Richmond International Airport

[eandslee]

"Spirit Airlines announced Tuesday that in March it will begin offering daily nonstop service between Richmond International Airport and both Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Orlando International Airport. That makes Richmond the 62nd destination to join Spirit's network."

Okay, so no destinations west, but I'm not all that disappointed because this is DAILY service and it's NONSTOP service which are huge!  I know that Spirit flies to cities in the west, so I hope that perhaps they can expand their service at RIC when we get new gates after the Concourse A expansion.

Based on the destinations map, the closest cities they fly to around here is BWI (quite a few flight flying out of there) and Myrtle Beach, SC:

https://www.spirit.com/RouteMaps.aspx

To me, it would make Richmond the perfect place on the East Coast/Mid Atlantic for a focus city...just saying.  Apparently, there is a Richmond connection with Spirit Airlines...Bobby Schroeter, Spirit Airlines' vice president of consumer marketing, is a Richmond native!!!  We've got an "in!"

Edited November 14, 2017 by eandslee

[eandslee]

I think Spirit is going to give Allegiant Airlines a run for their money.  Spirit will be daily service to Orlando (the real airport MCO, not Sanford SFB) depending on the times the flights.  Allegiant only offers 2 flights/week service to Orlando via Sanford Airport on Thursdays and Sundays.  It also offers flights to Tampa/St. Petersburg via PIE.  I'm interested to see how this is going to play out.  Don't forget, JetBlue also flies to Orlando (MCO), but I'm not sure they can compete with the super low prices of Spirit or Allegiant.

Edited November 14, 2017 by eandslee

[wrldcoupe4]

I think they'll be able to compete... Spirit has been ranked pretty low for customer experience while JetBlue has been ranked #1. I'd rather pay a few extra bucks to be treated better.

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/04/25/spirit-airlines-ranks-last-customer-satisfaction-survey-for-third-year.html

[eandslee]

17 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

I think they'll be able to compete... Spirit has been ranked pretty low for customer experience while JetBlue has been ranked #1. I'd rather pay a few extra bucks to be treated better.

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/04/25/spirit-airlines-ranks-last-customer-satisfaction-survey-for-third-year.html

Good point about the service.  I have flown Allegiant out of RIC several times and their service is...well, less than what you'd get with Southwest or JetBlue.

I fear that the Florida market may become saturated a bit with flights from Richmond, but I do trust what these companies are doing...they look at the market data and apparently there is more demand for Florida destinations.

[Shakman]

Every time I see their colors, I think of a school bus.

[eandslee]

7 minutes ago, Shakman said:

Every time I see their colors, I think of a school bus.

...or a flying banana! 

The other good news is that these daily flights will be on full-sized Airbus aircraft: A319, A320, and A321s.  They are the newest aircraft in the sky as well.  I wish them well here and hope the planes overfill!  I'm willing to give them a shot!  FLY RIC!

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

Yall gave the thread another HOT tag lol

[eandslee]

I got to thinking about the airport and the flights it offers...and the lack of non-stop flights to cities in the west (with the exception of Denver, of course).  After thinking for a few minutes and after looking at what Norfolk offers in the way of flights (which are pretty much the same destinations as RIC), I'm wondering why an airline hasn't come forward and offered more flights from RIC to many cities in the west?  Here's my logic:  ORF doesn't offer anything further west than Dallas at the moment (they used to offer a flight to Denver via Southwest, but that no longer exists) and their metro area is approaching 2 million people; Richmond is at about 1.3 million people.  Together there are about 3 million people who might opt to take a non-stop flight out of RIC to major cities in the west rather than drive to the Northern Virginia airports or take a connecting flight.  I think the Denver flight from RIC is doing so well because between our two metros, there is a high demand for it (there have to be people from the Norfolk area on those flights from RIC).  I'm sure the same could be said for other non-stop flights to the west if flights were offered.  I know that RIC draws people in from the southern area of NOVA and people from the Norfolk/VA Beach area because on my last flight out of RIC a couple weeks ago there were people seated around me who were from Fredericksburg and another couple from Norfolk.  So, my question is, why hasn't an airline taken notice of this?  If they are purely looking at stats, it may not indicate a huge need for direct flights to western cities from our two major airports (RIC and ORF) because either people drive to NOVA or they are taking connecting flights from the two airports and separately the numbers are split for those flying to western cities, thus showing a lower demand for western cities at RIC and ORF when you look at them independently.  Combined; however, there might be a different story to tell.  I think this is an opportunity that RIC should jump on - RIC has to appeal to an airline to fly non-stop flights out of RIC by explaining what I just explained above.  Look, RIC is centrally located and I've even heard people from the Norfolk area say that they'd much rather fly out of RIC than ORF because they don't have to fight the traffic and it's more convenient.  I don't know...I really think I'm onto something here.  I wonder if the folks at RIC have thought of this.  I mean, it seems obvious to me now, but I didn't really think of this before.  Granted, an airline would be taking a risk if they were to do this, but I think if you combined the final destination stats between the two airports, you'd find hard statistics showing a demand for certain western cities.  This could be a boon for RIC if they can present this argument better than what I just did.    Am I off the mark here?  What am I forgetting, if anything?

[Icetera]

On 11/14/2017 at 10:57 AM, wrldcoupe4 said:

I think they'll be able to compete... Spirit has been ranked pretty low for customer experience while JetBlue has been ranked #1. I'd rather pay a few extra bucks to be treated better.

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/04/25/spirit-airlines-ranks-last-customer-satisfaction-survey-for-third-year.html

Agreed.  I just returned from MCO via JetBlue yesterday and, as usual, great service.

[drayrichmond]

Been wanting to reply to this but have been busy this week, so on eandlee's post.

Population is one thing when looking at flights and the availability of flights, but I think demographics are a bit more important, especially when it comes to including Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads has a very large military/government population and a large population of retired military/government. So while they have a lot of people, these aren't necessarily people looking to fly direct west or to Europe. A lot of those retirees are mostly going to fly to Florida, places like Orlando or Fort Lauderdale (that's just their demographic). The government workers and military are an very big detractor for attracting direct flights. I remember when I was in if anyone had to fly anywhere, they had an algorithm that automatically finds the cheapest flights, which are always non-direct, connecting flights. Thus there is no business there for direct flights, because a big chunk of the workers flying are always going to take the non-direct flights no matter what you do. I'll give ya an example for when I had to fly out of Dulles and get to Mississippi. Because of the algorithm, I flew from Dulles to Detroit to Memphis then finally to Hattiesburg. Just because it was the cheapest flight the computer system could find.

To get these direct flights west and else where there needs to be a stable demand, consistent flyers and that mostly comes from business travel.

I'm going to leave on a positive note though! Keep in mind our airport put out a call for the development and expansion of the terminal! That could lead to some great things!

[blopp1234]

RIC just recorded the busiest month on record. Let's hope this growth keeps up!

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/in-october-richmond-international-airport-breaks-record-for-passenger-traffic/article_566d8b43-2762-54ac-a3a1-5894db101d56.html

[eandslee]

2 hours ago, blopp1234 said:

RIC just recorded the busiest month on record. Let's hope this growth keeps up!

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/in-october-richmond-international-airport-breaks-record-for-passenger-traffic/article_566d8b43-2762-54ac-a3a1-5894db101d56.html

RIC killing it last month!  October 2017 was a few thousand more than the previous record!  Barring any major disruptions, things should only get even better next year with the addition of Spirit Airlines in March 2018!  Love this line:

"Passenger traffic was 342,055 in October, passing the previous record of 339,807 set in August of 2007. It was also 6.1 percent higher than October of last year, said Troy Bell, an airport spokesman. For the calendar year to date, traffic is up 2.6 percent over last year, Bell said."

[wrldcoupe4]

I did not realize the terminal expansion was taking place over the next 2 years.  That’s good. 

[eandslee]

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

I did not realize the terminal expansion was taking place over the next 2 years.  That’s good. 

Yes, and I'm super excited about it!  The airport is running out of space at to park aircraft overnight ( that is part of the reason for the expansion), but this also opens the door to expanded service since there will be more gates available for airlines to use.  This is a very positive sign!!!

[eandslee]

Snapped this photo of the airport this morning while taking off.  Can’t wait until construction on Concourse A starts. Air traffic this morning was brisk, but my flight wasn’t full...maybe 70-75% full.  Hope these flights fill up!

[eandslee]

RIC smashes its all-time passenger record in November!

Also note that Spirit Airlines starts service to FLL and MCO in March.  Additionally, Allegiant Airlines will increase its frequency between RIC and PIE to three times weekly (up from two times)!  Woo hoo!

http://www.flyrichmond.com/index.php/mobile/news/ric-reports-busiest-november-ever

Edited December 29, 2017 by eandslee

[eandslee]

Many of you may have seen the announcement that United Airlines made a couple days ago that they are to begin daily direct service from ORF-DEN (Norfolk to Denver) on A319 aircraft.  This is good news for their area as they have not had this type of service before at ORF (at least not recently)!  Anyway, RIC already has this service which started back in April 2016 on Embraer 175 aircraft (seats about 76).  Last year United upgraded the aircraft on this route (RIC-DEN) to Airbus 319s (seat about 125) and from all accounts, flights have been full.  I just received word that, beginning in June 2018, United will operate 2 daily flights from RIC to DEN - one flight will be on an Airbus 319 and the other flight will be on an Embraer 175.  This is super news as United is seeing the need to increase capacity and flights on the RIC to DEN route!  Apparently, this is a popular route for Virginians!

You can purchase tickets now on United's website - looks like there is now a new direct flight leaving RIC to DEN at about 8:10 am and arrives at 10:00 am and the other flight (which we've had for a while) is in the afternoon leaving RIC at about 4:17 pm and arriving at DEN at 6:07 pm (flight times may be slightly different depending on the day, but just know there will be a morning and an evening flight)!  Now, go and book your flights!    Fly RIC!!

Edited January 10, 2018 by eandslee

[eandslee]

The Richmond International Airport did it!  It finally broke its all-time annual passenger record from way back in 2007 of 3,634,544.  In the past year (CY 2017), RIC served 3,657,479!!  It didn't beat the record by much, but the trend is showing an increase!  With Spirit Airlines beginning service at RIC in March and the addition of more flights/seats on popular routes such as Denver, this number will only increase next year!  This is VERY good news!

“The momentum we saw in the final quarter of 2017 was unmistakable,” said Commission chairman Aubrey Stanley. “Despite a few hurdles with an early December snowfall and the historic power outage at our second most popular destination, the year finished with three record months, allowing RIC to report its fifth consecutive year of growth, establish a new annual passenger traffic record, and set an optimistic tone for more good news in 2018.”

Air Service Notes:

• Spirit Airlines, an ultra-low cost carrier based in Miramar, FL, will launch new daily service from Richmond to Orlando (MCO) and to Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) beginning March 15, 2018, utilizing 145-seat Airbus A319 aircraft.
• United Airlines has added a second daily Denver flight, starting with the June schedule change. Per published information, flights will depart RIC in the morning and afternoon. RIC-DEN successfully launched in April 2016 and has helped meet local demand for better access to the West.
• JetBlue Airways will upgrade its twice-daily Orlando schedule to mainline Airbus equipment in June – primarily 150-seat Airbus A320s – for the summer season. Prior to this summer, JetBlue has operated this route almost exclusively with 100-seat Embraer E190s.

http://www.flyrichmond.com/index.php/news/article/ric-sets-annual-passenger-record

[eandslee]

Maybe Richmond International Airport? 

http://wtvr.com/2018/02/27/virginia-to-delta-youre-welcome-here/

[blopp1234]

Hopefully. Both the NYC airports are overloaded with traffic and most likely don’t have room to accommodate the hub for another airline. The upstate New York cities don’t pose a threat. Really we would only have to worry about other VA airports.

[eandslee]

Also, just found out that for the fourth consecutive month, RIC is reporting record passenger traffic, as the total passenger count for January topped the previous record established just one year ago (260,133 in 2018 vs. 256,055 in 2017)!  The airport keeps getting busier!  Love it!

[drayrichmond]

Don't forget an expansion of concourse A may be on the horizon as well

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/expansion-at-richmond-international-s-concourse-a-on-the-horizon/article_76afb433-a396-5ef0-abe2-a7c114f5d5f7.html

[eandslee]

Also mentioned in today's RTD article is the addition of a new second United daily nonstop flight to Houston, which will begin in June.  This is in addition to the second daily nonstop flight to Denver that is also starting in June.  Love this statement from Jon E. Mathiasen:  "Airlines show confidence in a market by increasing seats and an ever-increasing number of travelers have been taking advantage of the expanded offerings conveniently available from RIC.”   I expect the growth to continue.  Don't forget Spirit Airlines begins daily nonstop service to Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale on March 15th...another testament to the growth going on at RIC!

 

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/january-s-passenger-traffic-at-richmond-international-airport-increased-percent/article_1a1601da-9ba3-5dea-8b46-28a9975117e3.html?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=_RTD Daily Business&utm_campaign=_RTD Daily Business

[jbjust]

The flight to Houston on that RJ145 has to be one of the worst flights in America.  I am literally numb after 3 hours on that cramped, uncushioned seat.  I've given up on United because of their refusal to fly decent-sized planes out of Richmond. 

[meegwell]

On 2/28/2018 at 3:41 PM, jbjust said:

The flight to Houston on that RJ145 has to be one of the worst flights in America.  I am literally numb after 3 hours on that cramped, uncushioned seat.  I've given up on United because of their refusal to fly decent-sized planes out of Richmond. 

 

I think I'm on an early morning United RJ145 to EWR tomorrow....not looking forward to it - hope the wind dies down a bit