Standing in front of the gleaming new passenger terminal at Richmond Inter - national Airport (RIC), marketing director Troy Bell can survey the scene of a work in progress. And what a work it has been: Over the summer the airport was put - ting finishing touches on a $81 million terminal, including a new building, cen-tral utility plant, checkpoint expansion, and bulk baggage screening facility. As if that weren’t enough, the regional facility is spending $13.3 million to expand Airport Drive. All of the work, Bell notes, is to create a better travel experience for everyone using the facility in eastern Henrico County.
Consider that small, but often difficult, task of picking passengers up at the terminal. The use of cell phones has escalated in recent years, creating problems with double- parking or traffic jams as friends or family members circle the airport grounds, their phones jammed under their chins. It’s not good for traffic safety, and given the gold- plated gas prices of late, not good for the pocketbook, either.
The airport’s staff came up with a simple, elegant solution to the problem: A small area—known as the cell phone waiting lot —that provides a free waiting area for motorists waiting for that pickup call.
“You’re literally two minutes from the terminal, and once your party arrives, you drive and pick them up,” Bell said.
Such attention to detail has become a hallmark for Richmond International in recent years as it has grown into one of the nation’s leading—and affordable— midsized airports. After the governing board—the Capital Region Airport Com - mission—hired Jon Mathiasen as executive director in 2000, the facility has gotten a facelift and an injection of new service that has made air travel easier and less stressful. Indeed, the airport’s prime location off Interstate 64, near Interstate 295, makes RIC an attractive alternative for travelers in Fredericksburg and other parts of Northern Virginia.
RIC has become an option for travelers who normally would have to drive to Washington-area airports. Richmond Inter - national’s growing reach is reflected in both its number, and its mix of travelers. RIC had 3.6 million travelers in 2007, and had higher year-to-year numbers for a record 34 consecutive months—or nearly three years in a row.
The airport’s explosive growth has sparked a series of construction projects that seem to keep RIC in a constant state of flux— and detour signs. But relief is on the way with completion of an improved Airport Drive that offers expanded lane capacity to more than 1.5 million vehicle users each year (travelers, meeters and greeters, integrated carriers such as Airborne/DHL, FedEx, UPS, and local residents). The project also will eliminate at-grade intersections with the addition of two flyovers, and includes the start of a 2,600-space North Garage expansion. (The Airport Drive expansion should be completed this fall; the garage in late 2009).
That’s a marked turnaround from four years ago, when more than 1 million travelers a year shunned RIC for cheaper tickets at airports from North Carolina to D.C. to Maryland, according to the airport commis- sion. Richmond consistently appeared on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s list of the nation’s most expensive airports. Small business owners were particularly hard hit because air travel typically came out of their pockets. Corporate interests also cried out for relief. As Michael Szymanczyk, then chairman and CEO of Philip Morris USA, said at the time, more affordable air service “would be good for the economic development of the area, our business, and the people of the Richmond area.”
Following a concerted effort by the air- port, business organizations, and corporate leaders, fare relief came in 2005–06 after the arrival of two low-fare carriers—AirTran Airways and JetBlue Airways. The competition influenced incumbent legacy carriers, such as US Airways and Delta, to reduce fares to RIC’s top two destinations, New York and Atlanta, and across service networks where the new entrants had a market presence. Other airlines followed suit in major markets such as Chicago, Dallas, and Florida cities.
