]

Great figures! Where does RIC go from here? Can double digit growth continue?

I think our pal Chip Jones no longer writes for the RTD.

Wow! It would be nice to hit the 4 million passenger mark, but I think we might hit just under that based on a quick calculation in my head...unless this Thanksgiving and Christmas is just crazy full of passengers using the airport. This continued success is just great and I'm glad it's happening to RIC!

Where do we go from here? Well, I know that the airport did solicit for more flights by giving an incentive to airlines who would add more flights, so it seems that this would be the next logical step. Then, as the number of flights increase, more gates will be needed especially in the A Concourse (the one they haven't expanded yet). I know this project is on the airport's radar screen, but it might have to be bumped up to be built sooner to accommodate more flights and more passengers.

...maybe another airline will want to have Richmond as a focus city??

[burt]

Here is a more comprehensive story from today's inRich about the 11% increase in passenger loads during September:

<a href='http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/ipb_seo.php?url=http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/busines...10-31-0102.html' rel='nofollow' target="_blank" onclick="java script:urchinTracker('/outgoing/www_inrich_com');">http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/busines...10-31-0102.html</a>

It looks as though writer Peter Bacque is the newspaper's new reporter on happenings at RIC.

Eric, my guess is that RIC will finish out the year with a passenger count of around 3,750,000.

Remember that while Jet Blue is adding a "seasonal" FLL roundtrip, it is also eliminating one of its daily JFK rt's.

PS: I predict that the heavy build up at Fort Lee is going to affect passenger and cargo loads at RIC in a very favorable way.

Edited October 31, 2007 by burt

[eandslee]

PS: I predict that the heavy build up at Fort Lee is going to affect passenger and cargo loads at RIC in a very favorable way.

Yes, I totally agree Burt. Since that is the case, we should see some additional increases in traffic in 2009 when many of the extra troops begin their grand entrance into the area. Good point Burt.

[burt]

There's a story in today's RTD about inaugeration of FLL service from RIC. I'm having such trouble linking that I'll leave it to you guys to find the story.

[jbjust]

Yes, I totally agree Burt. Since that is the case, we should see some additional increases in traffic in 2009 when many of the extra troops begin their grand entrance into the area. Good point Burt.

This will hopefully lead to much greater utilization of the Pocahontas Parkway and the new interchange at the airport.

[journiyin]

Yes, I totally agree Burt. Since that is the case, we should see some additional increases in traffic in 2009 when many of the extra troops begin their grand entrance into the area. Good point Burt.

That and all the dignitaries coming into town to open the 1 billion in new construction going on. Thanks BRAC

[wrldcoupe4]

It appears that JetBlue is pleased with their Richmond performance

JetBlue considers additional RIC flights

JetBlue's chief executive officer says Richmond can expect more service from the low-cost, high-quality airline.

JetBlue Airways could reasonably add flights to Florida, the West and New York out of Richmond International Airport, David Barger said.

"Richmond works very well for us," Barger said during breakfast with about 35 local business and airport leaders at the Jefferson Hotel.

And, he said later, "there'll be additional growth over a period of time."

More in tomorrow's RTD

Edited November 8, 2007 by wrldcoupe4

[burt]

It appears that JetBlue is pleased with their Richmond performance

JetBlue considers additional RIC flights

More in tomorrow's RTD

How aout that?!!!

Maybe that's the reason there wasn't a big hullabaloo about Skybus.

[Shakman]

This sounds very promising. Hopefully some flights will deverted to RIC from the overcrowded skies of the Northeast... hopefully. I will ask my lovely friend , who works for JetBlue, if she has any additional info.

[eandslee]

Yeah, I can't wait to see what tomorrow's RTD says about western destinations - something that Richmond really needs. I hope that JetBlue really steps up its service in Richmond, big time (similar to a focus city). That would be very nice. We'll see tomorrow!

[wrldcoupe4]

Adding Richmond Flights on JetBlue's Horizon

It's nothing definite or confirmed, but JetBlue officials seem confident that new service from RIC will happen.

an excerpt:

The nation's 10th-largest airline by passengers, JetBlue has six daily flights at Richmond International: three to New York, two to Boston and one to Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Barger said the airline will make a decision about adding a flight to New York -- Richmond air travelers' top destination -- by next spring.

"I don't want to build false expectations," he said in an interview. Western destinations are "not just possible, but realistic."

"We're missing some geography in the middle of the country," Barger told the business and airport leaders. "We'd love to fly you guys to the West."

JetBlue has enough gate capacity at Richmond airport to almost quadruple its service here, he indicated. That got the airport's attention.

"I think it's exciting," said Jon Mathiasen, the Capital Region Airport Commission's president and chief executive, noting that the Richmond community has put its money where its welcome is and has been booking flights on JetBlue.

[jbjust]

Since he prefaced his statement by saying "We're missing some geography in the middle of the country," doesn't that suggest that "West" could mean Chicago?

[eandslee]

Since he prefaced his statement by saying "We're missing some geography in the middle of the country," doesn't that suggest that "West" could mean Chicago?

Quite possibly. I have to say I was disappointed by the report. I was hoping that something definite would be announced. The guy can say anything to feed Richmond leaders whatever they want to hear and then go back and not fulfill anything he mentioned for one reason or another. Believe me, we've seen it before with other airlines (Southwest). I'd like to think that JetBlue is different...and I think they are, but I don't trust just "hearsay". I won't believe a word that was mentioned until it is officially announced. So, basically, this whole article listed a bunch of rumors...eventhough it came from JetBlue themselves. Anything can happen between now and the time they decide they want to implement any of these flights. Oh, and we want to go further west than Chicago or Saint Louis. We need to land at least Las Vegas, maybe Salt Lake City, and/or one of the cities in California!

[burt]

I recall when working in Tucson and Phoenix in the late '90's, some friends flew out from Richmond to tour Arizona with me during an "off" week at Christmas time. They flew direct from RIC via DFW to Tucson on American without changing planes. But I believe their return to Richmond from Phoenix required a change somewhere.

Eric, I think the remarks of Jet Blue's CEO are not just propaganda. He hinted that there is enough Jet Blue gate capacity at RIC to almost quadruple service which apparently surprised and pleased airport manager Mathiason.

I am curious about the comment of perhaps adding another NYC flight. I wonder if he means restoring the FLL "seasonal" back to JFK or perhaps actually adding another roundtrip? I was also happy to infer from the CEO's comments that it is unlikely any of its RIC/JFK flights would be diverted to White Plains and/or Newburgh in order to lessen congestion at JFK.

I'd like to hear comments from our friends Lexy and MicoMiles -- both of whom I respect for their airline expertise.