Flights in and out of Vancouver plummet
At the harbour, they’re blaming the fog. At the international airport, they’re blaming the economy.
Either way, flights in and out of Vancouver were down sharply in January, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.
Traffic at Vancouver International Airport plummeted 16 per cent last month to 21,105 aircraft movements from 25,421 in January last year. That compares to a national drop of 12.9 per cent.
At Coal Harbour, the total number of takeoffs and landings declined a whopping 51 per cent from 3,539 to 1,793.
“The fog had a substantial impact on our operations in January, which was very rare, very abnormal,” said Rick Baxter, president and CEO of Vancouver-based West Coast Air. “We’ve never experienced those kinds of flight cancellations ever.”
But it’s not all gloomy skies. While a number of airlines have announced capacity reductions at YVR, others are expanding service for the spring and summer, said airport spokeswoman Kate Donegani.
Singapore Airlines says it is pulling out of Vancouver in April because of falling passenger volumes. However, Philippine Airlines is increasing flights to Manila from five to seven a week in March and China Eastern Airlines will offer daily service to Shanghai starting in June, up from three times a week.
Meanwhile, float-plane flights from the harbour have rebounded, Baxter said.
“It’s nice that the weather has been great in February. Business has been good. It’s definitely coming back.”
Richmond-based Harbour Air “didn’t turn a prop for two weeks” because of January’s big fog, said Randy Wight, senior vice-president. Snow also grounded some flights in December and early January.
“We had a terrible month (from) Christmas into January, but it has bounced back quite nicely,” Wight said. “We’re not seeing any impact from the economy so far and we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”
To try to recoup some of January’s lost business, West Coast Air has introduced a half-price standby fare for its midday flights and recently announced some fare reductions in response to falling fuel prices.
Donegani said YVR was still tracking its own numbers for aircraft traffic in January, but a decline had been expected because of the economic downturn.
After welcoming a record 17.85 million passengers last year — 350,000 more than in 2007 — Canada’s second-busiest airport is expecting a drop-off of about 4.5 per cent this year.
While fewer flights mean fewer landing fees, Donegani said the Vancouver Airport Authority is committed to to keeping its landing costs to the airlines as low as possible. It currently has the lowest landing fees of any major airport in Canada.
Nor does it anticipate raising its $15 airport improvement fee charged to most passengers.
“This airport and airports around the world are facing some challenges with the economy being what it is, but we’ve budgeted for that and anticipated some reduction in this year’s business,” Donegani said.
Most of the airport’s $1.4-billion expansion program will be completed this year and no financing difficulties are anticipated, she said. While the airport is trying to minimize costs, no layoffs are planned.
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Flights+Vancouver+plummet/1324887/story.html
I got a kick out of the picture they chose to run with the story! could it be any older - oi vei
At Coal Harbour, the total number of takeoffs and landings in January declined a whopping 51 per cent from 3,539 to 1,793.Photograph by: Stuart Davis, Vancouver Sun files
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