Quote:
Originally Posted by PaperTiger
So really our only geopgraphic advantage over YYZ is SE Asia and Aus / NZ.
That's ... concerning.
|
It is indeed. Like it or not, esp now that most planes will soon be able to overfly Vancouver on Key Pacific routes (as the already are starting to) we have to be content that YVR will never be a real hub.
What irks me especially, though is that, for example, to get to Europe, we always have to change at LHR, FRA, or AMS, but more likely at YYZ (to help pay for their $$$mungo airport, perhaps?) and seem "stuck" at getting any more direct European flights at the moment.
If YVR were somehow, magically, a "mid-way" point, > and YYZ is certainly that, even being smaller than Toronto, YVR would have better overseas connections. But that's in a different world, another planet.
We're out on a limb, as it were, much of it geography-based, and we have to forget any plans at being a hub.
Nevertheless, it's interesting to note that the feds ARE dragging their feet, deliberately it might seem, to give YYZ the advantage.
As an example, a high-level sales contact at YVR told me that not only were there several underestimated potential routes out of YVR, but also that he and his team were "bullish" about getting Istanbul as a destination, as it would be very convenient for access to not only Turkey and the Middle East, but also everything from Cairo to Cape Town.
Turkish Airlines is rapidly expanding, and is Star-Alliance. However there is no bilateral Canada-Turkey air agreement in place....... yet...
......... Despite that, Turkish was awarded a YYZ - Istanbul route not too long back. By whom? Ottawa? Or not?
Does that say anything, or am I just getting paranoid a little bit about this "syndrome?" Feedback welcome.