Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport

The airport is great.  It is wonderful to be able to get from the parking lot to the gate in such a short time.  You need a sign on the approach to the rotary that says “Airport - Left Lane”.  Another at the rotary turn-off would be good, but not essential.

I’ve made the same mistake, and had to turn around in the Crutchfield parking lot!

We have taken a look at the signage in place leading up to the entrance of the circle, and have come up with some plans to help guide everyone in the right direction. We do have to work within VDOT regs, but hope to have something in the dirt soon. Thanks for the heads up!
- Jason Burch, CHO Airport Authority

signage not so bad,butI was pleased with how close the longterm lot was to the terminal great price too.

New to the area and the first time at CHO was this weekend. Beautiful scenery and super easy to get in and out of compared to other airports I have used.

Rhonda:  Thanks for the comment.  Please feel free to visit our contacts page and keep us informed of any further comments or questions you may have. Barbara Hutchinson, Executive Director

I am a native of the area and return home to visit friends and family often.  I have only compliments for the CHO airport but I find myself flying in and out of RIC due to lower airfares.  I would pay more to fly in and out of CHO but the price difference currently is too much to ignore in today’s economy.  I hope that can change.

Fare disparity is going to be our biggest challenge with the current fuel crisis! It’s remarks like this, however, that help us when we meet with airlines. We understand that the convenience factor of CHO is what drives our load factors up. We will continue to meet with airline reps. and discuss the difference in price between us and other airports with regards to some of our destinations. Thank you for your honesty!
- Jason Burch, CHO Airport Authority

Robert’s comments about the price of airfares in spot on. I fly whenever I can out of CHO. Recently, I have had to resort to RIC for better prices. I know the airport cannot control the cost of tickets, but any help bringing the prices within $75 of RIC would be helpful.

Thanks, Chad. With the addition of a low cost carrier to RIC, the difference in pricing is hard to ignore. I don’t believe that we will see a $75 difference, but we will be working hard on getting it close. We are also working on additional programs to help our frequent travelers have an even more convenient experience. We have just returned from a conference discussing the future of air transportation. Interestingly enough, a speaker from a low cost carrier discussed the need for pricing to be more competitive, suggesting a raise in their own prices. It’s just hard for airlines to break even and cover operating costs right now. This doesn’t mean a huge price hike, just some normalcy. In the end it is still a business for the airlines. Our goal as an airport is to provide the region with its own gateway to anywhere and also help support our local economy, and for that reason we will continue to communicate with each of our airlines to find a happy medium.

Jason Burch, CHO AIRPORT AUTHORITY

A non-stop flight to Fort Lauderdale like richmond and dc and norfolk would be nice.

            Thanks
           
            Billy

Would love a direct flight to San Diego!  Any possibilities?????  Thanks!

I also love flying out of CHO and have the same experience with RIC.  I really, really wish CHO had a direct flight or 2 to ORD or MDW - that would make my life so much easier!

Public transporation to the airport. Shouldn’t CHO have a good public transporation service like a city bus. Inaddition to the higher fares out of CHO,the cost of reaching to CHO via cab adds up to the price. Almost all major airports around the country have some sort of public transporation either train or bus to get to the airport. Can CHO work with local authorities on this?

I agree with Naman. While I love the airport, it’s too bad there’s no public transportation to take you downtown or, at the very least, to the nearest bus stop. Is there anything CHO can work out with the Charlottesville Transportation Service? Thanks for all your hard work!

Thanks Naman and Aaron.  Believe it or not, we have had 3 shuttle van services in the past.  The last two operators provided point-to-point service within 15 miles of the City for $9/person.  Of course, the van was shared with other passengers, but a steal at that price.  Unfortunately their ridership was not sufficient to stay in business and they closed (you may recall seeing “Van on the Go” around town?).  Traditionally, bus service is not as successful to an airport unless in a very large city because 1) people have to get to the bus stop, and 2) at least in our area, we expect that since folks didn’t like shuttle vans, they will like buses even less (e.g. lack of space for luggage, lack of point-to-point service).  This past Thanksgiving, we even chartered 2 UVA buses and advertised to UVA students prior to Thanksgiving in response to a request from City Council to test the success of one step in the reduction of traffic on Route 29.  The service was free and advertised via direct student email.  There were several pick-up sites and times on the Friday before Thanksgiving week (traditional UVA travel day) with return to grounds on the Sunday after the holiday week.  We only 11 takers!

However, take heart!  The City and County have (are) forming a Transportation Authority with the intent of studying/funding the expansion of the existing City Transit Service, and it is our understanding a run to the Airport is on their list.  We will keep you updated as we hear more, and will continue to investigate alternate means of ground transportation.  Thanks for your interest and keeping us updated on your concerns,

Barbara, CHO Executive Director

hi,
i think the airport should try to get American Airline/Eagle to start flying in and out because my Dad is an American Airlines employee and we live a mile away from the Airport so it would make his job so much easier if he could fly out of there instead of driving up to D.C. and flying out.

Any chance of getting a direct flight to ORD?  I hate driving to Richmond.

My US AIR flight was delayed so late that I was not going to get to Charlotte to make my connecting flight. Had to cancel reservations I had made. Now I will have to take a flight early the next morning,pay for long term parking and probably miss some of my meetings.US AIR was not much help solving my problem.Maybe I should have tried a bigger airport

Mark,
We apologize for you unfortunate experience. It is true that yesterday was one of those days we would like to try again. with over 344,000 flights a year we are not prone to passenger- airline challenges. We had 2 mechanical issues on seperate flights that caused one to delay for many hours and one to cancel. That is the last thing that airports, airlines, and passengers want. Yesterday was compounded with the fact that every flight seemed full which left little chance for instant rebooking. We are very concened about your thought that US Airways was “not much help” solving your problem. The one thing that airports and airlines CAN control is customer service. I urge you to reply via e-mail or web with more details on that matter. Finally, I would like to address your remark about
trying a “bigger airport”. large airports do offer more opportunity for
“back up plans”, but in my experience the larger the airport the larger the chance for more inconvenience. I have been travelling in the back of planes for over 30 years. I have experienced delays, cancellations and nights stranded in airports of all sizes. Those experiences are far outweighed by the pleasant and convenient experiences I have had at those same airports. Thank you for you comments. I hope your travels are less complicated
today.

Jason Burch
Director of Air Service and Marketing