YVR & Sea Island Developments Discussion II

[nname]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Would I be correct in assuming that most of these foreign longhaul carriers would be Chinese and other East Asian airlines?

4 from Mainland China, 13 for East Asia including China

-- East Asia --
1. JL to NRT
2. NH to HND
3. ZG to NRT

4. KE to ICN
5. TW to ICN

6. CI to TPE
7. BR to TPE

8. CX to HKG
9. HX to HKG

10. CA to PEK
11. MF to XMN
12. 3U to TFU
13. HU to SZX

-- Southest Asia --
14. PR to MNL

-- South Asia --
15. AI to DEL

-- South Pacific --
16. NZ to AKL
17. QF to SYD
18. FJ to NAN

-- Europe --
19. FI to KEF
20. BA to LHR, LGW

21. LH to FRA, MUC
22. DE to FRA
23. AF to CDG
24. KL to AMS
25. WK to ZRH

26. TK to IST

[Johnny Aussie]

^ fantastic visual. Thanks for doing that

A very diverse list for sure

T’way will be the 26th then - not sure which one I was missing

[teriyaki]

Originally Posted by Johnny Aussie

^ fantastic visual. Thanks for doing that

A very diverse list for sure

T’way will be the 26th then - not sure which one I was missing

JX Starlux once added should bring that list to 27

[VancityAvgeek33]

Originally Posted by teriyaki

JX Starlux once added should bring that list to 27

Does anyone know if this is actually in the books. Like Ik they got approved to fly here but is there more of a timeline estimate?

[owenf]

Originally Posted by VancityAvgeek33

Does anyone know if this is actually in the books. Like Ik they got approved to fly here but is there more of a timeline estimate?

Is there any confirmation or source from Transport Canada that the bilateral was expanded? I have not seen anything from an official source, and its only forumers discussing that it has been approved.

I feel like as soon as Transport Canada would approve that, then Starlux would go ahead put tickets up for sale asap.

[xd_1771]

Originally Posted by teriyaki

JX Starlux once added should bring that list to 27

Starlux appears to be now looking at a U.S. destination and Europe for their next plane arrival in 2026.

So depending, 4V (Parata Air) could beat them to being our 27th

[ninjakafi_81]

Originally Posted by xd_1771

Starlux appears to be now looking at a U.S. destination and Europe for their next plane arrival in 2026.

So depending, 4V (Parata Air) could beat them to being our 27th

Reported by Ishron on Twitter/X, Starlux will start 3x weekly flights to Phoenix using the A359 in February 2026.

Phoenix (PHX) is set to gain nonstop flights to Asia❗️

Starlux Airlines intends to launch a new route from Taipei (TPE) to Phoenix (PHX) starting February 2026.

Flights are planned to operate 3x weekly using the A350-900 according to Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.

Thanks to
@LandenKiser
for the heads up.

https://x.com/IshrionA/status/1924914545803591788

[VancityAvgeek33]

Exciting for phoenix! I lowkey feel that starlux won’t be launching Vancouver flights anytime soon! They just announced Phoenix, and haven’t hinted at interest to Canada. Maybe sometime in the future!

[thenoflyzone]

What's impressive at YVR is the number of foreign carriers competing on the same route. Tokyo (HND/NRT) has 3 Japanese carriers. That's wild. With AC, that makes 4 airlines to choose from. It definitely helps keep the prices down, that's for sure.

You don't see that to the same extent at YYZ or YUL.

YUL only has 1 route with 2 foreign carriers on it, and it's not even to the same airport. AF (CDG-YUL) and BF (ORY-YUL).

YYZ has 3 I think (it used to be 1 only a few weeks ago, as CA and VS started YYZ end of March 2025.). CA/HU to PEK, BA/VS to LHR and LH/DE to FRA.

YVR has 5.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by VancityAvgeek33

Exciting for phoenix! I lowkey feel that starlux won’t be launching Vancouver flights anytime soon! They just announced Phoenix, and haven’t hinted at interest to Canada. Maybe sometime in the future!

Yes, that said, at present, (correct me if I'm wrong) Phoenix has no flights to Asia, so this is the first Asia route for Phoenix, which has a metro population nudging 5 million and only two European destinations:
LHR and CDG. Their profile is much different than Vancouver - which has nearly 2 million fewer residents, but with many more overseas destinations.

[owenf]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Yes, that said, at present, (correct me if I'm wrong) Phoenix has no flights to Asia, so this is the first Asia route for Phoenix, which has a metro population nudging 5 million and only two European destinations:
LHR and CDG. Their profile is much different than Vancouver - which has nearly 2 million fewer residents, but with many more overseas destinations.

I think this has to do more with Vancouver being Canada's 3rd largest city and thus commanding a higher weight compared relative to other cities in the US of a similar population. Vancouver and Portland, OR have about 3 million residents in their metro area, yet Portland is the 26th largest city in the US, and its direct air services reflect that (BA and KL as the only foreign longhaul carriers).

Chicago in comparison is 3rd in the USA by this metric, and has nearly 10 million people.

So as a result, Vancouver as one of the major Canadian cities just is more important scale-wise despite being lower in population. Of course, our unique location on the West Coast naturally makes us a hub for Asia-bound traffic, something that Austin or St. Louis doesn't have.

[thenoflyzone]

Like to Tokyo, Starlux would be the 3rd foreign carrier from TPE. Not particularly good for yields, so it’s no surprise they are choosing markets with no competition first. Then again, they do fly to SFO, LAX and SEA, so who knows. Even ONT, which they will launch in a couple of weeks, has service to TPE already.

[LeftCoaster]

Their strategy so far seems to be targeting existing routes, so this foray into PHX looks more like an aberration, not the norm. I do think it's a good idea though. Makes me wonder if other unserved destinations may be on their radar like YYC or YUL in Canada.

With that said, I do expect them to announce something at YVR soon. They didn't shy away from jumping into the SEA-TPE bloodbath so I don't see why they would have hesitation about YVR-TPE, especially when it used to be served by 3 carriers until AC pulled out. According to my charts YVR-TPE had 7,625 seats per week peak NS 2019, and now only has 4,977. Given the decline in Chinese competition and the continuing rise in TPE as a connecting hub it seems like there is plenty of room for Starlux to compete here.

[nname]

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

What's impressive at YVR is the number of foreign carriers competing on the same route. Tokyo (HND/NRT) has 3 Japanese carriers. That's wild. With AC, that makes 4 airlines to choose from. It definitely helps keep the prices down, that's for sure.

I'm not too sure about that...

If you exclude ZG, it is often more expensive to fly nonstop to TYO for most time in the year than any other destination from YVR, except SYD, AKL, BNE, BKK, DXB, and IST. Maybe there's still room for growth in TYO, or other destinations in Japan...

Actually, I don't see a price war going on with any of the 5 routes with multiple foreign carriers, at least not to the same degree back in pre-COVID flights to China, or when AC joined YVR-TPE. The most expensive YVR-TPE round-trip I bought pre-COVID was $680 in standard Y; the cheapest post-COVID was $1450 in basic Y...


On the other hand, not sure what's going on in TW... they filed the schedule, opened reservation (with full fare only) about a week ago, then close reservation. The start date is fast approaching and reservation is still closed. Maybe something still need to be sorted out first?

Compare this to how fast HX setup and running earlier this year... TW flight was originally planned to start more than a year ago.

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

Like to Tokyo, Starlux would be the 3rd foreign carrier from TPE. Not particularly good for yields, so it’s no surprise they are choosing markets with no competition first. Then again, they do fly to SFO, LAX and SEA, so who knows. Even ONT, which they will launch in a couple of weeks, has service to TPE already.

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Their strategy so far seems to be targeting existing routes, so this foray into PHX looks more like an aberration, not the norm. I do think it's a good idea though. Makes me wonder if other unserved destinations may be on their radar like YYC or YUL in Canada.

I'm still not too sure about that... The same poster on the other forum also said flight to China will be back to pre-covid normal this summer, and TC granted daily YVR-DOH flight a couple years back (the latter is eventually partially correct, just it went to daily YYZ-DOH instead and 2 years later). Not sure if all these are from the same source. I'll wait until there's a PR on bilateral update before putting my hope up.

[Calfan12]

Originally Posted by owenf

I think this has to do more with Vancouver being Canada's 3rd largest city and thus commanding a higher weight compared relative to other cities in the US of a similar population. Vancouver and Portland, OR have about 3 million residents in their metro area, yet Portland is the 26th largest city in the US, and its direct air services reflect that (BA and KL as the only foreign longhaul carriers).

Chicago in comparison is 3rd in the USA by this metric, and has nearly 10 million people.

So as a result, Vancouver as one of the major Canadian cities just is more important scale-wise despite being lower in population. Of course, our unique location on the West Coast naturally makes us a hub for Asia-bound traffic, something that Austin or St. Louis doesn't have.

Yes , plus Vancouver YVR area has 1 of the largest Asian communities/ populations in Canada & North America✅. Big 1️⃣ reason why they have plenty of Asia nonstop flights ✈️ , plus YVR is geography location is a advantage too.

[ninjakafi_81]

Originally Posted by nname

I'm still not too sure about that... The same poster on the other forum also said flight to China will be back to pre-covid normal this summer, and TC granted daily YVR-DOH flight a couple years back (the latter is eventually partially correct, just it went to daily YYZ-DOH instead and 2 years later). Not sure if all these are from the same source. I'll wait until there's a PR on bilateral update before putting my hope up.

I think the person on the other forum might have gotten their source from the same person as myself as I'm only active on this forum. The source I got originated from the YVR Spotters FB group. That person was quite reliable when it comes to this stuff as he worked in the industry.

Like with yourself, I'm not buying it until I see some sort of announcement of a bilateral increase.

=========================

I'm hoping you might have some info about this nname, but from that same group there's a post about Qantas increasing flights to YVR this upcoming winter. In January 2026 flights will be daily, then 5x weekly in February, then down to 4x weekly in March.

Do you happen to know anything about this ?

[Calfan12]

Originally Posted by nname

I'm not too sure about that...

If you exclude ZG, it is often more expensive to fly nonstop to TYO for most time in the year than any other destination from YVR, except SYD, AKL, BNE, BKK, DXB, and IST. Maybe there's still room for growth in TYO, or other destinations in Japan...

Actually, I don't see a price war going on with any of the 5 routes with multiple foreign carriers, at least not to the same degree back in pre-COVID flights to China, or when AC joined YVR-TPE. The most expensive YVR-TPE round-trip I bought pre-COVID was $680 in standard Y; the cheapest post-COVID was $1450 in basic Y...


On the other hand, not sure what's going on in TW... they filed the schedule, opened reservation (with full fare only) about a week ago, then close reservation. The start date is fast approaching and reservation is still closed. Maybe something still need to be sorted out first?

Compare this to how fast HX setup and running earlier this year... TW flight was originally planned to start more than a year ago.






I'm still not too sure about that... The same poster on the other forum also said flight to China will be back to pre-covid normal this summer, and TC granted daily YVR-DOH flight a couple years back (the latter is eventually partially correct, just it went to daily YYZ-DOH instead and 2 years later). Not sure if all these are from the same source. I'll wait until there's a PR on bilateral update before putting my hope up.

Fair points ,

Regarding Vancouver YVR to Doha route on Qatar Airways there were granted up to 3-4 weekly by Transport Canada & but they chose increase Montreal YUL & start Toronto YYZ .

I could see AC Air Canada jump on the YVR to DOH a few times weekly at some point - seasonally similar like AC’s YVR - Dubai DXB route.

Although during the Covid19 pandemic, 21 chartered Qatar Airways A350/787 repatriation flights ✈️ brought 4,000+ people stuck India back to Canada , landing in YVR, Toronto YYZ & Montreal YUL https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-...nes-pandemic-covid-coronavirus-1.5557612

[Calfan12]

Originally Posted by ninjakafi_81

I think the person on the other forum might have gotten their source from the same person as myself as I'm only active on this forum. The source I got originated from the YVR Spotters FB group. That person was quite reliable when it comes to this stuff as he worked in the industry.

Like with yourself, I'm not buying it until I see some sort of announcement of a bilateral increase.

=========================

I'm hoping you might have some info about this nname, but from that same group there's a post about Qantas increasing flights to YVR this upcoming winter. In January 2026 flights will be daily, then 5x weekly in February, then down to 4x weekly in March.

Do you happen to know anything about this ?

On the YVR Spotters Facebook page- someone mentioned about it.

(If) you want to know the Qantas 2026 Vancouver YVR schedule , search it up on the Qantas website, to see what it looks like✅. Example - type in one way trip (Sydney SYD- YVR) & add in a date for January or February to see what schedule changes there is.

[nname]

Originally Posted by ninjakafi_81

I'm hoping you might have some info about this nname, but from that same group there's a post about Qantas increasing flights to YVR this upcoming winter. In January 2026 flights will be daily, then 5x weekly in February, then down to 4x weekly in March.

Do you happen to know anything about this ?

I do not have any insider info, everything I posted are public information, either already showing in airline schedule, press release, posted in reputable source (ie. Aeroroute), or already available for reservation...

I used to have faster info on AC flights due to schedule being updated first. Now seems like AC "fixed" the issue and press release always happens first (if there is one), then flight opens for reservation on Google Flights a few hours later, then schedule only update a week later. So everything I see now is when schedule change being pushed to Google Flights.

Also, according to Aeroroute, the 3rd weekly YVR-NAN flight is not permanent. Looks like the additional flights on Thursday will run from early Dec to early April.. so a 4 month seasonal increase instead of 7 weeks last year
https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/250522-fj1q26yvr

As for the QF case... yes, some dates in Jan are available for reservation on the QF site where it had no flight before (ie Jan 6, Jan 9). Schedule are still being updated right now, since not all days are available, and changes are not showing up in Google Flights yet..

[EDIT]
Easier way to check is the QF timetable
Although I don't really know how that thing works... search weekly schedule using different days of the week will show different result...
https://www.qantas.com/ca/en/qantas-experience/timetables.html

[EDIT2]
NZ updated winter schedule. AKL Nov reduced to 6x weekly, from Dec onward remains daily, but now using 77W and 789 on alternate days (exactly 3.5x weekly each)

Just as I complained about it, TW reopened reservation for YVR-ICN, with discount (but not the lowest) fares.

[Johnny Aussie]

^ Qantas now showing daily in January