YVR Airport & Sea Island Developments Discussion

[golog]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

If you go to GOOGLE and look up "The Airport Shop" (or "shoppe), you'll notice which airports are looking for which destinations. Copenhagen requested two in Canada: Vancouver and Toronto. True to form, Toronto got a direct route, Vancouver did not. (This was with Air Canada, of course)

http://www.therouteshop.com/copenhagen-airport/
- - -

What about a different system of approving flights, one that minimizes domestic carriers gouging and retains jobs/expertise within Canada. We still own all the airports, and it wouldn't make a difference under the current rules if a domestic carrier was leasing all of their planes from another country or having all their maintenance performed in another country.

Allow any carrier to sign up for flights -- even from one Canadian city to another -- if they spend x% of revenue from flights to/within/from Canada on flight attendants/pilots/managers/... on Canadian employees, and pay Canadian maintenance crews to handle y% of all maintenance attributable to flights to/within/from Canada.

If they don't want to handle the logistics of setting up operations for employees or maintenance in Canada, let them buy maintenance or jobs credits from those Canadian firms who do.

This allows supply for routes that are in demand, it preserves the only things that are supposed to be the goal of the current policy, and it even subsidizes domestic flights to smaller communities via the transferable credits by making use of the economies of scale for airlines already employing Canadians in maintenance/pilot/.. roles

Short of a system like that, or a radical change in airspace access I think a 75% increase in passenger volume within a decade is a bit more than optimistic

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by golog

http://www.therouteshop.com/copenhagen-airport/
- - -

What about a different system of approving flights, one that minimizes domestic carriers gouging and retains jobs/expertise within Canada. We still own all the airports, and it wouldn't make a difference under the current rules if a domestic carrier was leasing all of their planes from another country or having all their maintenance performed in another country.

Allow any carrier to sign up for flights -- even from one Canadian city to another -- if they spend x% of revenue from flights to/within/from Canada on flight attendants/pilots/managers/... on Canadian employees, and pay Canadian maintenance crews to handle y% of all maintenance attributable to flights to/within/from Canada.

If they don't want to handle the logistics of setting up operations for employees or maintenance in Canada, let them buy maintenance or jobs credits from those Canadian firms who do.

This allows supply for routes that are in demand, it preserves the only things that are supposed to be the goal of the current policy, and it even subsidizes domestic flights to smaller communities via the transferable credits by making use of the economies of scale for airlines already employing Canadians in maintenance/pilot/.. roles

Short of a system like that, or a radical change in airspace access I think a 75% increase in passenger volume within a decade is a bit more than optimistic

Great idea. And yes, I think those estimations (or pie-in-the-sky) projections of 75% per year are quite unreal.

But your idea makes a lot of sense. It would require even more market deregulation. YVR is ready for that, but YYZ is not, as they have the monopoly on just about all overseas flights and airlines.

Too bad we can't raise more of a stink about this in Parliament in Ottawa.
Hehe ... then again ... maybe we can ....

[trofirhen]

Ladies and gentleman, the bully on the block continues to justify his actions.
Please click the link and read.


http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2010/06/c9798.html

[vanlaw]

I know this isn’t related directly to air travel etc, but stems from the Cdn Gov't/Air Canada - Emirates/UAE spat so I might as well post here.

UAE requiring visas for Canadian tourists and business travelers starting Jan 2, 2011. This is fairly significant. As of right now, Canadians, along with most other western nationals, simply get 30 day tourist stamp upon arrival:

U.A.E. slaps visas on Canadians

Canadians will need visas to enter the United Arab Emirates as of Jan. 2, 2011, according to Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the U.A.E.'s embassy in Ottawa.

The move is the latest salvo in a growing diplomatic spat between Ottawa and the U.A.E. over airline landing rights at Canadian airports that also saw Canada evicted from a key military base in Dubai

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/11/08/canada-uae-visas.html

[jlousa]

*l* Gee and people think we should be doing business with them? This is going to end up hurting them more then it will hurt us.

[Spork]

Ya, that's going a bit too far. They should have publicized the story here better instead of politicizing it.

[golog]

U.A.E. wanted only Toronto air access: sources

The United Arab Emirates demanded more landing rights for its two national carriers only in Toronto during negotiations with Canada, CBC News has learned.

A government source told Evan Solomon of the CBC's Power & Politics that the U.A.E. demanded open access only to Toronto's Pearson airport and that Ottawa responded with an offer of more access to the airports in Calgary and Vancouver.

But the U.A.E. only wanted Toronto and used Canada's Camp Mirage military base near Dubai as a bargaining chip, the source said.

[Johnny Aussie]

Originally Posted by golog

U.A.E. wanted only Toronto air access: sources

Funny how Emirates kept publicly saying over and over they wanted Vancouver and Calgary and now, allegedly, we learn that it was the Government of Canada that was pushing for YVR and YYC... I find that VERY hard to believe!!

One of the parties is definitely lying!

Something does not add up.

[MalcolmTucker]

Well, if UAE publicly wanted extra spots to fly to YVR and YYC, why not hold them to their word, and present an agreement where the extra slots can be used to fulfill those wishes?

International diplomacy at its finest (until UAE realized too late that they couldn't bully Canada)

[nova9]

From the Vancouver Sun:

YVR has gone up against some of North America's top airports and soared to the top.

The Vancouver International Airport beat out 140 other airports to win the Richard A. Griesbach Award of Excellence winner in the 2010 Airport Concessions Contest. The purpose of the Airports Council International-North America contest is to inspire creativity in the industry and to recognize innovative and outstanding airport concessions.



Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/wins+award+excellence+concessions/3808640/story.html#ixzz14w9c39H3

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by golog

U.A.E. wanted only Toronto air access: sources

That had been pretty openly speculated all along. Hate to , but that's the nature of it.

With longer range aircraft, routes to YVR are going to be under pressure. There's no longer a range issue causing East Coast flights to stop here. Case in point, the other week I flew back from NY on Cathay Pacific's flight which was continuing on to HKG. The 777 was about 40% full I'm guessing and I couldn't help but wonder why they still operate it when they have a non-stop HKG-NYC now. Maybe there's enough cargo to keep it profitable.

[Hourglass]

Yes, cargo and aircraft utilization. Without the NY leg, the aircraft sits on the ground for several hours. Qantas tried running 747s from San Francisco to Vancouver as a tack-on a few years back for similar reasons except there's much more competition on that route than YVR-JFK.

[red-paladin]

We are pretty spoiled that when YVR gets a major award it's boring news.

[SpongeG]

Expansion of Tokyo airport is good news for YVR, minister says

Haneda Airport's new international terminal supports the goal of increasing traffic through Vancouver to 28.4 million by 2020

BY BRIAN MORTON, VANCOUVER SUN

The expansion of Tokyo's Haneda Airport, including new Air Canada flights in 2011, will bring more travellers through Vancouver International Airport (YVR), B.C. Transportation Minister Shirley Bond said Thursday in Tokyo.

"Haneda Airport's new international terminal and a fourth runway will significantly increase its capacity for airlines flying through the Pacific Gateway," Bond said in a statement. "This is a perfect example of Canada Pacific Gateway's air advantage and supports our goal of increasing traffic through YVR to 28.4 million passengers by 2020."

Haneda, Tokyo's new international terminal, opened last Sunday. Located just 20 minutes by monorail from Tokyo, it has capacity for 60,000 flights and more than seven million passengers a year.

...

http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Expan...od+news+minister+says/3780962/story.html

[SpongeG]

YVR among the best of the worst Canadian airports

Canadians have included Vancouver International Airport among the worst airports in the country but it still stands head and shoulders above Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, according to a FlightNetwork.com survey released Monday.
The poll asked 783 Canadians to "weigh-in" on what makes a bad airport.

Of the participants, just 5.4% said Vancouver was the worst airport in the country compared with 27.6% who said Toronto’s Pearson International Airport is the worst.

...

http://www.bivinteractive.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3294&Itemid=32

[trofirhen]

Emirates was lying, the government was lying, and YVR was never in for a piece of the action, be that good or bad.
I feel insulted.

Long-range jets can overfly Vancuver (and they will, to Toronto) diminishing
VYR's dream of becoming "The Gateway to the Pacific."
I feel concerned, maybe even a little worried.

Anyway, all of ths points up the fact that we are not as indispensable
as we thought we were, and that we're going to have to lobby hard to
maintain our status as a major world nexus.

[Gordon]

as Vancouver's population grows over the years and we get more & more Asian residents our importance as an Asian gateway will grow. A more even air policy form Ottawa would help.

I doubt the YYZ Dubai flights over fly Vancouver they probably probably Take the great circle route in the other direction.

YVR would be be better served by having more mainline Asian & European carriers serving it With non stop flights as opposed having to tranist through Dubai to get anywhere on Emerites.

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

YVR among the best of the worst Canadian airports

Canadians have included Vancouver International Airport among the worst airports in the country but it still stands head and shoulders above Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, according to a FlightNetwork.com survey released Monday.
The poll asked 783 Canadians to "weigh-in" on what makes a bad airport.

Of the participants, just 5.4% said Vancouver was the worst airport in the country compared with 27.6% who said Toronto’s Pearson International Airport is the worst.

...

http://www.bivinteractive.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3294&Itemid=32

Hmm. This is kind of like how Air Canada was voted "Best North American Airline", eh (with a 3 of 6 rating)? What a prize!

YVR is a much better airport than any I've been in, in Canada (with much better access now, too!) or the USA for that matter.

[craneSpotter]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

YVR is a much better airport than any I've been in, in Canada (with much better access now, too!) or the USA for that matter.

Agreed. And YYZ is hardly the worst.

Flightnetwork agrees too, and ranks YVR #1 in Canada by its own standards

http://www.flightnetwork.com/blog/2010/06/ranking-canadas-10-best-airports/

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Gordon

as Vancouver's population grows over the years and we get more & more Asian residents our importance as an Asian gateway will grow. A more even air policy form Ottawa would help.

I doubt the YYZ Dubai flights over fly Vancouver they probably probably Take the great circle route in the other direction.

YVR would be be better served by having more mainline Asian & European carriers serving it With non stop flights as opposed having to tranist through Dubai to get anywhere on Emerites.

I think you're right in that Dubai as a destination from YVR who do little to be a transfer point to East Asia ot Europe. However, it would be the ideal jumping off point for Africa, and parts of the Middle East itself. (although I don't think that comprises a very large market)