Halifax Stanfield International Airport Developments

[kph06]

Looks like today might be the day for the tower crane here:

Webcam

[Wishblade]

I dont know if this has been mentioned here before, but I was on the airport website and noticed a link called "Performing Arts". It contains a very short description but mentions live performances coming to the airport.

link: http://www.hiaa.ca/default.asp?id=19...n=70.1.235.665

Sounds like a really cool idea to me!

[halifaxboyns]

(from the Canadian Press, by way of the CH online)
TORONTO — Canadian airlines say they saw record passenger numbers last month, which is usually a slow period for business travellers.

WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline, said Monday its traffic improved in January with a record load factor of 79.9 per cent, compared to 77.8 per cent in the year-earlier.

Revenue passenger miles, or traffic, increased 11.5 per cent and capacity, measured in available seat miles, grew 8.6 per cent year-over-year.

“We are very happy with this strong start to 2012 and the new record January load factor. Our capacity increases are being nicely absorbed and the healthy demand for air travel has continued into the new year,” said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky.

Calgary-based WestJet recently announced a code sharing agreement with Delta Air Lines, which will help it add to its 75-city network. The airline also plans to add capacity with the arrival of 38 new planes through 2018 and is considering adding a short-haul service.

Montreal-based Air Canada, the country’s largest airline also saw a record load factor of 79.1 per cent, up from 78 per cent.

Its system-wide traffic, which includes regional airlines through which Air Canada purchases capacity, increased 3.3 per cent, while capacity grew 1.9 per cent.

The rest of the article is located here.
I should note there is an article error - westjet hasn't done a code share with Delta Airlines, it's code sharing with American.

[halifaxboyns]

Was just doing some checking on flight schedules into the summer for Halifax to New York.

United will offer 4 flights per day, using the Embraer 145 regional jet (holds about 50 seats).

Flights leave YHZ at 06:23, 08:10, 12:41 and 16:20. Hopefully this reworked schedule will do well.

[macgregor]

HIAA's 2012 Business Plan is now online:

http://www.hiaa.ca/images/pdf_files/...ess%20Plan.pdf

Their Capital Spending Program re-lists a number of projects that were planned for 2011 but not accomplished (I'll let Q12 update their summary). I suspect this might have been because the start of the Hotel and runway extension project (both unplanned) might have kept staff busy. Forecast 2011 Capital Spending was a few million less than Planned. Maybe they were a little over-ambitious? Hopefully the Annual Report will have more details about this.

22.7M 2010 Actual Capital Spending

35.7M 2011 Budgeted Capital Spending
32.2M 2011 Forecast Capital Spending

81.6M 2012 Budgeted Capital Spending

Also of note is that with all the capital spending planned for next year, HIAA will be left with only 11M Cash at the end of FY2012. This might be considered small reserves when compared to annual expenses of 79M. I wonder if they are considering another bond issue. Their credit rating is stable for now, but at what point will a downgrade come into play?

[q12]

Airport Construction Projects Update:

• TERMINAL EXPANSION: south end area of main terminal building to make terminal uniform from end to end (new glass facade)
• RUNWAY 05-23 EXTENSION: from 8,800 ft to 10,500 ft UNDER CONSTUCTION
• BELL BOULEVARD EXTENSION: reconfiguration to loop back to Highway 102
• ALT Brand Hotel at terminal (Le Groupe Germain) UNDER CONSTRUCTION http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...88#post5562388
• Hotel off-site (Marriott Courtyard)
• New Loading Bridges
• Metro Transit Bus Service METRO X LAUNCHING IN SPRING
• 2nd Starbucks on main level Arrivals, NOW OPEN
• New Chickenburger outlet NOW OPEN
• 2nd Clearwater Outlet on Departures Level NOW OPEN

[cormiermax]

I wonder when the terminal expansion will start?

[Empire]

[QUOTE=q12;5593890]Airport Construction Projects Update:
[LIST][*]TERMINAL EXPANSION: south end area of main terminal building to make terminal uniform from end to end (new glass facade)[*][B]

Is this an expansion or just glass facade?
Is this the departures area?

[q12]

Originally Posted by cormiermax

I wonder when the terminal expansion will start?

It says it is planned for this year. It would make sense for them to start it while the the hotel is under construction.

Here is what it says in the 2012 report:

Air Terminal Building (ATB)
The forecast expenditure in 2012 for the
ATB is $27.5 million, and includes:
Domestic Check-In and Passenger
Processing Improvements
Upgraded baggage handling systems will
be deployed in a joint effort with CATSA
and new check-in processes will be
established in coordination with the
airlines. To improve passenger processing
and baggage handling capacity in the
domestic check-in hall, an expansion at
the south end of the terminal building is
also planned.

Originally Posted by Empire

Is this an expansion or just glass facade?
Is this the departures area?

It will be an expansion with a matching new glass facade. It will be replacing the remaining old domestic departures (white and brown part shown in the picture below).

http://www.globalmaritimes.com/uploa...84271_high.jpg

[Haliguy]

Work on airport hotel set to start in MayMarch 5, 2012 - 7:08pm By REMO ZACCAGNA Business Reporter Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on linkedinMore Sharing Services
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.Share on emailShare on print.Work on a new hotel near the Halifax airport is set to get off the ground in May.

Manga Hotels of Mississauga, Ont., is behind the proposed Courtyard by Marriott, a seven-storey, 120-room hotel that is to include a 5,000-square-foot conference room.

A purchase of four hectares of land from Halifax Regional Municipality that will be used for additional parking for the new hotel is expected to close in the coming weeks.

“They’ve OK’d it, basically, but they have to get everything in place,” Sukhdev (David) Toor, Manga’s president and chief executive officer, said in a phone interview Monday.

Once that deal closes, it won’t be long after before shovels are in the ground, Toor said.

Manga had expected to start construction last fall, with Maxim Construction of Dartmouth doing the work, but it had been put off to pursue additional lands.

Demand for use of the conference room will mean that more parking than originally anticipated is needed, Toor said.

“We are ready to start, but we need some extra land because we don’t have enough land for parking,” he said.

“We have everything designed and ready to go.”

Construction is expected to last up to 16 months.

Manga also owns the Holiday Inn Express and the Hilton Garden Inn near Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

([email protected])

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By REMO ZACCAGNA Business Reporter

[scooby074]

Originally Posted by q12

It will be an expansion with a matching new glass facade. It will be replacing the remaining old domestic departures (white and brown part shown in the picture below).

Thank god they're replacing that old facade. I was at the airport the other day and noticed that many of the panels at ground level have literally rusted through from the salt applied to the sidewalks.

Not a really great impression.

[halifaxboyns]

Originally Posted by scooby074

Thank god they're replacing that old facade. I was at the airport the other day and noticed that many of the panels at ground level have literally rusted through from the salt applied to the sidewalks.

Not a really great impression.

The issue of maintenance really is a big issue with airports. After they were privitized and the airport authorities created; they struggled for a long time to build up enough revenue (after paying their Transport Canada Leases) to be able to expand.

Vancouver was the first airport in Canada to implement an Airport Improvement fee; which caught on very quickly. I remember CBC's Venture did a big story on the airport expansion when David Emerson was the CEO of YVR, prior to him entering politics. The thing I laugh about now is the report mentioned the AIF and how it will go away once the expansion of YVR is paid for. Even then, as a teen, I remember thinking - an airport is never finished!?

[q12]

Courtyard by Marriott
150 Pratt & Whitney Drive, Halifax Airport, Nova Scotia

This hotel is conveniently located in the Hotel Village near Halifax Stanfield International Airport. The 7 storey hotel will have 153 guestrooms and 5,000 sf of conference facilities.



http://www.mangahotels.com/newdevelopments.htm

It's becoming more like a Hotel City at the airport.

[fenwick16]

Thanks for posting the rendering. I think this Courtyard by Marriott might look much better than the Alt Hotel. I drove past the Alt Hotel under construction next to the Toronto Pearson Airport and I am not impressed by the design (I would describe it as a dark grey concrete bunker with windows).

[cormiermax]

Honestly Alt hotels look really ugly, It wont match the terminal at all. The Marriott on the other hand quite surprisingly looks great.

[scooby074]

Anybody have some figures as to occupancy rates at the airport area hotels?

Seems like there are an awful lot of rooms handy for relatively "small" airport.

[q12]

http://www.hiaa.ca/default.asp?id=19....1.262.291.666

March 15, 2012

Halifax Stanfield Air Cargo Up in 2011

Halifax, N.S. – Halifax Stanfield International Airport processed 29,263 metric tonnes of cargo in 2011 – up 2.8 per cent over 2010.

This increase was due to several factors. Two of the Airport’s major cargo carriers - FedEx and Cargojet - both upgraded their Halifax based fleet from B727 freighters to B757s offering increased capacity. Additionally, the Airport welcomed the return of Icelandair Cargo in December of 2011, which offers weekly B757 scheduled service from Halifax to Reykjavik, Iceland and on to Liege, Belgium. 

As well, the Airport’s multi-tenant cargo facility was in operation for a full year in 2011, having opened in June 2010. The 40,000 square foot facility, operated by Gateway Facilities ULC, features 7,000 square feet of climate controlled space with direct airside access– ideal for shipping fresh lobster and seafood.

“Our air cargo business is a team effort,” says Jerry Staples, HIAA Vice President, Marketing and Business Development. “We work closely with our carriers, partners and shippers to develop and grow air cargo opportunities at Halifax Stanfield.

Cargo traffic is forecast to increase seven per cent in 2012. “We’re preparing for another year of cargo growth, with the completion of our extended runway by the first Quarter of 2013, which will make Halifax Stanfield even more attractive,” says Staples. “Our six cargo carriers (FedEx, Purolator, Cargojet, Icelandair Cargo, TNT and SkyLink Express) handled over 20,000 metric tonnes while the remaining 9,000 metric tonnes was transported on passenger flights.”

Construction to extend the Airport’s main runway began in the fall of 2011. By lengthening the runway from 8,800 to 10,500 feet, this will allow the airport to handle larger wide-bodied and heavy aircraft. It will also enhance the airport’s position as a key international air cargo and passenger hub. The $28 million project is being jointly funded by Halifax International Airport Authority, the federal government through Transport Canada’s Gateways and Border Crossings Fund, and the Province of Nova Scotia.


Picture by me today. (Notice the runway extension work)

[q12]

Delta to get off the ground in Halifax again

http://thechronicleherald.ca/busines...-halifax-again

April 11, 2012 - 6:45pm

Delta Air Lines will resume service from Halifax Stanfield International Airport to three U.S. destinations beginning May 26.

“We are very pleased to welcome Delta Air Lines back to our community,” Jerry Staples, the vice-president of marketing and business development with Halifax International Airport Authority, said on Wednesday.

“The return of Delta is great news for both business and leisure travellers, with more options, more choice and direct access to other key U.S. markets and major airline hubs.”

Staples said in an interview that Delta pulled out of Halifax and several other airports last fall as part of a corporate restructuring related to its merger with Northwest Airlines.

“There were a lot of changes — route rationalization,” he said. “We were always optimistic they’d come back.”

Delta’s new schedule from Halifax includes daily service to New York (John F. Kennedy) from May 26 to July 10 and year-round twice daily service to New York (LaGuardia) starting July 11 on 50-seat ERJ-E145 regional jets, daily service to Detroit from June 6 to Oct. 31 on a 70-seat CRJ-700 regional jet, and weekly service on Saturdays to Atlanta from June 30 to Sept. 1 on a 76-seat CRJ-900 regional jet.

Staples said the new service is comparable with what Delta offered travellers through Halifax in the past. And he said it means regional travellers flying to the U.S. won’t have to make connections through Toronto or Montreal and can take advantage of U.S. customs pre-clearance available at Halifax Stanfield.

Joe Esposito, Delta’s managing director of domestic network planning, said the service between Halifax and New York gives flyers easy non-stop access to one of the world’s top business markets.

“The new flights are part of a major expansion at New York-LaGuardia, and beginning in July, our Halifax customers will access convenient connections to destinations nationwide from Delta’s new domestic hub at LaGuardia.”

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. Delta and its Delta Connection carriers offer service to 343 destinations in 62 countries on six continents.

So Delta will be flying to JFK, LaGuardia, Detroit and Atlanta.

[q12]

Airport Construction Projects Update:

• TERMINAL EXPANSION: south end area of main terminal building to make terminal uniform from end to end (new glass facade)
• RUNWAY 05-23 EXTENSION: from 8,800 ft to 10,500 ft UNDER CONSTUCTION
• BELL BOULEVARD EXTENSION: reconfiguration to loop back to Highway 102
• ALT Brand Hotel at terminal (Le Groupe Germain) UNDER CONSTRUCTION http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...88#post5562388
• Hotel off-site (Marriott Courtyard) CONSTRUCTION STARTING IN MAY 2012
• New Loading Bridges
• Metro Transit MetroX Airport Service BEGINS MAY 31ST, 2012 http://www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/MetroExpress.html
• 2nd Starbucks on main level Arrivals, NOW OPEN

[Haliguy]

Halifax airport authority had a record yearMay 10, 2012 - 5:10pm By THE CHRONICLE HERALD Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on linkedinMore Sharing Services
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.Share on emailShare on print.It was a very good year for the Halifax International Airport Authority in 2011.

“We had our busiest year for passenger traffic, increased our cargo activity, completed several capital improvement projects and delivered a positive bottom line,” Tom Ruth, the authority’s president and chief executive officer, said in a news release Thursday.

The authority operates Halifax Robert L. Stanfield International Airport.

Overall passenger traffic increased by 2½ per cent last year to 3,594,164 passengers, up from 3,508,153 in 2010.

Last year’s numbers accounted for more than half of all the air passengers in Atlantic Canada.

All air traffic sectors recorded year-over-year growth last year compared with 2010, with transborder traffic (non-stop to the United States) up 10.8 per cent, international traffic 9.1 per cent higher and Canadian domestic traffic posting a 0.7 per cent hike.

The airport processed 29,263 metric tonnes of cargo last year, an increase of slightly less than three per cent from the 28,450 metric tonnes processed in 2010.

The authority generated $51.1 million in operating revenues last year, up from $47.3 million in 2010, and collected $26.8 million in airport improvement fees compared with $19.7 million in 2010.

Total revenues in 2011 were $77.9 million, an increase from $67 million in 2010, while total expenses last year were $74.4 million compared with $65.4 million in 2010.

The $3.4 million in revenues that exceeded expenses are being reinvested in airport operations and development.

The authority invested $21.8 million in its capital improvement program last year, including completion of the airfield restoration program, the first phase of site preparation to extend the main runway to 3,150 metres from 2,640 metres and preliminary work on its commercial development strategy.

The strategy will help shape the development of the airport property from the terminal building to Highway 102.

Airports Council International inducted the airport into its new Director General’s Roll of Excellence last year — one of only 14 airports so honoured.

Halifax Stanfield was recertified last year as ASQ Assured, the industry’s global seal of approval for superior service, and earned two Airport Service Quality Awards — third-best airport in the world for overall customer satisfaction for airports under five million passengers and third-best airport in North America regardless of size.

The latest figures available from 2010 show Halifax Stanfield International Airport is worth over $1.25 billion to the provincial economy on an annual basis.

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By THE CHRONICLE HERALD