We are definitely a hub for them by default
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Maybe not quite yet but we could have a base for them announced mid to late 2023. They were going to launch Richmond, but held back. That may be a later addition. Charleston is also likely to be added
Quick question for everyone. I was looking online and it appears that the 100 bus from RDU to downtown is still free. Is that true?
Whole system is still free I believe until July including the express routes.
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I often see the 100 bus on the Sunday mornings I volunteer at RDU. It’s often at least half full. Glad to see it’s being used.
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This makes my decision easy. Do I want to spend $30+ on a tax or Uber, or do I want to take the bus for free?
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Just note that during most of the day (until sometime in the evening, at least on weekdays) the #100 skips RDU and goes right to the regional transit center. You’ll have to hop on the RDU shuttle there (which is very quick and easy since it’s so close).
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Umstead comes to mind 
… 8k new surface parking spaces…
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TBJ reported that the CEO of FlyAtlantic, a new ultra-low-cost carrier that’s planning to launch in the summer of 2024 from Belfast in Northern Ireland (UK), is "giving serious consideration to a [RDU] service.”
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I was just in Belfast this summer. Northern Ireland is a great spot for a vacation for a week or two. Lovely northern coastal area + the Giant’s Causeway. Belfast also has one of the largest car-free downtowns in Europe too and it’s a lovely area to walk around and shop.
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Hopefully they add Dublin to their list next!
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Our market to Dublin is heavily business however and they wouldn’t have the same connection offerings as Icelandair. AerLingus would work better for RDU out of Dublin. RDU also said they were in talks for Dublin last November and confirmed talks for Amsterdam & Frankfurt (which were likely close to service). Virgin also wants to fly here by 2026 so there’s going to be many other options that will out compete that service
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Tokyo or bust, y’all.
Looks like 17 US mainland airports currently have nonstop service. We are pretty far down the list after that, but hey, maybe we can be next, rather than some place that actually makes sense like Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Miami, Orlando, or even Charlotte. I mean, we’re pretty important, right?
(Intercontinental levels of cope going on here)
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Where did you hear about Virgin being interested in RDU service? I can’t imagine they would end up getting much market share with the LHR, CDG, and possible Ireland, FRA, or AMS flights.
I remember seeing a list that they posted probably before covid of destinations they wanted to fly to. And we were on that list. I tried to find the list recently but was unable to. Would make sense that they did even a less than daily morning flight to counteract the American evening flight
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@RaleighFollower Actually I did find an article on it from 2019. It was meant to be part of an 84 route expansion to be done by 2026. With the caveat that the slots had to be reallocated at LHR.
The Points Guy
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Why would they not look at Raleigh that could bring major connections here.
There’s not really any reason why Charlotte should have Tokyo over us considering we have more Asia demand, including their connecting traffic. With connections, they’re about 230,000 a year. RDU was at 260,000 in 2014 alone
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Agreed -but I think the bigger question is whether it makes sense for either city in North Carolina to have a direct flight to Japan. (And before anyone goes off on me: pretty much my whole family is in Japan. More than anyone else, I’d love a direct flight there.)
For those who don’t go there often, Japan has two big carriers who have dominated the market to the point that they even own or partner with every low-cost carriers there, too. One of them, All Nippon Airways (ANA), has their flagship operations at Washington-Dulles, making it really hard to imagine they’d shoot their own foot by also serving RDU. Their big competitor is Japan Airlines (JAL); they don’t directly serve the Southeast, though they used to fly to Atlanta years ago, back when they were with the Skyteam alliance of airlines. Now that they’re with OneWorld just like American (which has a hub at CLT), JAL has more of an incentive to serve Charlotte -if they are to go south of New York or east of Texas in the first place.
As for LCCs, JAL has a medium-to-long-range low-cost carrier, Zipair -though this airline doesn’t seem to be a part of OneWorld. ANA will launch its own competitor in the next few years by recycling its charter flight brand, Air Japan, but it seems like they’re focusing on closer tourism markets throughout Asia.
TL/DR: As much as I wish they would, I’m having a hard time imagining that any Japanese carrier would want to serve anywhere in the Southeast.
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