What's on RDU's international wishlist
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An American Airlines plane is taxied out from a gate at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Raleigh-Durham International Airport now serves a record 15 international destinations, a number that could continue to grow as RDU eyes new routes to two key regions: Latin America and India.
Why it matters: RDU is one of the biggest economic drivers in the region. It helps attract businesses and investment to the area, and provides a key source of transit for millions of people around the Triangle.
- The airport has viewed adding international flights coming out of the pandemic as a key priority, even offering incentives to land highly competitive routes such as Germany and Ireland.
The big picture: While the airport wants to ensure that new routes — like the ones to Europe, Vancouver and Panama City — are successful, it's already developing a strategy for future destinations, Michael Landguth, president and CEO of the airport, told Axios.
- "We do have a strategy long term that we need to continue to make sure we connect to two major regions," Landguth said. "Region number one is going to be in Central and South America ... [and] the other location we need to pay close attention to is India."
- It takes an airline around eight to 12 months to decide whether a route will work, judging by sales growth, cost per seat mile and traffic flow, Landguth said.
Zoom in: Landguth said that around 275 people per day travel from RDU to a destination in Central or South America.
- But beyond the demand from passengers, the airport sees it as an important economic region to tie closer to the Triangle, due to its large agricultural industries and research-and-development links to institutions like N.C. State University.
- "I think we need to make sure to not only make Copa [Airlines' route to Panama] successful," he said, "but there could be opportunities, probably outside a five-year window, to connect into those regions."
For India, Landguth said, just under 100 people a day leave RDU for a destination in India.
- He said he expects that number to continue to grow, however, and many people use RDU's European routes to connect to India.
- "We are an international community, and at some point, maybe in that 10-year window, you could see an international carrier, whether it's from India or the Middle East, that would want to call this a point on their map," he said.
Between the lines: A lot is expected to change in the next decade at RDU.
- The airport is currently building a new, longer runway that will allow for planes to carry more passengers and cargo when it opens in 2029.
- Terminal 2 will also look different in the coming years, as it plans to begin construction soon on an expanded ticketing hall and baggage claim.
- And once the new runway is completed, it hopes to build an additional 19 to 20 gates to allow for more flights in and out of the airport.
What they're saying: "With the growth we're seeing ... you're going to need to make sure you've got terminal capacity, runway capacity, roadway capacity," Landguth said. "All those things are really important to make sure you don't have a bad experience for your customers in the community."