YVR Airport & Sea Island Developments Discussion

[eduardo88]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

For such long and high demand flights, you'd think they'd stick with the bigger planes for the Vancouver-HK route. I honestly would not feel safe on anything smaller than a 747 on a Trans-Pacific flight.

the only thing larger than a 747 is an A380...and anyway why would size of the plane make you feel safer? 777 is smaller yet has a much longer range

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by eduardo88

the only thing larger than a 747 is an A380...and anyway why would size of the plane make you feel safer? 777 is smaller yet has a much longer range

iunno, it's all psychological....and big planes tend to handle turbulence better, or so i've heard.

[ravman]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

ah

its so dark now down where harveys is - kinda neat though to see stuff down there

yeah... you can barely get a glimpse of the luggage handling areas but nonetheless it should be nice underground luggage areas from what i have heard a few years ago.... YVR wants to make it easier for luggage to go from one end of the aiport to another end and that is why they are doing this i think....

[northwest2k]

Most of the 747's being used at the YVR are quite old.

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

my friend's friend works for Delta in Atlanta and they used to get and from what i hear they still get 10 passes a year at 90% off air travel wherever they fly and you get the best seat in the plane available if available at the time ie first class but its on standby but priority standby

so i got a first class ticket from seattle - london and back to vancouver for $333 USD (2002)

is that a change at A/C? my friend went with someone who worked for A/C to beijing one weekend and she said the employee has to fly with the friend they can't just give the ticket to anyone to fly on their own

if so thats a pretty good benefit right there for A/C

Yes, sorry... the unlimited passes are companion passes... you have to go with and employee... but the "friend passes" aren't. I don't know if it's actually 4... that number just sticks in my head.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by marmorek

I think WestJet is better-suited for that position.

I wish that Air Canada hadn't bought out Canadian Airlines back in the day. They were way better.

AC quality aside, remember they are forced by the Feds to keep running many routes to "essential" Canadian towns in the middle of nowhere that they would otherwise have dropped.

They are a mediocre-run business with extra restrictions.

Talk to anyone who's worked at Westjet, they pay piss poor and don't treat their employees too well, despite the advertising to the contrary. Pilots and flight attendants probably get treated the best by AC.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by northwest2k

Most of the 747's being used at the YVR are quite old.

What does that mean?

You know its the airlines that own the planes not the airport.

[sacrifice333]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Talk to anyone who's worked at Westjet, they pay piss poor and don't treat their employees too well, despite the advertising to the contrary. Pilots and flight attendants probably get treated the best by AC.

I know several WJ employees who absolutely LOVE the company... but they aren't quite getting the AC benefits.

But on the other hand, and this may not be correct, but I don't recall ever hearing of a round of WJ layoffs.

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

saw some weird german airline - i assume it was german as it was going to frankfurt - i think it was called CONDOR

must be a summer charter service from germany

the airport was really busy when i got there - that totem pole room is really nice - the trickling water makes it a nice place to chill

whats opening in 2009 in the domestic terminal?

they have it all blocked off with big signs saying opening in 2009 - but i couldn't figure out what it was

I do believe it will be an observation thingy, so you can look out at the planes. Narita Airport has something like that, too. Though I am not for sure, since I don't really remember if the new observation thing will be in domestic or international (they kind of blend together when you're in them so often)... but there will supposedly be a bunch of new shopping, too.

[twoNeurons]

The Link building was SUPPOSED to have airplane observation on the roof top, but the FAA wouldn't approve it.

[ravman]

Originally Posted by tintinium

The Link building was SUPPOSED to have airplane observation on the roof top, but the FAA wouldn't approve it.

FAA is american

[SpongeG]

i always liked the vancouver airport because it seemed to be one of the few airports i had been to that allowed non-ticket holders to see the activity going on the runways and such

usually thats only visible once ticketed passengers have passed security

anyway will be nice to see the airport complete someday - when will theat be 2050?

[MistyMountainHop]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Talk to anyone who's worked at Westjet, they pay piss poor and don't treat their employees too well, despite the advertising to the contrary. Pilots and flight attendants probably get treated the best by AC.

I have a cousin who works with their ground crew at YYC and he's really happy there, lots of free flights.

[ravman]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

i always liked the vancouver airport because it seemed to be one of the few airports i had been to that allowed non-ticket holders to see the activity going on the runways and such

usually thats only visible once ticketed passengers have passed security

anyway will be nice to see the airport complete someday - when will theat be 2050?

u mean from the domestic building? or from the parks next to the runnaways

[phesto]

WestJet strikes alliance with Southwest
VIRGINIA GALT

Globe and Mail Update

July 8, 2008 at 9:56 AM EDT

Globe and Mail Update — WestJet has reached an agreement with U.S.-based Southwest Airlines that will allow the two low-cost carriers to sell seats on each others' flights.

“This memorandum of understanding is the first step that will see both airlines, by late 2009, have the ability to commence codeshare flights across both networks,” WestJet said in a news release Tuesday.

Sean Durfy, president and chief executive officer of WestJet, described the deal as “a defining moment” for WestJet, which was founded in 1996 as a regional airline in Western Canada.

“When you examine our network in Canada and Southwest's network in the United States, and the potential to significantly improve both organizations' market access, this is indeed a great day,” Mr. Durfy said.

Gary Kelly, president and chief executive officer of Southwest Airlines, said he is “confident we have found a perfect fit with WestJet, and we are excited to work toward opening our expansive U.S. network to include Canadian destinations.”

The airlines said they will introduce a distribution plan in 2008, with the codeshare agreement – which would allow each airline to sell seats on the other's flights – to be in place by late 2009, subject to regulatory approval.

The strategic arrangement between the two low-cost carriers comes at a time when other airlines are reducing capacity and cutting back because the high fuel costs and eroding consumer confidence.

WestJet said in a statement that other potential opportunities in the agreement with Southwest Airlines include “purchasing, ground handling, marketing and selling to corporate accounts and other areas of mutual gain.”

WestJet also announced Tuesday that June passenger loads were down from a year ago, but that the airline plans to continue with its expansion plans as competitors cut back capacity.

The number of available seat miles increased by 23.1 per cent, to 1.45 billion over the year, while the passenger load factor dipped to 76.5 per cent in June, 2008, from 79.9 per cent a year earlier.

“In the first six months of the year, we took delivery of five of our seven aircraft slated for 2008,” Mr. Durfy said.

“This represented a significant upfront investment strategy that will bear fruit for us in the remainder of 2008 and beyond,” he said.

“Despite huge challenges in the airline industry, due to unprecedented and unrelenting fuel prices and an overall climate of economic uncertainty, WestJet continues to lead in terms of growth and demand for our service.

“At a time when other airlines are cutting capacity, our cost structure and considerable growth opportunities are enabling us to proceed with our strategic plan,” he said.

“Our low-cost structure and high-value pricing gives us a significant advantage when dealing with the soaring cost of jet fuel,” he said.


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This has been talked about for some time. Any ideas of how this will affect service at YVR?

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by ravman

FAA is american

Yes. that is correct.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by ravman

u mean from the domestic building? or from the parks next to the runnaways

from the building itself

[ravman]

ohh yeah this is amazing... i love westjet ( heck i used to work for them) and i love southwest(no i did not work for them) but this is good... they both use the same fleet of 737... so it will be easy for southwest to fly into canada and viceversa....

[muzhav84]

southwest doesn't have plans to fly into Canada. Westjet will fly into Southwest's hubs (Vegas, Phoenix, etc..) and then Westjet will fly into Canada, and across the Canadian route system. Canadian passengers will fly into the US on Westjet, and to various points in the US on SOuthwest.

[muzhav84]

Also, YVR traffic for May came out. I must say, YVR is holding up quite well in the face of a general decline in industry traffic. Overall traffic is up 6.6%; Domestic is up 7.3%, Transborder up 5.5%, Asia Pacific is up 10.3% (this even after Oasis went under in early April), and miscellaneous (mostly Carribbean and mexico) up 32.9%. These are very healthy growth numbers, and easily beat out traffic growth at Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal (only up 1.2%, and a transborder decrease of 8.6%!). Transborder, Domestic, Asian Pacific, and Miscellaneous traffic set all-time records for the month. As the year progresses, I'm sure growth will slow, given recently announced route & capacity cuts from various airlines, it is good to see we are outpacing the rest of the country's major airports, showing Vancouver is still a popular destination and traffic hub.

http://www.yvr.ca/pdf/authority/statistics/May_2008_Traffic_Update.pdf