YVR Airport & Sea Island Developments Discussion

[vango]

Some observations after arriving at YVR from Toronto with an elderly relative:
There is no seating in the domestic baggage claim area, you have to go outside the area to find some seats facing away from the baggage claim. Not nice for elderly people required to stand for a long time. Toronto has rows of seats between each carousel. The taxi queue outside the domestic terminal is just a narrow stretch of sidewalk, somewhat disorganized and grubby. Always room for improvement.

[Yume-sama]

Hmm, I had never thought about that. They probably could use some seating there. I had to wait there on the 26th for about 2 hours for somebody to arrive and was stuck on the benches facing the exits, not the baggage. I am pretty sure they probably don't want people loitering around the area for too long for security reasons. One of the guards kept eyeing me as he made his rounds for the 2 hours

[clooless]

The carpet in the baggage claim area is also filthy in places and in much need of a cleaning. The entire area could due to with better lighting as well.

I agree with the taxi queue observations. Calgary has a Commissionaire standing at the taxi queue assisting passengers in finding a taxi.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

I am pretty sure they probably don't want people loitering around the area for too long for security reasons.

That's my guess too - they probably don't want "greeters" to wait on the benches in the baggage area. i.e. tough to tell if its a greeter or a thief looking for an uncollected bag.

[vango]

So I assume the domestic baggage claim in Toronto is a secured area while in Vancouver it's wide open? This is why Toronto can supply seating? YVR must have a bigger theft problem.

[clooless]

Yes, the baggage claim area in Terminal 3 is secured behind a set of sliding security doors. I don't know if discouraging theft is the rationale behind the lack of seating in the baggage claim area at YVR.

[officedweller]

I think there are some signs that say "passengers only" at the domestic baggage area, but no physical barriers.

[SpongeG]

you can pretty much wander all over the "passenger only" area in the baggage terminal area - i saw secutiry but none of them asked waht i was doing walking around the area a couple months ago (I was waiting for someone to come in from Calgary)

[lubicon]

Air Canada to launch non-stop Fort McMurray-Vancouver flights, continues non-stop Kelowna-Toronto seasonal service


VANCOUVER, Oct. 2 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada announced today that
beginning January 5, 2009, it will offer the only daily non-stop service
linking Vancouver and Fort McMurray. In addition, Air Canada will restart its
popular non-stop weekend flights between Kelowna and Toronto during the
upcoming winter ski season, onboard Air Canada's new 93-seat Embraer 190
aircraft.
"With the introduction of the only non-stop flights between Fort McMurray
and Vancouver, Air Canada is responding to strategic opportunities in this
growing market," said Daniel Shurz, Vice President, Network Planning. "This
new non-stop service between Vancouver and Fort McMurray will complement our
flights from the energy centre of Alberta to Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary. We
are also pleased to continue our popular weekend non-stop service between our
main Toronto hub and Kelowna this winter season, linking the BC interior to
our worldwide network."

Fort McMurray-Vancouver - flights depart Fort McMurray at 15:25, arriving
Vancouver at 16:25. Flights depart Vancouver at 12:00, arriving Fort McMurray
at 14:55. Flights have been timed to ensure convenient connections to and from
points across British Columbia and the US west coast. Flights will be operated
by Air Canada Jazz with 50-seat Bombardier regional jet aircraft. With this
newest flight, Air Canada will offer a total of 14 daily flights from Fort
McMurray to Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Toronto.

Kelowna-Toronto - beginning December, flights operate on Saturdays and
Sundays, and will depart Kelowna at 11:55, arriving Toronto at 19:05. Flights
depart Toronto at 09:15, arriving Kelowna at 11:04. Flights have been timed to
ensure convenient connections to and from Eastern and Atlantic Canada, as well
as a number of destinations in the US east coast, including Boston and New
York.

With 335 non-stop flights each week from Alberta and British Columbia to
Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, Air Canada offers the most non-stop
flights connecting Western and Eastern Canada.

Montreal-based Air Canada provides scheduled and charter air
transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 170 destinations on
five continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 14th largest commercial airline
in the world and serves more than 33 million customers annually with a fleet
consisting of more than 340 aircraft. Air Canada is a founding member of
Star Alliance, providing the world's most comprehensive air transportation
network.

[twoNeurons]

Air Canada dropped the 2nd bad fee too. I was a little surprised at that, to be honest... but AC is surprising me lately. Now if only they can get rid of the old crabby flight attendants.

Oh yeah... and REINSTATE THE YVR-KIX(Osaka) FLIGHT!!!!

[Gordon]

It would also be nice if they would re-instate the daily frequencies to Beijing & Shanghai, but that will probably have to wail until they receive their 1st 787s

[Yume-sama]

I agree. Even *I* would rather take Air Canada than a Chinese Airline. That's saying something!

As it stands now I would probably take JAL to Tokyo, spend a few days, and then take JAL to Beijing.

[seatosky]

Was going through the International terminal last week. Havn't been there in a while. Expansion is VERY nice. I would have liked to see some different types of stores besides your traditional bland duty frees. Oh well...this might have been mentioned but I found the security area very small and cramped, and also found the new cafeteria/food court area very dimly lit.

[muzhav84]

As with everything these days, the financial/credit/stock market crisis is starting to hit airport traffic, in quite a subastantial way. And you can bet this is far from the low point. Some examples:

* Montreal International - Total traffic decreased 1.3% this month, and has decreased 3 months in a row, year over year
* Calgary Airport, once the growth leader in Canada, has had its first monthly year-over year decrease in god-knows how long, further back that current records go... This is compared to growth rates of almost 20% year-over year as recently as 2006!!!

For some USA comparisons:
* Las Vegas is down big time, 10% decrease from last year (for those who don't know, this is a HUGE 1-year decrease, especially for one of the worlds largest airports!!!!)
* Los Angeles is down month-to-month and year over year, for the first time since 9/11
* Chicago O'Hare, for many years the busiest airport in the world, is also down 10% year over year

Vancouver, which had escaped the traffic slowdown up until now, posted 0.3 monthly growth, and surprisingly healthy year-to-date growth of 5.5%, probably one of the best of any North American airport... but still, the trend is clear... in August, Transborder, Asia Pacific, and European traffic numbers were down year over year. Only 'Miscellaneous' and domestic traffic propped the numbers up...

Definitely challenging economic times...

[Hourglass]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

I agree. Even *I* would rather take Air Canada than a Chinese Airline. That's saying something!

As it stands now I would probably take JAL to Tokyo, spend a few days, and then take JAL to Beijing.

Hey, don't knock those Chinese airlines. The flight attendants take the concept of service so seriously, they serve you with a frown...

[muzhav84]

Spicy Pickle's Bread Garden Urban Cafes Is Awarded Vancouver Airport Location

Last update: 1:00 p.m. EDT Oct. 14, 2008
DENVER, CO, Oct 14, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Spicy Pickle Franchising, Inc. (OTCBB: SPKL) fast casual restaurants announced today that its Bread Garden Urban Cafes, a chain of 11 franchised fast casual restaurants located in the greater Vancouver, Canada area, has signed a lease for a location at the Vancouver Airport.
The location is in Terminal C which is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in early 2009. The construction is part of a major redevelopment of the airport prior to the Winter Olympics which will be held in Vancouver, Canada in the winter of 2010. The stand alone location will be post security and in a food court area located in the center of the newly constructed concourse with high visibility. It is approximately 500 sq. ft. and shaped like a quarter circle. The space will be used entirely as a kitchen and front counter. Seating will be in the common area directly in front of and behind the unit. The new Terminal C services domestic traffic and Canadian international connections. It will be serviced primarily by Canada Air, the largest Canadian carrier. Build out will occur during the spring of 2009 to coincide with a slated opening of the new concourse in June or July of 2009. Lease payments will commence on September 1, 2009. This lease has a term of five years with a two-year option.
Marc Geman, CEO of Spicy Pickle Franchising, Inc., commented: "We have been working on sites in the Vancouver area even as we were negotiating the purchase of the Bread Garden chain. This was an opportunity that came up several months ago and we sent our project management team to Vancouver for the initial meetings with the airport. Due to the hard work on the part of the Bread Garden team that is now part of our team, we submitted a proposal that has resulted in this location being granted to Bread Garden Urban Cafes."
Mr. Geman further stated: "The Vancouver airport is an extremely high visibility location. The Airport had a 17.5 million passenger count in 2007 and has a projected 2008 count over 18 million. By the time of the Olympics in 2010 roll around they project over 20 million passengers. Of that more than 10 million passengers are in the domestic area where the Bread Garden Urban Cafe will be located. This is the type of alternative venue that can bring brand identification quickly to other major metropolitan areas in Canada and overseas."
Zip Dhanani, the former owner of Bread Garden Urban Cafes and consultant to Spicy Pickle, said, "The Vancouver Airport marks a new threshold for Bread Garden and promises to be a very busy location. We are also very pleased that one of the current franchisees who already owns two other high profile locations has been selected as the franchisee for this new location."

[muzhav84]

Some cool new non-stop destinations for Summer 2009. Air Transat has announced Barcelona/Madrid and Rome. They are definitely benefitting from Zoom's demise... Will be great to go to Italy and Spain without connecting in Toronto or London

[phesto]

Originally Posted by vango

The taxi queue outside the domestic terminal is just a narrow stretch of sidewalk, somewhat disorganized and grubby. Always room for improvement.

The lineup at the Taxi queue in front of domestic arrivals last night (at 6pm) was the longest I've ever seen it. The lineup was all the way back into the building and it took about 15 minutes to get a cab, even with cabs constantly arriving.

This needs drastic improvement.

On the positive side, it seems as though YVR has been just as busy as ever lately. I guess we'll have to wait for the traffic stats to see if that's actually the case.

[SpongeG]

Vancouver airport group in hunt to buy London's Gatwick


VANCOUVER - The Vancouver International Airport Authority is part of a $3.1-billion bid to purchase Gatwick Airport, according to reports.

YVR Airport Services Ltd., a subsidiary of the Vancouver Airport Authority owned jointly by the airport authority and the infrastructure division of U.S. banking giant Citibank, is putting in the bid for London's second-largest airport, The Times of London reported Sunday.

If successful, the move would catapult YVRAS into the big leagues of airport management, according to industry experts.

"It would be a significant step forward into a very, very large hub airport," said Rick Erickson, managing director of RP Erickson and Associates, a Calgary-based aviation consulting group. "This will put them in a new league and it may open other substantial doors for them in the future."

YVRAS reported $440 million in revenue last year and manages 18 airports around the world, mostly in the Western Hemisphere, including facilities in Chile, the Bahamas and Jamaica, It also manages smaller airports in the B.C. cities of Cranbrook, Fort St. John and Kamloops as well as Moncton, N.B.

In 2006, it partnered with Dutch company ABN Amro for an unsuccessful bid to run London's City Airport.

In May, it partnered with Citibank and, just last month, backed by the bank's considerable financial heft, it won a 99-year-lease values at $2.52-billion US to operate Chicago's Midway Airport.

But Gatwick, by far, would be the largest gem in the YVRAS airport empire, said Erickson.

About 35 million passengers pass through the London airport's terminals annually - double the traffic through Vancouver airport last year.

Its acquisition would open doors for future management contracts with airports in Asia or the Middle East, said Erickson, making it well-poised to capitalize on a trend that began 10 to 15 years ago when governments began to divest airports and airport management to the private sector.

"With a great track record, in three or five years, there's no doubt they can go after other major airports," said Erickson, who added the well-managed Vancouver International Airport is one of the stars in the airport world and makes for a great calling card.


YVRAS officials refused to confirm the bid Sunday.

In an e-mail to The Vancouver Province, CEO George Casey said the "primary focus of Vancouver Airport Services' immediate efforts is on operating and developing Chicago Midway Airport," and that it "continues to monitor other opportunities, but has no immediate additional plans."

Gatwick owner BAA put the London airport on sale last month following a ruling ordering them to shed three of its seven U.K. airports for competition purposes.

Other potential bidders include Frankfurt Airport operator Fraport, German construction firm Hochtief, German airlines Lufthansa and Global Infrastructure Partners, a consortium made up of Credit Suisse and General Electric Co., which bought London's City Airport two years ago for $1.5 billion US.


Erickson said the fact that the bid is being made during today's struggling economic times might not be a big factor as airports, which have near-monopolies within their geographic areas, have proven to be consistent, attractive long-term investments.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=8a7f3f1c-0481-4aea-8b68-2411363ddc26

[vanlaw]

Wow - I had no idea they were involved in so many other airports.