News

We don’t control which airlines serve our airport, what routes they fly and the prices they charge for their tickets.

We don’t know how many passengers will fly next month, where, or how much they will pay for their plane tickets. 

We don’t have a crystal ball. 

But – we do have planning tools.  Airports use a number of tools to understand growth patterns, possibilities and forecasts.  And we use tools to plan for the future.

Asheville Regional Airport is in active planning now, as we continue to see significant growth in the utilization of our airport.  Specifically, we are conducting what’s called a “terminal assessment study.”  In essence, we need to know what changes we need to make to our physical space in order to adequately accommodate growth in the immediate and long-term future.

But how do we conduct such a study?  We work with qualified professionals who can assess many things, and give us quality, educated forecasts related to our needs.

Specifically, we have aviation consultants who study data such as historic passenger trends, what is happening in the airline industry relating to growth, airline fleet plans, historic and projected population growth in our primary market area, and other information to forecast possible passenger growth in the short, mid- and long-term future.

This information is used to assess aircraft and passenger utilization of our airport’s physical space, also in the short, mid- and long-term future. 

Do we have enough aircraft parking space?  Is our airfield prepared for the mix of airplane fleets that will be used in the future?  What about the terminal – is our gate space large enough?  Do we have enough restrooms, is our security screening area large enough, and what about the utilities to support our infrastructure?  These questions can also be answered by qualified engineers and other professionals.

By identifying a projected forecast of growth, using available data, information and expertise, we can confidently plan for the future.  And we are looking forward to the next steps in our work to ensure western North Carolina’s airport is poised and ready for continued air service expansion.

(Asheville, N.C.)

The numbers are in, and Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) annual passenger numbers were at their highest ever in 2017. Specifically, 956,634 passengers used the airport in 2017, compared to 826,648 in 2016, which is a 15.7% increase. 2017 was the fourth consecutive record year of passenger utilization, and the annual numbers are more than 50% higher than they were just five years ago.

"The airport has been growing during the past few years, and 2017 was especially significant," said Lew Bleiweis, A.A.E., Executive Director. "The airlines expanded their services with larger planes and more seats and frequencies to existing destinations, and a new airline and route was also added. Equally important, our region's travelers continued to use their local airport."

"On behalf of the Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority Board, I would like to thank western North Carolina travelers for flying from their local airport," said Bob Roberts, Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority Board Chair. "When travelers make the decision to use their local airport, they contribute to the overall strength and vitality of the region at large. Much of the credit for the continued growth at AVL goes to our local communities, and we thank you."

Additionally, western North Carolina's recognition and significant success as a prime tourist destination has been key to the airport's utilization and air service growth.

Managing growth

The airport is working diligently to manage growth. On the horizon are plans to expand the Transportation Security Administration screening area from two lanes to three. The airport is also in discussion with the TSA regarding implementation of TSA Pre-check.

Additionally, a new five-story parking garage is now open, which provides ample close-to-the-terminal, convenient covered parking for travelers.

Last, the airport is beginning an extensive terminal assessment study to determine infrastructure and spatial needs to serve growing numbers of people now and into the future. Once the study is complete, next steps will be identified.

Highlights: Airline Statistics

October 2017 was the busiest month on record at AVL, topping the previous record set in July 2017. Specifically, 102,095 passengers used the airport in October, topping the previous record of 100,998 monthly passengers, and exhibiting an increase of 17.3% over the same period last year. Year-to-date, passenger numbers are up 14% compared to 2016 - setting the pace for a fourth consecutive record year. "We are busier than we have ever been," said Lew Bleiweis, A.A.E., executive director, "And we are working diligently to continue to meet the needs of our growing base of passengers. Our local travelers are finding the flight options they need, right here at their home airport. At the same time, we are welcoming many visitors to our area. The airport's growth is a reflection of the vibrancy of our great region." October's large increase in passengers was driven by a significant increase in seats offered in our market by Allegiant, American and United Airlines, and by travelers' willingness to purchase those seats and fly to and from AVL. The planes are full, and the demand for air service is outpacing the supply. Asheville and western North Carolina continue to grow as a popular destination, and the passenger numbers reflect this fact. "I would like to thank area residents for continuing to use their local airport," said Bleiweis. "Our mission is to provide an exceptional airport experience, and our airline partners' continued commitment to our region contributes to the excellent air service available here." Asheville Regional Airport is nearing the completion of Project SOAR: Significant Opportunity for Aviation and the Region - an $80 million, four-plus year project resulting in a new (replacement) runway and additional taxiway to serve the region's aviation needs for decades to come. A new 1,300-space parking garage is now partially open, and will fully open in coming weeks. AVL is served by four airlines: Allegiant, American, Delta and United. For more information, visit flyavl.com.

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(Asheville, N.C.)

Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) is pleased to announce that American Airlines will reinstate nonstop service to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) this summer. Nonstop flights will be offered Saturdays, beginning June 7, and are planned to operate through August.

"It is very good news for air travelers that a nonstop option will be available this summer," said Lew Bleiweis, A.A.E., Executive Director. "The Dallas area is a top destination market for our area's travelers, and the nonstop option will help make travel even more convenient and easy to and from AVL."

American offered summer seasonal nonstop daily service to DFW in 2010 and 2011, and then discontinued the route at the time the airline was merging with U.S. Airways. A reinstatement of a nonstop option to DFW is an indicator of the airline's confidence in the western North Carolina market.

The airport encourages travelers to book the nonstop flight, because success of the Saturday service could lead to an extension or expansion of nonstop flights to DFW in the future. And as a reminder, when not traveling on a Saturday, American does offer frequent daily connections to DFW from AVL through Charlotte Douglas International Airport, which is also a convenient and easy option.

Additionally, DFW is a gateway to numerous west coast, Latin America and Asia destinations - many of which are only offered by American Airlines.

To book a ticket, visit www.aa.com.

Asheville Regional Airport has experienced three consecutive years of record passenger utilization, made possible by airline service and growth. AVL is one of the top-five fastest growing small hub airports in the country, offering connections to hundreds of world-wide destinations, usually with one easy connection.   For more information about Asheville Regional Airport, visit flyavl.com.

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RADIO TALK SHOW FOCUSES ON TRAVEL STORIES

From local travel enthusiasts, to national and international gurus – Speaking of Travel shares stories that prove how magical travel can be. 

Host Marilyn Ball broadcasts each week on News Radio WWNC 570 (Sundays at noon) and 880 The Revolution (Saturdays at 1pm).    You can also tune in from anywhere in the world by downloading the iHeart Radio app.

Asheville Regional Airport is proud to sponsor this show because we agree that travel can be amazing.  We also get the opportunity to share fun travel tips on each show.  Plus, speaking of travel, we truly are western North Carolina’s gateway to and from the world!

Tune in soon – and as they say on the show… no passport required!

TUNE IN >

When you take a flight to a nearby hub or sunny destination, you might notice that your aircraft always makes more turns than you’d think are necessary on the way. In fact, it’s almost unheard of for a commercial flight to fly in a straight line to its destination. So if the shortest distance between two points is a straight line (you’re welcome, math geeks), why are thousands of airplanes flying out of their way to get to their destinations? The answer lies in flight planning and air traffic flow.

Before a commercial flight takes off, the crew must file a flight plan. This plan shows the route the aircraft will take from the departure city to the arrival city — kind of like setting the GPS navigation for a road trip. Similarly, in the same way that cars use roads to reach their destinations, aircraft must spend the majority of a flight along pre-planned routes.

There is a system of organization that allows thousands of aircraft to share the skies safely; it includes airways, which aircraft follow in the sky, and specified points (kind of like invisible signs) that guide the aircraft, called fixed navigational aids (or navaids for short) and waypoints. Navaids are ground-based devices that have radio signals aircraft can pick up on. Waypoints are geographical points on the earth, with no physical device on the ground, that are loaded into the GPS systems of all commercial aircraft. All navaids are considered waypoints, and each waypoint has a 5-letter identifier that can be pronounced phonetically. One waypoint identifier that exists here at Asheville is “TUXDO,” pronounced “tuxedo.”

Every airway has its own name (just like Route 66 or I-40) and its own type (like interstates, highways or back roads). Airways below 18,000 feet (and that run directly between navaids) are called victor airways and those above 18,000 feet are called jet routes or jet airways. Newer airways that don’t run directly between navaids are called Q or T airways. Each airway is named by its corresponding letter (V for victor airways, J for jet airways and so on) and a number. For example, a flight plan that calls for the use of Jet Airway 6 will simply show J6.

In situations where there’s no suitable airway for a flight to follow, like extremely short flights or the switching of airways that don’t intersect, the flight plan will go from one waypoint to another directly.

One interesting fact about air traffic flow is that all westbound flights fly at even numbered altitudes (like 36,000 feet) and eastbound flights fly at odd numbered altitudes (15,000 feet, for example).

In addition to flying along airways and between waypoints, aircraft entering and departing a busy airspace (such as Atlanta or Chicago) have to fly very specific arrival and departure routes known as Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs) and Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs). Like on-ramps and off-ramps on the highways of America, these routes exist to safely and efficiently flow lots of aircraft into and out of busy airports.

SID and STAR procedures are usually named after one of the waypoints within their routing and in many cases are creatively named with local relevance. Atlanta, for example, has a route named JCKTS 9, paying homage to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and a route named “WARRR 1,” which overflies the campus of Auburn University, which has long used the saying “War Eagle.” You’ll notice that your flight into a hub city often takes a few minutes longer than the flight back to AVL because the STAR procedure into the hub typically requires a little extra flying to get all aircraft into one continuous line toward the runway.

In this example of an Allegiant flight from AVL to Baltimore (BWI), you can see that the flight plan took the aircraft on a slightly curved route, which was about 80 miles longer than flying directly to BWI. Looking at the flight plan, next to “route,” you can see that the flight departed and made an immediate turn to the LUMAY waypoint, where it joined the Q58 airway and flew to the PEETT waypoint, where it then went directly to the THHMP waypoint to begin the RAVNN6 arrival into BWI. Whew! For the sports fans out there, we’d like to point out that the portion of this flight that began at THHMP was part of the Raven 6 arrival, which was named after the Baltimore Ravens football team.

As intricate as all this routing information may seem, most flights can upload a flight plan to the aircraft’s computers with the push of a button. Most airport pairs have a pre-set list of routing options depending upon the location of those two airports. There is typically a primary option and various backup routings for different weather situations en route.

Airports in less busy airspace do not have SID and STAR procedures unless issues, such as terrain (like mountains) require aircraft to fly in specific areas near the airport. When you fly from AVL you can bet that you’ll be flying a STAR when your flight approaches its destination and a SID when you leave that airport to return home.

(Asheville, N.C.)

July 2017 was the busiest single month on record at AVL - for the first time in the airport's 56-year history, more than 100,000 passengers used the airport in one month. Specifically, 100,998 passengers were served by five airlines: American, Allegiant, Delta, Elite and United, an 11.6% increase compared to July 2016. Year-to-date, passenger numbers are up 15% compared to 2016 - setting the pace for another record year.

"We have experienced three consecutive years of record passenger use," said Lew Bleiweis, A.A.E., executive director, "And the trend is continuing. It is exciting to see the airlines add service and seats in our market, and equally positive that travelers are using those services. The success is good for the airlines, good for the airport, and most importantly - very positive for our travelers. AVL continues to be one of the best connected regional airports in the U.S."

Growth at the airport can be attributed to several factors. First, the airlines continue to add seats in the market, and these seats are being used. The planes are full, and the demand for air service is outpacing the supply. Asheville and western North Carolina continue to grow as a popular destination, and the passenger numbers reflect this fact.

"I would like to thank area residents for continuing to use their local airport," said Bleiweis. "We are proud to be the local gateway to and from the world, and are ready for continued growth."

Asheville Regional Airport is nearing the completion of Project SOAR: Significant Opportunity for Aviation and the Region - an $80 million, four-plus year project resulting in a new (replacement) runway and additional taxiway to serve the region's aviation needs for decades to come. A 1,300-space parking garage is also under construction, and will be open by Thanksgiving.

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In another story, we correlated a flight’s radio call sign to a person’s nickname. The call sign doesn't belong to the airplane, it belongs to the flight that aircraft is operating; Delta 2308 for example. A call sign can be used by various planes in a single day, such as when one flight number has multiple segments (a segment is a single flight between two cities). If a call sign is a nickname, an aircraft’s tail number is its legal name.

A tail number is an alphanumeric code between two and six characters in length used to identify a specific airplane. The alphabetical prefix of a tail number is indicative of an airplane’s country of origin. All United States-based tail numbers begin with “N,” Canadian planes begin with “C,” German with “D” and so on. The remaining numbers and letters are generally at the discretion of the owner, but in most cases will consist of a string of three numbers followed by two letters. Many airlines have a certain amount of continuity in the way their tail numbers end. Delta, for example, has hundreds of tail numbers that end in “DL,” “DN,” or “DE.” The picture to the right shows the tail number of a U.S. registered Delta jet, N904DE. Most airlines use an abbreviation of the company name, one of the airline’s identification codes, or an abbreviation of the leasing company that owns the aircraft.

All civilian aircraft must be registered with the aviation authority in its country of base, just as a newborn baby is given a name and social security number. For example, all airplanes based in the U.S. must be registered with the FAA. Every airplane has its own unique tail number, from the moment it’s assembled until that aircraft is retired and scrapped. Like a name, an aircraft’s tail number can be changed at various points during its lifetime, though this is a paperwork intensive process. All commercial aircraft are given a temporary tail number for flight testing before being delivered to an airline with a new tail number. Likewise, if an aircraft changes airlines or owners, the new owner may decide to change the aircraft’s tail number.

Ironically, you’ll rarely see an aircraft’s tail number on its actual tail; they’re almost always painted on the rear fuselage, or even on the engine of an aircraft with rear-mounted engines. In some countries, tail numbers have also been painted on aircraft wings for decades, though that has become uncommon in the U.S. This image shows an Air India Boeing 787 with its tail number painted on the rear fuselage and on the bottom side of the wing.

Like someone’s name, a tail number is part of an airplane’s public record forever. Your name is tied to where you were born, your family, where you’ve worked, studied and lived. A tail number tells an equally detailed story of an aircraft’s past owners, locations and maintenance records. If you happen to catch the tail number of the next airplane you’re boarding, Google it. You may be surprised by the places your airplane has seen!

Starting July 14, 2017, there will be new ambassadors at Asheville Regional Airport. These volunteers will have four legs, wagging tails and lots of affection to share with passengers and visitors. They may even share a few kisses.

Their names are Grace, Sam, Doc, Sunny, Daisy, Baby, Jelly, Willa and Brody. And these ambassadors are part of a new program called "Paws for Passengers," in which pet therapy dogs and their handlers will meander through the airport terminal during busy times each week. The pet therapy dogs are mild-mannered, friendly and trained companions who enjoy visiting with people of all ages, and their handlers have hearts of service.

 "When asked why we started this new program at the airport, I immediately think about our region and how pet-friendly we are," said Lew Bleiweis, A.A.E., Executive Director. "It is a good fit for Asheville Regional Airport to have this program that allows certified pets in the terminal to help bring some cheer, welcome locals and visitors, perhaps calm some nerves and provide a unique passenger experience."

The program currently has eleven volunteer handlers and nine pet therapy dogs, from Labradors and a miniature Greyhound to rescue dogs of various mixed breeds. All dogs and handlers are trained and certified by either Therapy Dogs, Inc. or Pet Partners, both national organizations committed to training, testing and certification, regulating, insuring and registering therapy dogs and their volunteer handlers so they are prepared to visit public places.

The volunteers have also participated in an in-depth airport orientation and training, and will be part of the Guest Services volunteer team.

"We are excited to join the small but growing list of airports that offer pet therapy programs," said Tina Kinsey, A.A.E., Marketing & PR Director. "Our program is the only one offered at an airport within two hours of AVL, and is just one more way we are focusing on passengers."

For more information about the program, including the application to become a Paws for Passengers volunteer, visit flyavl.com.