Richmond International Airport

[wrldcoupe4]

The last time I drove the Pocahontas, I wasn't paying attention and missed my I-95 N exit from Chippenham... Can't say I was too happy about getting ripped off by that big toll, only to turn around at the closest exit and get hit with it a second time.

[burt]

The last time I drove the Pocahontas, I wasn't paying attention and missed my I-95 N exit from Chippenham... Can't say I was too happy about getting ripped off by that big toll, only to turn around at the closest exit and get hit with it a second time.

Wasn't the view of the city skyline worth five bucks? You got two chances to see it.

[wrldcoupe4]

Try $5.50....

[Shakman]

Will the RIC Connector have its own separate tolls? (or part of Pocahontas Pwky tolls?)

[wrldcoupe4]

Yes. I think it's something like a $1-$1.50

[Shakman]

We are starting to become a true Mid-Atlantic and New England city; in the sense of the number of tolled infrastructures.

Maybe I-95 will once again be tolled, except called Virginia's Turnpike.

Edited April 23, 2009 by Shakman

[gntrphoo]

Maybe I-95 will once again be tolled, except called Virginia's Turnpike.

If it were ever proposed, I would definitely support tolls on I-95 (as long as the toll was accompanied by a decrease in city taxes or a decrease in mass transit fares -- no need to just pump more money into government coffers). Anytime you can align the price someone pays for a service more directly with his or her actual use of that service, you will get a more efficient outcome. Right now, people are basically "free-riding" off a heavily subsidized government service. If people had to pay to use I-95, I bet there would be a lot more discussion about and support for alternative transit options.

[burt]

Traffic was way off at RIC during March '09, but April looks better according to Troy Bell:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/...-215608/264451/

Flack, check out the last posting by Wrldcoupe4 in the Richmond Region Transportation thread. Do you know anything about the low-flying flight in Richmond?

I had to cancel a Jet Blue flight JFK/RIC on April 10th due to illness, but after paying a $50 cancellation fee, the balance ($119.20) was transferrable. I gave it to my nephew in Baltimore who is flying off to California for a holiday, though he'll have to add more money for the trip.

[burt]

In this story about hotel construction in Metro Richmond a spokesperson for Shamin Hotels says RIC has non-stop flights to 8 of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the US.

From today's RTD:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/...-233612/265311/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was surprised to read in the 4/29 RTD story posted above about March figures that during its 10 and a half month lifespan at RIC Skybus averaged 6,500 monthly flyers -- that translates to 210 passengers daily on its one round trip. Who would have believed that an airline with a Columbus, Ohio hub would attract that many flyers to Richmond airport?

Edited May 4, 2009 by burt

[MicoMiles]

In this story about hotel construction in Metro Richmond a spokesperson for Shamin Hotels says RIC has non-stop flights to 8 of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the US.

6 metro areas are located on the east coast with 2 located in Texas. A lot of cities the same size and/or smaller than Richmond have the same airline services utilizing both mainline and regional equipment...

RIC would stand out if there was direct service at least 2 west coast cities: SAN, LAX, SFO, DEN, SEA, PHX, LAS, PDX or SLC.

[eandslee]

RIC would stand out if there was direct service at least 2 west coast cities: SAN, LAX, SFO, DEN, SEA, PHX, LAS, PDX or SLC.

I second that! I don't understand - I think the reason why RIC does not have service to a city in the west is because, based on travelers flying out of RIC, there aren't that many people whose destination is in the west. However, my arguement is that the people they are polling are only those that only fly in and out of RIC. Well, RIC doesn't serve any west coast cities so, duh, no one hardly will be flying out of RIC who want to go west...at least not at a cheap rate. Most of the folks traveling west will go to DC or Raleigh to get a good price and a DIRECT flight. If an airline offered a west coast city destination from RIC, I would be a quarter that you will see more flyers going west solely because there is direct west coast service! Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this. It would require some risk on the part of the airlines (something that they are probably not willing to do at this time), but I believe it might be a risk worth taking. I can see RIC doing very well if it served a direct city such as Las Vegas, LA, Pheonix, SLC, Denver, Seattle or San Francisco. Try me airlines! I bet I'm right.

[jbjust]

I think that a daily Vegas flight would easily do well and wouldn't be surprised if a daily LA flight had fairly good business too.

[Shakman]

I am sure the airlines have done their homework and determined that RIC flights to the West Coast did not equate to an effective load factor. Perhaps in the future.

There are UAL Express flights from RIC to IAD. Then from IAD, passengers can connect to many non-stop UAL flights to the West Coast.

[HopHead]

I am sure the airlines have done their homework and determined that RIC flights to the West Coast did not equate to an effective load factor. Perhaps in the future.

There are UAL Express flights from RIC to IAD. Then from IAD, passengers can connect to many non-stop UAL flights to the West Coast.

I think that's spot on. Also factor in that you have IAD, DCA, BWI and RDU all within a 2+ hour distance from Richmond. The airlines would be hard pressed to put 150 people (each way) to/from a west coast destination on a daily basis for RIC. Most of the east coast cities that serve the west coast are hubs for some airline (RDU used to be an American Airline hub). Of course even if NY wasn't a hub, it probably would be served by an equal number of flights since it is New York after all.

Edited May 5, 2009 by dbull75

[burt]

Armed Service personnel can fly Jet Blue out of RIC or IAD to any domestic destination served by the airline for ONE DOLLAR ($1.00) between May 8th and May 31st if they book by phone before the end of the day tomorrow.

It's a fantastic and patriotic gesture by Jet Blue.

From today's RTD:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/...-222812/265756/

Edited May 5, 2009 by burt

[MicoMiles]

I can see RIC doing very well if it served a direct city such as Las Vegas, LA, Pheonix, SLC, Denver, Seattle or San Francisco. Try me airlines! I bet I'm right.

eandslee - I like how you are optimistic about west coast flights out of RIC..... But unfortunately there probably isn't enough O/D traffic out of RIC to warrant airlines to offer direct flights to the west coast cities. Believe me when I say that all the airlines serving RIC know where people are flying to. When there is consistent demand for a particular city/cities, airlines will respond depending on the availability of equipment & scheduling. Otherwise, you're going to fly to a hub for a connection.

[eandslee]

eandslee - I like how you are optimistic about west coast flights out of RIC..... But unfortunately there probably isn't enough O/D traffic out of RIC to warrant airlines to offer direct flights to the west coast cities. Believe me when I say that all the airlines serving RIC know where people are flying to. When there is consistent demand for a particular city/cities, airlines will respond depending on the availability of equipment & scheduling. Otherwise, you're going to fly to a hub for a connection.

But that's just my point - people flying out of RIC are not likely flying to the west coast because there are no direct flights to the west coast and the good deals for west coast travel are located up in DC or in Raleigh because they are direct. Come on, there have to be people in the Richmond metro area who are traveling west, but RIC is not notorious for offering good deals for west coast travel. All I'm saying is that if there were a west coast destination that flies directly from RIC, I would bet that west coast travelers would "come out of the wood work" in Richmond and suddenly airlines might see that there are more people in Richmond traveling west because 1) they can 2) the flight would be direct 3) it might be cheaper to fly west from RIC than to travel to DC or Raleigh and fly out of those airports.

There is no way for the airlines to determine where the travelers from Richmond who fly out of DC and Raleigh are traveling to (unless we are under greater surveillance than we know, which would be very scary). Then again, maybe they do. I just can't imagine that hardly anyone in Richmond flies westward - just hard to believe. I think it might be worth the risk to find out. If an airline tries it and completely fails at this while having good prices on a good airline, I will then shut my mouth and eat my words.

Edited May 6, 2009 by eandslee

[jbjust]

Actually, I bet there are plenty of statistics regarding the zip code origin of the travelers for every city pair flight out there. I'm sure the airlines know, for example, what percentage of the travelers on the daily Dulles-to-LA morning flight live in the Richmond area.

[Shakman]

But that's just my point - people flying out of RIC are not likely flying to the west coast because there are no direct flights to the west coast and the good deals for west coast travel are located up in DC or in Raleigh because they are direct. Come on, there have to be people in the Richmond metro area who are traveling west, but RIC is not notorious for offering good deals for west coast travel. All I'm saying is that if there were a west coast destination that flies directly from RIC, I would bet that west coast travelers would "come out of the wood work" in Richmond and suddenly airlines might see that there are more people in Richmond traveling west because 1) they can 2) the flight would be direct 3) it might be cheaper to fly west from RIC than to travel to DC or Raleigh and fly out of those airports.

There is no way for the airlines to determine where the travelers from Richmond who fly out of DC and Raleigh are traveling to (unless we are under greater surveillance than we know, which would be very scary). Then again, maybe they do. I just can't imagine that hardly anyone in Richmond flies westward - just hard to believe. I think it might be worth the risk to find out. If an airline tries it and completely fails at this while having good prices on a good airline, I will then shut my mouth and eat my words.

I would like to see West Coast flights from RIC however at this time, the load factors do not warrant such flights. Marketing is a substantial part of doing business in any industry. Airlines know where the good markets are located. Airlines keep track of who flies where through bookings. If they notice a CONSISTANT large influx of passengers booking flights for example to LAX, then there maybe a route from RIC to LAX.

In time, I am confident that West Coast flights will exist.

[burt]

Skybus founder has started a new low-cost carrier based in Clearwater called Jet America.

Cities to be served include Lansing, Melbourne/Vero Beach, South Bend, New York (EWR) and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

He is eyeing GSO for future service. RIC is not mentioned in his wish list.

This info from the triad bizjournal:

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2...25/daily14.html

Here's a more detailed story from the Winston-Salem Journal:

http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/ma.../business-area/

Edited May 30, 2009 by burt

[flack4ric]

Saluting ORF Executive Director Ken Scott AAE who, after 39 years, announces his retirement:

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/06/executive-...-after-39-years

Flack4RIC

[crashvt03]

flack,

I heard a rumor that Delta/NW was changing their service from Richmond to Minneapolis. I heard it was being discontinued in September, but when I check the airline websites it still shows that the flight is being offered and with a bigger plane (E-175 vs. CRJ-200). Also, I've been flying to Minneapolis every week the past month and the flights are always full. Any idea what might be going on here?

[flack4ric]

flack,

I heard a rumor that Delta/NW was changing their service from Richmond to Minneapolis. I heard it was being discontinued in September, but when I check the airline websites it still shows that the flight is being offered and with a bigger plane (E-175 vs. CRJ-200). Also, I've been flying to Minneapolis every week the past month and the flights are always full. Any idea what might be going on here?

One schedule resource we use shows MSP-RIC having "0" weekly operations with SEP09 schedule change. Not sure if this is final, checking with DL/NW schedulers.

Flack4RIC

[jbjust]

Unbelievable they would kill the MSP/RIC route. That is really going to kill my ability to access a lot of Midwestern cities with a 1-stop connection.

[HopHead]

Unbelievable they would kill the MSP/RIC route. That is really going to kill my ability to access a lot of Midwestern cities with a 1-stop connection.

That's interesting... Obviously this is b/c of the DL/NW merger. I suppose your other option if you're flying Delta (fomerly Northwest) is to go through Detroit. I was in Detroit last year for the first time in probably 7 or 8 years. I was amazed at how much better that airport is now. They did some serious renovations. Very clean and not so "dirty" anymore... Chicago, well we all know to avoid connecting through there if you can