YVR Airport & Sea Island Developments Discussion

[usog]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on...s-opting-for-us-airports/article1815784/
Always amusing to see articles on this topic.

[Yume-sama]

In general it will almost always be cheaper to go to the USA. But I have to wonder if it is worth peoples time. Though, people have always been *really* bad at doing the math. For example, a friend of mine was coming home from South Dakota where he is in university. He flew to Montana, and then drove the 8+ hours to Calgary. Cost effective? I suppose. Time effective? No...

But when a good percentage of the population lives so close to the US Border, we shouldn't act shocked when people decide to buy over there. Things have always been far cheaper in the USA than here, including airfare. This happens all over the World. People who live in Switzerland will drive to Germany to go grocery shopping because it's MUCH cheaper, etc.~

I do wonder what fleabag hotel in New York City was only $600 for 3 nights though

[golog]

Originally Posted by usog

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on...s-opting-for-us-airports/article1815784/
Always amusing to see articles on this topic.

Great article, I'm pleased to see greater initiative in the press. Excellent timing to make an impact.

Interesting
"Number of one-way trips made by Canadians who departed or arrived at U.S. airports last year"
Toronto : Buffalo (1900M) + Niagara (16M)
Vancouver : Seattle (700M) + Bellingham (325M)
Windsor, London : Detroit (700M)
Montreal : Burlington (600M) + Plattsburgh (63M)
Winnipeg : Grand Forks (55M) + Fargo (50M)
Calgary : Great Falls (50M) + Kalispell (15M)

[golog]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

Air Canada to add new Vancouver-Tokyo flight

BRENT JANG — TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
From Friday's Globe and Mail
...
In Tokyo on Thursday, B.C. Transportation Minister Shirley Bond said Air Canada’s Vancouver-Haneda route will raise the profile of Vancouver International Airport. She set an ambitious target to boost total traffic going through the Vancouver airport to 28.4 million passengers in 2020, or a 75-per-cent surge from 2009.
...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-inv...w-vancouver-tokyo-flight/article1785216/

Originally Posted by Gordon

What Shirley Bond is sugesting is exponential growth over 10 years. 1 million more pasengers \year would be amazing and it would take a significant change in policy from Ottawa?

I guess year 1 or 2 is achievable if airport taxation is lowered, and the American TSA stays in the news with assaulting passengers. 1 million ready and waiting to presumably fly from YVR instead of SEA or BLI

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

In general it will almost always be cheaper to go to the USA. But I have to wonder if it is worth peoples time. Though, people have always been *really* bad at doing the math. For example, a friend of mine was coming home from South Dakota where he is in university. He flew to Montana, and then drove the 8+ hours to Calgary. Cost effective? I suppose. Time effective? No...

But when a good percentage of the population lives so close to the US Border, we shouldn't act shocked when people decide to buy over there. Things have always been far cheaper in the USA than here, including airfare. This happens all over the World. People who live in Switzerland will drive to Germany to go grocery shopping because it's MUCH cheaper, etc.~

I do wonder what fleabag hotel in New York City was only $600 for 3 nights though

thats $200 per night - you can get deals at the W for that price even less

anyway if you look around there are some deals - we are lucky in vancouver that we have bellingham and seattle so close

i looked up a flight to south africa - from seattle it was $900 something with fees and taxes it was just around $1100 - u flew seattle-chicago-madrid-johanesburg - the same time a flight from vancouver was about $1800 plus fees and taxes and was just over $2200 and you flew vancouver-london-johanesburg - to save that much an extra stop would be fine with me its a long flight anyway having a layover is nice on those trips

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by golog

Great article, I'm pleased to see greater initiative in the press. Excellent timing to make an impact.

Interesting
"Number of one-way trips made by Canadians who departed or arrived at U.S. airports last year"
Toronto : Buffalo (1900M) + Niagara (16M)
Vancouver : Seattle (700M) + Bellingham (325M)
Windsor, London : Detroit (700M)
Montreal : Burlington (600M) + Plattsburgh (63M)
Winnipeg : Grand Forks (55M) + Fargo (50M)
Calgary : Great Falls (50M) + Kalispell (15M)

I think you hit M (Million) when you mean K (Thousand)

I was somewhat suspicious to see that of the worlds population (6,000 M), 1/3 (1,900 M) would fly through Buffalo

[vanlaw]

Originally Posted by jsbertram

I think you hit M (Million) when you mean K (Thousand)

I was somewhat suspicious to see that of the worlds population (6,000 M), 1/3 (1,900 M) would fly through Buffalo

Although i prefer "K" to denote thousands, "M" is also generally acceptable, and widely used in banking and other fields.

[deasine]

Definitely, Air Transat needs to have AVODs or at least INFEs on their flights. I can't imaging not having my own personal screen onboard an international flight.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by golog

Great article, I'm pleased to see greater initiative in the press. Excellent timing to make an impact.

Interesting
"Number of one-way trips made by Canadians who departed or arrived at U.S. airports last year"
Toronto : Buffalo (1900M) + Niagara (16M)
Vancouver : Seattle (700M) + Bellingham (325M)
Windsor, London : Detroit (700M)
Montreal : Burlington (600M) + Plattsburgh (63M)
Winnipeg : Grand Forks (55M) + Fargo (50M)
Calgary : Great Falls (50M) + Kalispell (15M)

Maybe this will make the tight-assed Canadian government relax some of their business-initiative stifling rules, listen up, and smarten up. Of course, the unusually high Loonie / US $ ratio has a fair bit to do with it.

[deasine]

Doesn't affect YVR specifically right now, but it's certainly making quite a big splash in the aviation world.

British Airways, Iberia Owners Back $9 Billion Merger

November 29, 2010, 11:37 AM EST More From Businessweek

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By Steve Rothwell and Howard Mustoe
(Updates with British Airways union’s strike-ballot plan starting in second paragraph, comment from analyst in fourth.)
Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- British Airways Plc and Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA shareholders gave the go ahead for a $9 billion merger that will extend the U.K. company’s dominance of lucrative trans-Atlantic routes and close the gap to European market leaders Air France-KLM Group and Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
Iberia’s owners backed the plan in Madrid and three British Airways resolutions approving the deal won support from more than 99 percent of voters in London. The U.K. carrier’s cabin- crew union marked the occasion by announcing plans for a strike ballot in a 21-month dispute over pay and staffing levels.
British Airways Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh says he’s planning further purchases in a push to cut costs and penetrate new markets. The London-based carrier tapped a surge in demand for business flights to post its first profit in two years in the three months ended Sept. 30 after Iberia returned to profit in the second quarter, and Walsh said today that fresh walkouts by flight attendants won’t deflect from the recovery.
“The merger news means they can get on with details like coordinating flight schedules,” said John Strickland, director of the JLS aviation consultancy. “The strike threat is another aggravation and it’s hard to understand why this dispute hasn’t been resolved. BA seems to have made some kind of a compromise.”
Today’s votes pave the way for the carriers to combine under the International Consolidated Airlines Group SA holding company. The transaction is scheduled take effect on Jan. 21 after gaining U.K. High Court approval on Jan. 19, they said.
‘Active Role’
“The aviation industry is moving towards consolidation and we need to be sure we are playing an active role,” British Airways Chairman Martin Broughton said at today’s meeting in the U.K. capital. His counterpart in Madrid, Antonio Vazquez, said that Iberia needs to become “a main player within a big airline group” so as not to get left behind after mergers among rivals.
Air France became Europe’s biggest carrier in 2004 with the purchase of KLM, and last year bought a 25 percent stake in Italy’s Alitalia. Lufthansa, the region’s No. 2, acquired Swiss International Air Lines AG in 2007 and has since bought Austrian Airlines AG, U.K,-based BMI and is adding Brussels Airlines NV.
British Airways has a market value of 3.02 billion pounds ($4.7 billion) after advancing 40 percent this year, and Iberia is worth 3 billion euros ($4 billion) following a 70 percent gain. The U.K. carrier fell 3.6 percent to 262 pence today in London trading, with Iberia declining 2.5 percent.
The companies first announced that they were in talks about an all-share merger in July 2008, the month that oil prices reached a record $147 a barrel, slashing profit margins and causing some carriers to collapse.
Pension Hurdle
A tie-up was agreed in November 2009, conditional on Iberia approving British Airways plans for reducing a 3.7 billion pound pension deficit. The Spanish carrier’s board approved that strategy on Sept. 23, clearing the way to consult investors.
British Airways says the merger will generate 400 million euros of synergies in the fifth year and give it the option of adding flights in Madrid, away from London Heathrow, which as Europe’s busiest airport is afflicted by capacity constraints.
The combination will also create a more effective bulwark against discount carriers such as Ryanair Holdings Plc and EasyJet Plc and give “considerable scale” within the European market, Walsh said today.
Hit List
The CEO said in September that he intends to push on with consolidation and that British Airways and Iberia have already identified 12 other carriers which would be attractive partners.
The executive says that merger candidates are more likely to come from within the Oneworld airline alliance of which the two are members, together with carriers including AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Qantas Airways Ltd. British Airways has led the group’s recruitment of India’s Kingfisher Airlines, S7 Airlines of Russia and Air Berlin Plc, Germany’s biggest carrier after Lufthansa.
British Airways and American said last month that they would start sharing booking codes on more than 2,700 services, as well as adding new routes, after winning antitrust approval to extend their alliance on trans-Atlantic flights.
The Unite union will “shortly” serve notice of a ballot on renewed strike action by BA’s 12,000 cabin crew, it said today at a London press conference. The poll will be concluded in early January, joint General Secretary Tony Woodley said.
While British Airways and Unite have reached broad agreement on employment terms, the union wants concessions on the treatment of striking workers, including the immediate restoration of travel benefits suspended until 2013 and binding arbitration on all disciplinary cases related to the dispute.
‘Torn Apart’
Walsh said that in the event of a further walkouts, “we are just going to continue to run the business,” adding that factions within the union are “tearing themselves apart.”
After the last round of talks with Woodley the pair “shook hands” on a deal, only for the union leader to renege on the plan following meetings with elected officials, the CEO said.
Woodley said didn’t shake on a agreement but held “discussions,” and that the suspension of travel perks for 2 1/2 years rendered the proposals “as dead as the proverbial dodo.”
Walsh said he may main remain involved in negotiations even when he becomes CEO of the IAG holding company, at which point BA will be led by its current finance chief, Keith Williams.
“I’m very happy to remain directly involved to play whatever role Keith would like me to play,” Walsh said.
--With assistance from Manuel Baigorri in Madrid. Editors: Chris Jasper, Chad Thomas.
To contact the reporters on this story: Steven Rothwell in London at [email protected]; Howard Mustoe in London at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at [email protected]

(Bloomberg Business Week, 2010)

[trofirhen]

Wowee! Imagine Iberia jets with scheduled service at YVR. (That'll be the day)

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by vanlaw

Although i prefer "K" to denote thousands, "M" is also generally acceptable, and widely used in banking and other fields.

Roman numerals?

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by Canadian Mind

Roman numerals?

My guess is french. "mille"
"k" is Greek, though.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

My guess is french. "mille"
"k" is Greek, though.

M is teh roman numberal for thousand. MM = 2000

[Yume-sama]

Well, the banking system was invented by the Romans

It would be nifty to have a direct flight to Spain. But, that's not going to happen.

[jlousa]

I had two direct flights to Spain out of YVR this summer.

And one to Paris. Hi Trofirhen.

It would be nice to use a non-charter airline though.

[Johnny Aussie]

http://www.yvr.ca/Libraries/Facts_and_Stats/October_2010_Traffic_Update.sflb.ashx

YVR is just motoring along as evidenced from their October numbers:

Overall, up a pretty decent 7.3%

Domestic up 0.4%

But check out these stats....

Transborder up 19.8% (Imagine if Canadians weren't "flocking" to the US like the Globe and Mail article suggests at the top"
Asia Pacific up 14.8%
Europe up 7.6%
Misc International up 46.1%

I am curious about the "Charter" to Europe in October, up a massive 41%. Which airlines are classified as charter this year that wouldn't have been charter in 2009 to lead to such a large increase as I am pretty sure capacity was about the same?

[trofirhen]

Yes I know. You're all SICK of my insistence for regular, scheduled service to Paris. Well, Seattle got Air France, after the dodo birds in Ottawa turned it away from here for the "nth" time ... and now Delta is thinking of introducing nonstop Paris service to PORTLAND.

So for all you Asia / Haneda-or-Narita obsessed folks; go celebrate. The US West is beating us to Europe. Isn't that what you really want?

(no of course not; you just don't give a damn about Europe. Hah! With the big Italian community in Vancouver, there isn't even a through-flight to Rome. How pathetic ... how sucky ... how ... how ... well ... typically Canadian)

[Yume-sama]

Hmm. Well, a lot of the demographic of Vancouver may not actually give a damn about Europe lol

Just look around

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

Hmm. Well, a lot of the demographic of Vancouver may not actually give a damn about Europe lol

Just look around

That's true, Yume. Nevertheless, a lot of the demographic also DOES care about, has ties with, and makes visits to Europe, for business, tourist, and family reasons.

Take a second look around, lol

In fact, at the Canadian Embassy on Avenue Montaigne, there are three times as many immigration applications from France to Canada than there were five
years ago. First choice? Montreal, of course. Second (and I checked this out) ... Vancouver. And there is still the steady stream of immigrants from the former Soviet countries, as well as southern Europe. (this is largely due to Canada's relative economic stability, and the wobbling Euro).

Anyway, according to the stats presented by Johnnie Aussie, transborder beats out both, so there we have it.