Quote:
Originally Posted by Klazu
Mr. Richmond also said that YVR has very well-positioned runways for an airport. Not sure what he meant with that?
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Perhaps that they have favourable orientation for prevailing winds? YVR doesn't have a reputation for fearsome crosswinds or down-drafts, to the best of my knowledge. I've always found landings at YVR to be smooth a silk.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Klazu
Yeah, very similar times to British Airways. Does BA get any priority treatment with slots on LHR end or does the airport authority give those out evenly?
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Perhaps now BA must compete for new slots (which essentially don't exist, hence the 3rd runway rigamarole) on a level playing field with its competitors, but historically they grew by absorbing many of the UK's domestic and international carriers during the nationalized ownership years so likely ended up with all the prime slots this way. There's also likely still a deep-seated General Motors-esque "what's good for BA is good for LHR" mindset that plays out in a variety of ways.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Klazu
That's how I have understood it to be and you are right that it would be a long walk. Where could they place these moving walkways? No need for an automatic people mover just yet?  |
Perhaps YVR will adopt a Munich-style solution of essentially putting the walkways on the roof? (Fully enclosed, of course). It requires a bunch of vertical circulation, but it pops one up and over all of the complexity of secured and unsecured areas, the US Trans-border/INS-secured areas (much like the Schengen and non-Schengen areas of EU terminals), and drops people down to the appropriate spot. I could see YVR going this route and creating a beautifully day-lit moving walkway connection between the domestic area and the new Transborder area.
They could even potentially employ Siemens' super-fast moving walkway, like those recently installed in YYZ's Terminal 1. These travel at up to four times faster the speed of conventional moving walkways, a single unit can traverse up to 450 metres (far further than moving walkways), and they require far less depth below the walkway surface since they use separate 'trays' (for lack of a better word) on which people stand and walk and this is what lets the system accelerate and decelerate. At the end of the walkway the trays disappear below the mechanical area and then move laterally, reverse direction, and return in parallel, as opposed to returning underneath the moving walkway system. They're conveyed by linear induction motors (like SkyTrain!) as opposed to a conventional electric motor and chains, so they're far more energy efficient, there's far less to break, and a whole lot less to wear out. Very cool system! It's even now being considered in lieu of automated people movers by some airports, since the hourly throughput is comparable but the cost is exponentially lower, it's easier to accommodate into an existing airport, and the traveller experience is perceived to be superior because there's no waiting for a train, nor uncertainty of how long it will take, etc. Moving walkways are pretty intuitive and exceptionally easy to sign with environmental graphics and travel time to the destination terminal.
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