YVR Airport & Sea Island Developments Discussion

[Johnny Aussie]

Perhaps a reaction to National Airlines route launch.

Westjet adding a second weekly flight. New flight will operate Tuesdays.

Flights will now op Tuesdays and Fridays.

http://westjet2.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1054

This pushes Westjet's weekly transborder frequencies to 99. Certainly they can add one more to get a nice even 100!?

That is still 50 less than the AC Group at 149 per week.

Total transborder (pre-cleared) is oh so close to 70 daily this winter from YVR! Including CX it goes over 70 (not to mention PR).

[Johnny Aussie]

From airlineroute.net Twitter

Xiamen Airlines applies for 4 weekly Xiamen - Vancouver with 787-8 from June 2016.

So the buzz about Xiamen had some credence.

That should give YVR 6 mainland Chinese carriers by next summer with 8 cities served directly.

Air China
China Eastern
China Southern
Sichuan
Hainan
Xiamen

Also... If these flights do happen YVR will see the following weekly frequencies during the summer peak:

Mainland China - 61
Including HKG - 82
Including TPE - 94

Impressive...

[Klazu]

And another 787! Boy, I am loosing track of all 787 connections.

Are there any other major Chinese airlines that we are still missing? All these airlines really make us a major gateway between China and North America.

Back in my home country, Finnair has a similar location as YVR to be a gateway between Europe and Asia, however unlike here, there all those connections are flown Finnair and Finnair alone. Only alliance partner JAL flyes a lonely 787 to Helsinki few times a week.

Because of that I don't consider Helsinki a very successful gateway hub, but I think YVR is doing great as we definitely don't depent on Air Canada's presence in here! Always great not to be dependent on one single operator.

[LeftCoaster]

Great news, nice to see the rumour become more of a reality.

It's easy to not get excited about another airline/city in China, but every connection we add just further cements YVR as one of the preeminent gateway cities into China. And don't let YVRs success fool you, competition is fierce, so every victory is extremely important.

Also, on Klazu's point, I really think it is important how YVR is a multi-alliance hub. AC is still incredibly important, and unlike some on here I really appreciate the attention YVR gets from AC, but having the depth of carriers that YVR has insulates the airport from risk and encourages more diverse connections as carriers won't stay away from the 'fortress hub' because their passengers can't find easy connections.

With that said I'd like to see YVR get some more US cities in it's roster now, from all three big us carriers, to help Asian carriers use YVR to better connect to the US.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Great news, nice to see the rumour become more of a reality........

Also, on Klazu's point, I really think it is important how YVR is a multi-alliance hub. ......................
With that said I'd like to see YVR get some more US cities in it's roster now, from all three big us carriers, to help Asian carriers use YVR to better connect to the US.

What about connections to South America? ALL AC flights from Asia to South America will connect through YYZ and YYZ alone. Won't we need a couple of South American airlines, too?
This aspect has never really been discussed here, and I think it should be.

[Klazu]

What other US connections could we get? All American airlines unfortunately operate in hub-and-spokes model and we already have direct connection to almost all big hubs. We are only missing hubs like Detroit, year-round Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte and Philadelphia. From big cities we are only missing San Diego and Boston.

I doubt we will be able to get any direct flights to 2nd class cities in the US as all airlines there want to fly us through their own hubs.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Klazu

What other US connections could we get? All American airlines unfortunately operate in hub-and-spokes model and we already have direct connection to almost all big hubs. We are only missing hubs like Detroit, year-round Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte and Philadelphia. From big cities we are only missing San Diego and Boston.

I doubt we will be able to get any direct flights to 2nd class cities in the US as all airlines there want to fly us through their own hubs.

Those are some pretty big hubs we are missing.

Not so much thinking secondary non-hub cities aside from the obvious ones such as Portland, but Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte etc... are a must.

[Klazu]

I think only a daily Atlanta would be important, as those other cities likely see quite little direct traffic and are easy and short connection from nearby hubs. San Diego seems to be a holy grail for many in here, so perhaps that should be direct as well. Portland we already have.

Miami would not offer much on top of Orlando that we already have and Houston offers good connections to the Carribean. So I still think we are pretty good, although more connections the merrier.

EDIT: Oh, daily direct Washington DC would be great (we only have seasonal). There are surprisingly many companies with offices in DC area.

[nname]

Originally Posted by Johnny Aussie

From airlineroute.net Twitter

Xiamen Airlines applies for 4 weekly Xiamen - Vancouver with 787-8 from June 2016.

So the buzz about Xiamen had some credence.

Interestingly that all 3 SkyTeam members in China (MU/CZ/MF) will now fly to YVR, a non-SkyTeam hub. In contrast, none of them seems to form a partnership with DL and fly to its hub in SEA.

Next on the list: I read somewhere that MU is looking into a direct service between YVR and NKG. But this is just.. rumors for now...

[SFUVancouver]

Great news on the likelihood of the Xiamen Airlines 4-times weekly Xiamen - Vancouver route, especially with 787-8 equipment, beginning in June 2016.

It will be a serious feather in YVR's cap to have all of China's major international airlines and all of its major cities directly connected. Transit-without-Visa to the US will help the airport and airlines leverage this connectivity to an ever greater degree. In the meantime, YVR has pretty seamless Int'l to US connectivity, including US per-clearance, and I agree that additional connections and daily-or-better service to the major US hubs will help. Fifth-freedom (is that the right freedom?) flights like the JKF-YVR-HKG are a major potential growth opportunity for YVR connectivity and improved leveraging of connections to China.

As for all the Dreamliners, it's helping YVR build a reputation as being an airport serving modern equipment and, thus, generally be part of a more pleasurable experience for travellers.

[LeftCoaster]

Prompted by the discussion about alliances, I put together a quick look at S16 frequencies by airline/alliance as well as my educated guess as to the equipment they would be using.

I'm sure it's riddled with errors so let me know (I'm looking at you Johnny), but it's a good start.


http://i.imgur.com/wu4JWBF.png

Looks like Star Alliance is still the big dog at YVR, not a big surprise, but I was surprised by Sky Team's big lead over One World. Granted BA is running the 380 which should count as 2 frequencies, but even still.

[trofirhen]

YVR still needs its "orange" map (countries served), to go south ..... Lima, Santiago, and São Paulo are upcoming "musts."

[Klazu]

Great list, LeftCoaster. I think one of those Air Canada 787 connections must be a 787-9 as the plane I return from my Chile trip (via Toronto) is a one of those and I would think it is continuing onwards to Asia?

Regarding China traffic, do we know what % of the traffic is heading to Vancouver and how many transit to elsewhere in Canada or the US. It would be interesting to know if we really are a transit hub or rather a destination?

[red-paladin]

Is the transit without visa regime more likely to happen under the new federal government?

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by red-paladin

Is the transit without visa regime more likely to happen under the new federal government?

I thought it was already in progress. I think your question might be: is TWV more likely to happen FASTER under the new government?
(I sure as heck hope so. It was supposed to be operational last spring, was it not?)

[Large Cat]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Prompted by the discussion about alliances, I put together a quick look at S16 frequencies by airline/alliance as well as my educated guess as to the equipment they would be using.

I'm sure it's riddled with errors so let me know (I'm looking at you Johnny), but it's a good start.


http://i.imgur.com/wu4JWBF.png

Looks like Star Alliance is still the big dog at YVR, not a big surprise, but I was surprised by Sky Team's big lead over One World. Granted BA is running the 380 which should count as 2 frequencies, but even still.

Will Air Canada really have 737's going to Mexico City (or anywhere) by next summer?

Otherwise, what a great list of planes!

[Johnny Aussie]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Prompted by the discussion about alliances, I put together a quick look at S16 frequencies by airline/alliance as well as my educated guess as to the equipment they would be using.

I'm sure it's riddled with errors so let me know (I'm looking at you Johnny), but it's a good start.

Looks like Star Alliance is still the big dog at YVR, not a big surprise, but I was surprised by Sky Team's big lead over One World. Granted BA is running the 380 which should count as 2 frequencies, but even still.

Yeah that's pretty comprehensive and impressive when you look at it!

Some of the equipment is a bit off but the frequencies are spot on. Good work

AC to SYD on a 77L
AC to MEX on a 319
NH to HND most likely a 788 (the 789 is only on the YVR route temporarily)
LH to MUC a mix of 346 and 333
WK to ZRH a mix of 333 and 332
CI to TPE is scheduled daily 744 now but expect that to change
KE to ICN also generally daily 744 in the summer

And... With the non-alliance foreign carriers even more impressive

With the additions of Hainan and Xiamen, YVR will have 22 foreign carriers serving the city (those from outside North America - so not including U.S. carriers or Aeromexico). The second most of any airport in Canada. Only YYZ, of course, has more.... Way more!

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Johnny Aussie

With the additions of Hainan and Xiamen, YVR will have 22 foreign carriers serving the city (those from outside North America - so not including U.S. carriers or Aeromexico). The second most of any airport in Canada. Only YYZ, of course, has more.... Way more!

Actually I only count 32 for YYZ, so not really way more, although I guess that is ~40% more.

1. SATA Intl
2. Air France
3. Aer Lingus
4. Iceland Air
5. PIA
6. Qatar Airlines
7. LOT
8. Austrian
9. Avianca
10. Egyptair
11. Ethopian
12. Ethiad
13. Eva Air
14. Finnair
15. Korean Air
16. Jet Airways
17. Philippine
18. Saudia
19. Transaero
20. British Airways
21. Lufthansa
22. KLM
23. Hainan Airlines
24. Emirates
25. TAM Airlines
26. China Eastern
27. El Al
28. Alitalia
29. WOW Air
30. Cathay Pacific
31. Turkish
32. Condor

[Johnny Aussie]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Actually I only count 32 for YYZ, so not really way more, although I guess that is ~40% more.

6. Qatar Airlines
19. Transaero

Scratch these two. Qatar only serves YUL and Transaero ending service in December. That's still an impressive list of 30!

YYZ 30
YVR 22 (subject to Hainan and Xiamen confirming of course).
YUL 15
YYC 4
YHZ 3
YEG 2

[Denscity]

^^^ Well if Toronto has 30 and Vancouver 22 then YVR is definitely punching above its weight!