JetBlue to Add RIC-BOS Flight

May 2, 2013
JetBlue Airways is launching its third daily Richmond-Boston flight today.

Air travel to one of Richmond International Airport's most popular airline destinations is getting a boost today.

JetBlue Airways is launching its third daily Richmond-Boston flight today.

"We're pleased to increase our service between Richmond and Boston this May with an additional daily nonstop flight, totaling three daily nonstop flights between the two cities," said Jet Bluespokeswoman Allison Steinberg in Long Island City, N.Y., Tuesday.

Boston is third among Richmond's top destinations, after Atlanta and New York, said Troy Bell, the airport's director of marketing and air service development. About 185,000 people annually fly between Richmond and Boston.

While scheduled now as a warm-season flight, "If the route does well, and JetBlue said as much, it'll stay in Richmond," Bell said.

"With the support of the community, we'll look to keep that third flight year-round," JetBlue's Steinberg said, "though we may see minor fluctuations depending on customer demand."

"People love the JetBlue experience. They love thefare structure," Jon E. Mathiasen, Richmond International's president and CEO, said of the new flight's attractiveness. And, he noted, the airport's Boston business is growing.

Discount-carrier JetBlue already operates morning and evening flights between Richmond and Boston. The new service is scheduled to depart Boston at 11:05 a.m. and Richmond at 1:21 p.m. The added RIC-BOS flights will operate every day but Saturday.

Richmond International Airport's passenger traffic blipped up slightly in March, the Capital Region Airport Commission said Tuesday.

Richmond International reported a 0.7 percent increase in air travelers in March compared with the same month a year ago. According to the airport commission, 266,288 passengers passed through RIC in March versus 264,371 in March last year.

"Anything within plus or minus 2 percent right now doesn't surprise us," Bell said.

For the first three months of the calendar year, total passenger traffic is up 1.5 percent compared with the same period in 2012, he said.

"Overall," Mathiasen said, "I expect a flat year."

Richmond International's traffic has been relatively static since peaking in 2007.

Delta Air Lines was RIC's market leader for March with a 34.3 percent share of the airport's passengers, followed by US Airways at 20.9 percent and United with 15.5 percent.

Two airlines reported year-over-year growth for the month, the commission said. Delta's passenger numbers rose 13.6 percent, while JetBlue was up 4.4 percent,

Doug Blum, the airport's chief financial officer, said RIC will save about $185,000 a year for the next 12 years thanks to refinancing about $22 million in general airport revenue bonds used for capital improvements.

The refinancing produced an annual interest rate of 2.34 percent, Blum said.

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Air sharesMarch market shares for airlines serving Richmond International Airport, with the March 2012 share in parentheses:Air Canada Jazz: 0.35 percent (0.43 percent)AirTran Airways: 9.22 percent (9.48 percent)American Airlines: 11.21 percent (12.55 percent)Delta Air Lines: 34.28 percent (30.39 percent)JetBlue Airways: 8.03 percent (7.74 percent)United Airlines: 15.53 percent (15.24 percent)*US Airways: 20.86 percent (22.84 percent)*The figure does not include Continental Airlines' market share, which was 0.60 percent in March 2012. The airline merged with United Airlines.Capital Region Airport Commission

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