YVR Airport & Sea Island Developments Discussion

[Gordon]

The problem with the Sacremento route may have been that Alaska didnot have a crew base in Vancouver and may not have had one in Sacremento either.

I think the San Jose service may have been prior to Open Skies when the was a limited number of U.S destinations that could be flown to Vancouver.

Hopefully WestJet will continue it's seasonal Summer service year aroun.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Gordon

The list of possible attendee airlines does not include Air Canada. they should be there as Canada's flag carrier & YVR's largest carrier.

I am sure they WILL be there. I think that perhaps that was a list of "guest" airlines, if you get what I mean. How could a World Routes Forum, held in a Canadian city, not include its own national carrier? (much as I dislike Air Canada and the Toronto fortress)

[Spork]

Can we start a new "YVR Destinations" thread? I don't read any of this destination speak (seems like it has all been discussed before), but don't want to miss any development news.

[deasine]

YVR-CAN route may be more unlikely especially when the Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangzhou HSR completes in 2015.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Spork

Can we start a new "YVR Destinations" thread? I don't read any of this destination speak (seems like it has all been discussed before), but don't want to miss any development news.

Sure! go ahead and start it. Any information that needs to be re-added from my "Routes Online" I can add if I can. So yeah, really. Go ahead and start a new thread. It should be pertinent until the Routes Forum ends in September .... and Vancouver walks away with Spokane, and Billings, Montana as new destinations.

YOU start the thread SPORK. It's a good idea.

[deasine]

I'd prefer not. Either this thread or the other will just die off.

[Chikinlittle]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Air Canada served MIA, SMF, MEL and KIX at various times from YVR. One can assume it wasn't profitable or they'd still be flying there. And no other carrier has rushed in to fill the void.

I flew MIA-YVR once, which had to be one of the longest transcons in history. It was an A319 and even then had to be weight restricted.

KIX used to be quite profitable for Canadian when that was their route (pre AC takeover).

I remember flying YVR-MIA about 14 years ago on AA in the Canadian Airlines/American Airlines OneWorld Alliance days. Full flights. MIA is the biggest hub to South America. Surprises me that the flight doesn't exist today that AA doesn't pick it up again.

And if another Australian city were picked up, I would think MEL versus BNE, based on potential market alone, with Melbourne being a city more than double the size of BNE.

[mezzanine]

From YVR's news page. It seems that YVR does want to get all the leverage it can from this routes conference.

http://www.yvr.ca/en/flight-information/...to_japan_s_haneda_airport-240683033.aspx

YVR welcomes Canada's only daily flight to Japan's Haneda Airport
August 17, 2010

New service connects Vancouver and central Tokyo

Richmond, BC (August 17, 2010): Vancouver Airport Authority is pleased to welcome Air Canada’s new daily non-stop air service between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Haneda Airport. Starting in January 2011, YVR will enjoy the first and only connection between Canada and Haneda, which is only 30 minutes from downtown Tokyo. The new service complements Air Canada’s existing route between YVR and Narita, doubling the number of Air Canada’s daily flights from YVR to Japan. Not only does the new route provide increased business opportunities and economic growth, it also solidifies British Columbia as a destination of choice for trade and tourism.
....
“The success of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games showcased British Columbia as a prime destination for tourism and world events,” said Berg. “YVR is North America’s closest major airport to Asia—our prime location and connectivity to the Asia-Pacific region will be one of the many benefits we will be promoting at this year’s Routes 2010 forum in September.”

Vancouver Airport Authority is proud to host the 2010 World Route Development Forum, the largest global meeting place for airports and airlines. Vancouver is the first city in the Americas to host this event, which brings together international air carriers, airports and tourism authorities to map out future air services around the globe.

Realisticaly, in the medium term, maybe we will get KIX and maybe SIA to SIN. I flew their YVR-ICN-SIN route before, and i still think it is a loss they are gone.

With any luck we might get CDG, but realistically, re-gaining what we had to asia is more likely.

[mezzanine]

WRT south america, continental to their houston hub is ok. It's no miami, but it serves a lot of south american destinations and they are now in the star-alliance fold.

With mexicana gone, do we still have mexico city?

[en2]

Originally Posted by Chikinlittle

KIX used to be quite profitable for Canadian when that was their route (pre AC takeover).

KIX was always flown by AC, I believe that was their 1st or 2nd Asia Pacific route, either Osaka or Seoul as Canadian had a semi-monopoly on Asian routes whereas AC had a semi-monopoly on European routes.

Canadian used to fly to Tokyo and Nagoya.

Too bad Canadian isn't around anymore, they were committed towards making Vancouver their hub towards Asia-Pacific travel with American Airlines.

That's why AA used to have flights to Miami, Boston, Chicago and DC.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

WRT south america, continental to their houston hub is ok. It's no miami, but it serves a lot of south american destinations and they are now in the star-alliance fold.

With mexicana gone, do we still have mexico city?

JAL used to fly there on their way out of Vancouver. Has that changed?

[Gordon]

I wonder what happened to the Guangzhou route with China Southern?

China Southern is a part of the SkyTeam alliance(Delta) Maybe if Westjet can sign some sort of deal with Delta that could help that service.

[PaperTiger]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

JAL used to fly there on their way out of Vancouver. Has that changed?

Yes With JAL's recent troubles they cancelled that leg of the flight and only flew the Vancouver leg. Mexicana, which is part of the one world alliance then increased their frequency to YVR to connect with the JAL flights I think they had a code share on the route. Now with Mexicana in trouble it leaves another gap in network. the best solution would be for JAL to reintroduce the Mexico city leg, but I fear they are still not in a position finically to do that.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by PaperTiger

Yes With JAL's recent troubles they cancelled that leg of the flight and only flew the Vancouver leg. Mexicana, which is part of the one world alliance then increased their frequency to YVR to connect with the JAL flights I think they had a code share on the route. Now with Mexicana in trouble it leaves another gap in network. the best solution would be for JAL to reintroduce the Mexico city leg, but I fear they are still not in a position finically to do that.

What about Aeromexico?

[Gordon]

What about Westjet for the Mexico City route.

[twoNeurons]

Great opportunity for WestJet if you ask me.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

Great opportunity for WestJet if you ask me.

I don't think they would take it however - most of their Mexican routes are underwritten by travel operators.

[trofirhen]

It seems all this means no more Vancouver - Mexico City scheduled nonstops. Hope I'm wrong on that!

[SpongeG]

old news but a news story on it

Air Canada adds new Tokyo stop

Move will give airline better access to Japanese domestic market

By Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun

Air Canada joined an international convergence on Tokyo's Haneda airport Tuesday by announcing a new daily flight from Vancouver into what is becoming a bigger regional hub for Asian flights to and from Japan.

The new service, which will be in addition to Air Canada's Vancouver to Tokyo Narita airport, will start in January along with new flights by other international airlines including American Airlines and Delta in the United States.

"Calling [Haneda] a regional hub is probably the best way to phrase it, because they are taking [flights] from the major hubs of airlines and plugging them into [Haneda's] partner connections," Marc-David Seidel, an airline expert in the Sauder School of Business at the University of B.C. said.

Haneda is Tokyo's dominant domestic airport, so Seidel said Air Canada can now better tap Japan's considerable market in the short term.

However, this Oct. 21, Haneda will open a fourth runway and a new terminal that is closer to downtown Tokyo than Narita.

Seidel added that Haneda has regional international connections through All Nippon Airways to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore, with airlines such as Singapore Air adding service to the airport.

Air Canada's strategy is to "complement existing daily flights," as well as improve its reach into Asia, Ben Smith, the airline's executive vice-president and chief commercial officer said in a news release.

In July, the airline reported that its traffic to its Pacific region has increased almost 25 per cent compared with a year ago.

"We are confident our newest international flight will meet the growing demand for travel in the strong Pacific market," Smith said.

...

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Canada+adds+Tokyo+stop/3411373/story.html#ixzz0xIDeoEGV

[Chikinlittle]

Originally Posted by Sir.Humphrey.Appleby

I don't think they would take it however - most of their Mexican routes are underwritten by travel operators.

I agree. Most of WestJet's routes out of Vancouver (with the exception of their domestic routes and arguably Los Angeles as well) are definitely to leisure/vacation oriented destinations. Mexico City is definitely not a leisure route.

I would foresee it more likely for AC to pick up YVR-MEX, and also increase service on their YYZ-MEX route already currently serviced.