Halifax Stanfield International Airport Developments

[Hali87]

Ottawa's airport is very similar to Halifax's in terms of scale and design but the colour scheme is different (lots of dark tinted glass). Halifax's feels much more open and airy in comparison, with the wood and light glass, while Ottawa's feels sleek and formal.

[halifaxboyns]

Originally Posted by Hali87

Ottawa's airport is very similar to Halifax's in terms of scale and design but the colour scheme is different (lots of dark tinted glass). Halifax's feels much more open and airy in comparison, with the wood and light glass, while Ottawa's feels sleek and formal.

I can't say as I agree - although I'm going from memory based on a flight I took last summer. If I recall correctly, the high ceiling is consistent across the check in area and not just the public corridor (this is something that Keith brought up earlier) - although I don't know if it is necessarily an issue.

But that high ceiling seems to continue into the gate area as well - that's the difference I see for Halifax. While some areas have developed into a bigger more open feeling, the challenge will be getting the departures level upgraded to that feeling.

YHZ still has some big inconsistencies with appearance and materials on the upper and lower levels.

[Keith P.]

I flew through Ottawa a few months ago and it bears little resemblance to HIAA. It feels like a big-city airport while ours still acts like a rube. If you ever flew into HIAA on a regional aircraft and got what I call "the Enfield gate" - the no-jetway, walk-on-the-tarmac to the endless corridor at the north end of the terminal that seems closer to Enfield than any part of the airport, you will know why HIAA will never be a world-class airport until they make some significant changes. The long walk from there to anywhere felt like the Bataan Death March. It needs, at the very least, a moving sidewalk. And the low ceiling heights in many areas keep it feeling small.

[halifaxboyns]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I flew through Ottawa a few months ago and it bears little resemblance to HIAA. It feels like a big-city airport while ours still acts like a rube. If you ever flew into HIAA on a regional aircraft and got what I call "the Enfield gate" - the no-jetway, walk-on-the-tarmac to the endless corridor at the north end of the terminal that seems closer to Enfield than any part of the airport, you will know why HIAA will never be a world-class airport until they make some significant changes. The long walk from there to anywhere felt like the Bataan Death March. It needs, at the very least, a moving sidewalk. And the low ceiling heights in many areas keep it feeling small.

Oddly enough YHZ isn't the only airport that suffers that. Calgary has that march of dread for both AC and the newly added Westjet Encore gates. I haven't seen the Encore ones, but when I lived in Fort Mac and would fly through Calgary I dealt with the ones for Air Canada. It was a dingy dank basement of a room - it was horrible. I was so happy when they started using regional jets, because they finally started docking them at the bridged gates so I didn't have to go into the basement.

[halifaxboyns]

I'm hoping I don't catch hell from one of the moderators, but I post this picture simply as a method of clarifying my previous post on the differences between YOW and YHZ.


(Image Source: Where.ca - found through google image search)

This is the main level of the airport - both check in/departures. The ceiling height in huge and makes the airport feel amazingly roomy. The canoe is just in front of the walkway to the escalators down to arrivals and the wall you see (on the other side is the passenger screening point).

So now think of the upper level of YHZ? Comparatively the ceiling height is quite low - which gives a much smaller impression.

The more and more that I look at some of the facilities in Halifax and compare them to bigger cities, there seems (to me at least) to be a fear of going big for the sake of thinking big. Not sure if anyone else agrees with that? I think it gets back to that 'we are a small town' attitude and we really need to move past it and recognize that Halifax is already a good mid-sized city and growing nicely (although it could grow faster).

Edit:
Shortly after I posted this comment, I also found this image which actually gives you the perspective on the other side showing the escolator down to arrivals and the feeling of 'big' that Ottawa's airport has.

(image source: wikipedia, from a google image search).

[essaysmith]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I flew through Ottawa a few months ago and it bears little resemblance to HIAA. It feels like a big-city airport while ours still acts like a rube. If you ever flew into HIAA on a regional aircraft and got what I call "the Enfield gate" - the no-jetway, walk-on-the-tarmac to the endless corridor at the north end of the terminal that seems closer to Enfield than any part of the airport, you will know why HIAA will never be a world-class airport until they make some significant changes. The long walk from there to anywhere felt like the Bataan Death March. It needs, at the very least, a moving sidewalk. And the low ceiling heights in many areas keep it feeling small.

If you have ever flown from Pearson to Minneapolis, it is much worse. A side corridor that you walk down for something like 2km to get to a little waiting room where you walk outside and up stairs to enter the plane. Reminded me of something from the 60s.

[fenwick16]

from August 16, 2013

Originally Posted by bluenoser

The check-in area upgrade is moving along (from a few days ago):

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2840/9545992887_5f7ee6a616_b.jpg

More greenery than your average airport terminal, I'd say:



(both pictures are my own.)

Bluenoser posted this several months ago on August 16, 2013 but I was just going through some of the previous posts and this picture really stands out. Great picture bluenoser, I think the landscape architect (if there was one) and landscaper deserve an award for this job. They seem to have used evergreens liberally so I imagine it would remain quite green even during the wintertime.

Although this is off-topic, if Halifax builds a stadium I hope there will be lots of greenery as in this picture since I think it would help make a modest stadium look impressive.

[Hali87]

I was just going from memory and I've only been through YOW once, I guess what I meant is that the "bones" of the airport seem similar - same kind of scale, layout, probably similar total floor area, etc. I maintain that each airport sort of projects a different image of each city, with Ottawa's reflecting the city's more "serious" nature (it looks very much like the home airport of CSIS, etc.) vs. Halifax's which feels, for lack of a better word, more lighthearted. Ottawa's does look quite nice but I don't necessarily think that Halifax's doesn't.

[alps]

I think I complained about this before. In the photo fenwick16 quoted you can see the bus shelter for the Metro Transit service to Scotia Square. Why is it so far from the entrance? (the "tunnel" entrance is visible to the left). Seems like they could have built the lay-by closer, though I don't think a lay-by is even necessary.

Ideally the bus stop would be directly in front of that tunnel entrance, allowing people to wait indoors during the winter. This would have been a cheaper, simpler option too. Who decided that tiny bus shelter would suffice for a busload of passengers waiting with luggage? Crappy design by people who probably never take the bus.

[q12]

http://hiaa.ca/2014/03/strong-fourth-quarter-lifts-airport-passenger-numbers/

Strong Fourth Quarter Lifts Airport Passenger Numbers

POSTED ON MARCH 13, 2014

Trend Supports Growth in 2014

Halifax, N.S. – Halifax Stanfield International Airport (HSIA) welcomed 3,585,864 passengers in 2013. This marks the airport’s third busiest year, coming on the strength of a record fourth quarter surge in passenger traffic.

“We had a solid year, thanks to new and expanded airline routes,” says Joyce Carter, President & CEO for Halifax International Airport Authority. “We finished strong, posting records in each of the last three months of 2013 – a testament to our continued efforts to improve air service at Halifax Stanfield.”

Compared to 2012, passenger numbers were down 0.6 per cent.

- Canadian domestic traffic declined by 0.3 per cent or 9,645 passengers
- Transborder traffic (non-stop to the United States) dipped 0.6 per cent or 2,399 passengers
- International traffic fell off by 2.3 per cent or 7,793 passengers

“We are optimistic about our growth opportunities in 2014,” says Carter. “Building on the results in late 2013, it’s reasonable to expect the positive trend to continue into this year as airline seat capacity returns. New service already launched this winter includes Air Canada to Fort Lauderdale, Sunwing to St. Petersburg, Florida and Freeport, Bahamas, and Air Transat to La Romana in the Dominican Republic. This summer, Europe Airpost will introduce flights to Glasgow and Paris and Canadian North will begin direct service to Iqaluit. And, we will continue to work with our airline partners to maintain and grow our air service, particularly to the United States.”

In 2013, Halifax Stanfield was served by 17 passenger airlines flying to a total of 45 non-stop destinations (21 year-round and 24 seasonal). The airport served an average of over 170 flights each day to various points within Canada, the United States, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

“Halifax Stanfield continues to be one of the most critical pieces of transportation infrastructure in Atlantic Canada,” says Carter. “We rank as Canada’s seventh busiest airport for passenger traffic, and when you consider passenger numbers on a per capita basis, we are second in the country, behind only Calgary.”

Destinations
Halifax Stanfield enjoys one of the best winter escape plans in the Atlantic region with direct service to multiple sun destinations in Florida, Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Mexico provided by Air Canada, Air Transat, CanJet, Sunwing, and WestJet.

Halifax Stanfield has Canada covered with Air Canada, Air Georgian, Jazz, Provincial Airlines, Sky Regional, Porter and WestJet serving the most domestic destinations from the Atlantic Canada region. Daily flights to Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Charlottetown, Charlo, Deer Lake, Fredericton, Gander, Goose Bay, Moncton, Saint John, St John’s, and Sydney are complemented by seasonal service to Edmonton and Hamilton. A new service beginning in June 2014 to Iqaluit from Canadian North will further extend the airport’s reach to the growing North.

With daily service to Boston, Chicago, Newark, New York, and Philadelphia and seasonal service to Atlanta, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, St Petersburg, Tampa, and Washington provided by Air Canada, Air Transat, CanJet, Delta, Jazz, Sunwing, United, US Airways, and WestJet, Halifax Stanfield provides the most direct access to the United States further streamlined by the only US Preclearance facility in Atlantic Canada.

Halifax Stanfield, with Air St. Pierre, provides year-round service to St. Pierre & Miquelon, while across the pond Air Canada provides year-round service to London Heathrow, in addition to seasonal service from Condor Airlines to Frankfurt, Air Transat to London Gatwick, and Icelandair to Reykjavik. 2014 will see an increase in the number of flights to all European destinations and the addition of a new service to Glasgow and Paris provided by Europe Airpost.

Cargo
On the cargo side, 2013 marked a solid year, with 29,500 metric tonnes processed through Halifax Stanfield. This was close to matching the 29,570 metric tonnes that were handled in 2012. Looking ahead, with an agreement in principle for a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union and the new Canada-South Korea free trade agreement there will be a positive impact on the lobster and live seafood export business as tariffs disappear making this product more attractive in the EU and Asia. In addition, the Chinese market remains a focal point, as lobster and other seafood exports continue to have double digit growth in demand.

Impressive that Halifax based on passenger numbers on a per capita basis, is second in the country, behind Calgary.

[hfx_chris]

Originally Posted by alps

I think I complained about this before. In the photo fenwick16 quoted you can see the bus shelter for the Metro Transit service to Scotia Square. Why is it so far from the entrance? (the "tunnel" entrance is visible to the left). Seems like they could have built the lay-by closer, though I don't think a lay-by is even necessary.

Ideally the bus stop would be directly in front of that tunnel entrance, allowing people to wait indoors during the winter. This would have been a cheaper, simpler option too. Who decided that tiny bus shelter would suffice for a busload of passengers waiting with luggage? Crappy design by people who probably never take the bus.

Isn't there another tunnel just behind the stop, to the right of the photo?

[q12]

Couple quick smartphone pictures I took today:

[pblaauw]

It looks great, but I wish they'd do something with the old control tower.

[halifaxboyns]

The work on the airport continues to impress me; is it perfect - no. But it's getting there...I still think the departures (gate) level needs a lot of work to make it feel more open.

As Halifax continues to grow and the economy grows/strengthens, it leaves me to wonder what new routes would be coming into YHZ? I don't think BA will jump in on the London route, but I would love to have Air France/KLM drop in for seasonal flights to Paris and Amsterdam. Or perhaps Lufthansa with a flight to Frankfurt?

I wonder what sort of economic activity levels would be needed to get these sorts of routes to happen? Certainly Lufthansa would do well considering their Star Alliance partner Air Canada could code share the flight and support it with regional connections?

[Nilan8888]

Although the comparison is not unfair, in my opinion the Ottawa airport should come with the caveat that it is quite possibly the best airport in all of Canada. Having been through TOW, Pierson, Dorval, and from all the way up to large-scale operations like LAX & Heathrow or the sheer horror that is the experience of the Miami airport, all the way down to bitty airports like Hamilton, Quebec City or Fredericton, I have to say that:

1. Halifax stands up remarkably well
2. All of these examples and more bend the knee to Ottawa. Their airport is a class act.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by Nilan8888

Although the comparison is not unfair, in my opinion the Ottawa airport should come with the caveat that it is quite possibly the best airport in all of Canada. Having been through TOW, Pierson, Dorval, and from all the way up to large-scale operations like LAX & Heathrow or the sheer horror that is the experience of the Miami airport, all the way down to bitty airports like Hamilton, Quebec City or Fredericton, I have to say that:

1. Halifax stands up remarkably well
2. All of these examples and more bend the knee to Ottawa. Their airport is a class act.

I agree - I think Halifax is pretty good, and Ottawa is one of the nicest airports of any size that I've been through. Ottawa has the benefit of having rebuilt it's terminal entirely fairly recently, rather than tacking on new pieces every few years.

Winnipeg has a brand-new terminal as well. I haven't been since it opened, so can't say if it's a slam-dunk improvement over the mid-century vibe of its previous incarnation, or a serious rival to Ottawa.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

I agree - I think Halifax is pretty good, and Ottawa is one of the nicest airports of any size that I've been through. Ottawa has the benefit of having rebuilt it's terminal entirely fairly recently, rather than tacking on new pieces every few years.

Winnipeg has a brand-new terminal as well. I haven't been since it opened, so can't say if it's a slam-dunk improvement over the mid-century vibe of its previous incarnation, or a serious rival to Ottawa.

Winnipeg's is not bad overall. Not amazing, but a HUGE improvement over the old airport! I used to go to Winnipeg a lot, and last year went through the new airport a couple of times and definitely left with a vastly improved impression. having said that, the bar was low, as the old airport looked like it had not been updated since the 70s/80s.

[q12]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

I agree - I think Halifax is pretty good, and Ottawa is one of the nicest airports of any size that I've been through. Ottawa has the benefit of having rebuilt it's terminal entirely fairly recently, rather than tacking on new pieces every few years.

Some interesting quick estimates:

Halifax Stanfield 's terminal ground floor foot print is in the 400,000 sqft range.

Ottawa Macdonald Cartier's terminal ground floor foot print is in the 300,000 sqft range.

Ottawa's longest walk gate to gate is only about 1,700 ft.

At Halifax Stanfield walking from Gate 2E (flight from Moncton for example) to a connecting U.S. flight at gate 46 (to Boston) is about 2,700 ft gate to gate. Not far from a 1 km walk. A flight coming in from the U.S. connecting to an airline that you would have to check in again for could result in up to a 1.2 km walk (good exercise ) .

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by q12

At Halifax Stanfield walking from Gate 2E (flight from Moncton for example) to a connecting U.S. flight at gate 46 (to Boston) is about 2,700 ft gate to gate. Not far from a 1 km walk. A flight coming in from the U.S. connecting to an airline that you would have to check in again for could result in up to a 1.2 km walk (good exercise ) .

Sounds like a good enough reason to me to have more direct flights to the USA from the GMIA!!!

[halifaxboyns]

Originally Posted by q12

Some interesting quick estimates:

Halifax Stanfield 's terminal ground floor foot print is in the 400,000 sqft range.

Ottawa Macdonald Cartier's terminal ground floor foot print is in the 300,000 sqft range.

Ottawa's longest walk gate to gate is only about 1,700 ft.

At Halifax Stanfield walking from Gate 2E (flight from Moncton for example) to a connecting U.S. flight at gate 46 (to Boston) is about 2,700 ft gate to gate. Not far from a 1 km walk. A flight coming in from the U.S. connecting to an airline that you would have to check in again for could result in up to a 1.2 km walk (good exercise ) .

Keep in mind though that part of that 1km walk also includes having to get through customs. As I understand the connection system at YHZ (I have to admit I haven't done it); it is similar to T3 in YYZ (which is dumb). You arrive from your US flight, clear customs and can drop your bag on a connection belt but then you get spit out into the non-secure area. So then you have to go BACK through security to get to the domestic side - that's as I understand it. So I want to confirm if that's correct? Or has it changed - I hope so.

When I went to the American Planning Association conference in Chicago, we flew westjet and then connected to American Airlines in YYZ at Terminal 3. We followed the purple connection sign which then spit us out into the non-secure area at US ticketing. We waited for our bags to show up on a belt and then had to get in line to go back through security and then through the US customs line only to drop our bags off again...it made NO sense. So old school - where as if we had flown Air Canada, we would've stayed within the secure zone.