YVR Airport & Sea Island Developments Discussion

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by lightrail

Sometimes ATC asks smaller planes, like a 737, to "land long"; this allows a following aircraft to follow closer and get on the runway sooner.

Ahh, that could have been what happened. But I was a little concerned when I saw us sailing down the runway far beyond the normal spot. It reminded me of when I play FSX and fail to actually land the plane every single time

Originally Posted by Canadian Mind

I trust westjet even when they are putting me on a patch of dirt. The way they fly make me think they are cowboys, but they've never failed to put me down in one piece, compared to everytime I'm on AC where I'm bouncing side-side on landing.

This is true... but as far as scary takeoffs / landings go Westjet and Air Canada are tied for me. An Air Canada flight from Tokyo - Vancouver was nightmarish from start (taking off damn near sideways on the runway, running out of food by the time they got to my row, broken tray table, broken TV, exposed wiring under the seat infront of me, bad flight attendants who freaked out in some severe turbulence yelling "EVERYBODY SEATBELTS, NOW!") to finish. And a Westjet flight from Los Angeles - Calgary, when it landed the plane veered violently to the right (the left wheel obviously was not touching the ground), causing some people to scream. The pilot came on apologizing for the "hard landing"

[usog]

Man, Air Canada might just have it in for you. I've *never* had a bad landing/takeoff from Vancouver, and the landings at HKG was smooth as silk. The takeoffs from NRT weren't bad either when I took AC. Dunno, just be happy you ain't flying Air China XD

[lightrail]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

Ahh, that could have been what happened. But I was a little concerned when I saw us sailing down the runway far beyond the normal spot. It reminded me of when I play FSX and fail to actually land the plane every single time



This is true... but as far as scary takeoffs / landings go Westjet and Air Canada are tied for me. An Air Canada flight from Tokyo - Vancouver was nightmarish from start (taking off damn near sideways on the runway, running out of food by the time they got to my row, broken tray table, broken TV, exposed wiring under the seat infront of me, bad flight attendants who freaked out in some severe turbulence yelling "EVERYBODY SEATBELTS, NOW!") to finish. And a Westjet flight from Los Angeles - Calgary, when it landed the plane veered violently to the right (the left wheel obviously was not touching the ground), causing some people to scream. The pilot came on apologizing for the "hard landing"

It happens. The winds are never perfect along the runway. Maximum cross-wind for a safe landing is around 15 knots. It only takes a little gust on landing to be noticed. If the wind is a crosswind, the plane has to "crab" in - that is the nose points into the wind and the plane flys slightly sideways towards the runway - then just before touchdown, usually in ground-effect, the nose needs to be brought to runway heading before the wheels touch. This is the "jerk" you'll feel sometimes.

BTW - in some aircraft, such as the 737 (not sure if this is true for the NG, but certainly the older models, the apparent hard bump of the wheels onto the runway is necessary, as it activates the speed brakes and reverse thrusters

I've had my share of fun times over the years:

1. Some sort of yellow fluid leaking along the outside of an engine on a 737-200 (Canadian Pacific flight to Winnipeg from Edmonton)

2. Long delay for take-off at blizzard bound Montreal Mirabel due to a reverse thruster failure on landing earlier (British Airways 747) - we were the last plane off before the airport closed due to weather

3. Almost clipped the outboard starboard engine on landing at London Heathrow due to a strong crosswinds causing the plane to tilt to the right (British Airways 747 - same flight as above BTW)

4. Missed approach and go around and then a high-speed landing with no flaps and emergency vehicles chasing us at Edmonton because of a flaps failure (L-1011-500 Air Canada)

5. Landing on runway ice at Toronto in a DC-9 causing the plane to swerve all over the runway

6. Hitting a bird on approach to Calgary causing a delay in departure - no damage thankfully (Pacific Western 737)

7. Fire on the GPU cable while still connected to the aircraft - Twin Otter seaplane - West Coast Air at Victoria Harbour.

[lightrail]

Originally Posted by Canadian Mind

I trust westjet even when they are putting me on a patch of dirt. The way they fly make me think they are cowboys, but they've never failed to put me down in one piece, compared to everytime I'm on AC where I'm bouncing side-side on landing.

Gotta comment on this. In Canada and North America generally, ATC bring planes down reasonably early and gently to their crossing altitudes. I've noticed in Europe that the descents are much steeper to the crossing altitude, and it seems over there the crossing is closer to the airport, giving less time and tighter vectors for approach.

I'm not sure if this is still true, but most of North America has an indicated airspeed limit of 250 knots below 10,000 ft, mainly to slow planes for spacing and safety. Vancouver doesn't have this speed restriction (again, I believe Transport Canada is going to impose one here soon, if not already) - so on approach to VYR and on departure from YVR aircraft can come screaming in at their cruising speed, only slowing when asked by ATC.

Having said that, lately I've seen no difference in WestJet and Air Canada - the pilots do just as good a job regardless.

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by lightrail

Having said that, lately I've seen no difference in WestJet and Air Canada - the pilots do just as good a job regardless.

Agreed, the pilots are all professionals who are good at their jobs. There is a noticeable difference with the rest of the staff, though. I've been taking Air Canada more lately, as their in flight amenities have greatly improved and are better than Westjet. I am still weary about taking a flight longer than 3 hours with them, even if they have gotten a new plane on their NRT - YVR route, and retired the old Airbus that was falling apart.

[zahav]

The following are some images of the Link II, taken about 1 month ago


Here are some of the very-near completion C-Pier




nice to have some more moving sidewalks

The new food court with Vera's, such a good choice!

[zahav]

[excel]

looks good.

[deasine]

Zahav, do you know where the Bread Garden is opening up? Is it in the Alpine Court?

[zahav]

i think so, i wikll have to ask my co-workers, but i think it is...

[trofirhen]

Some weeks back, there was an airport-sponsored quiz about which destinations travellers from YVR would like to see served by non-stop flights.
The results may be surprising to you, or perhaps not, but they were forwarded to me directly by a member of the YVR Marketing Management team, who will be presenting them at a conference in September to try to get at least the most desired destinations served. The results speak for themselves.
________________________________________________________________
Paris ------- 18.6%
Rome------- 9.6%
Melbourne-- 9.4%
Dubai ------- 8.5%
Osaka ------ 7.4%
Delhi ------- 7.2%
Bangkok --- 6.6%
Munich ----- 5.9%
Zurich ------ 5.3%
Sao Paolo -- 5.0%
Guangzhou - 4.0%
Glasgow ---- 3.9%
Manchester- 3.7%
Nagoya ----- 2.2%
Dusseldorf --2.0%

[SpongeG]

veras!

PAris!

[usog]

I *seriously* doubt any of the flights on that list that go eastward will happen. Toronto+co will lobby long and hard to make sure it doesn't. The Asian destinations are more realistic.

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Some weeks back, there was an airport-sponsored quiz about which destinations travellers from YVR would like to see served by non-stop flights.
The results may be surprising to you, or perhaps not, but they were forwarded to me directly by a member of the YVR Marketing Management team, who will be presenting them at a conference in September to try to get at least the most desired destinations served. The results speak for themselves.
________________________________________________________________
Paris ------- 18.6%
Rome------- 9.6%
Melbourne-- 9.4%
Dubai ------- 8.5%
Osaka ------ 7.4%
Delhi ------- 7.2%
Bangkok --- 6.6%
Munich ----- 5.9%
Zurich ------ 5.3%
Sao Paolo -- 5.0%
Guangzhou - 4.0%
Glasgow ---- 3.9%
Manchester- 3.7%
Nagoya ----- 2.2%
Dusseldorf --2.0%

No surprise about Paris. I don't remember Osaka being on the list... I think you had to type it in... maybe I'm wrong on that though. I'm a little surprised it's as high as it is. It's higher than Indian cities and Ghangzhou, which I figured would be higher, given the large populations of those nationalities (then again, how many of them knew about the survey)

[Yume-sama]

People are probably just bitter Air Canada canceled their service to Osaka

I expect it *could* come back.

The only other possibilities I see on that are... Paris, Bangkok, Delhi, and Guangzhou. Dubai and mixed European locations are not likely to happen.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by usog

I *seriously* doubt any of the flights on that list that go eastward will happen. Toronto+co will lobby long and hard to make sure it doesn't. The Asian destinations are more realistic.

Formerly, this would have been absolutely true. Now, however, under the Canada - EU Open Skies agreement signed in Prague in May, any airline in the EU which perceives a potential market in any Canadian city is allowed to fly there without restrictions. This changes the rules of the game totally between Canada and the EU. Regarding Dubai and other destinations, the feds still have authority over that, and are (in classical fashion) hogging all the flights for Toronto. As for Osaka, it WAS on the list, and additionally, was formerly served from Vancouver up until several years ago. I did not "add it in," as one reader suggested.

[Hourglass]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Formerly, this would have been absolutely true. Now, however, under the Canada - EU Open Skies agreement signed in Prague in May, any airline in the EU which perceives a potential market in any Canadian city is allowed to fly there without restrictions. This changes the rules of the game totally between Canada and the EU. Regarding Dubai and other destinations, the feds still have authority over that, and are (in classical fashion) hogging all the flights for Toronto. As for Osaka, it WAS on the list, and additionally, was formerly served from Vancouver up until several years ago. I did not "add it in," as one reader suggested.

Unfortunately, with the exception of Paris and Delhi, I would question the commercial viability for airlines to serve most of the cities on this wish-list from YVR. Air Canada used to fly to Osaka and Nagoya and subsequently dropped these routes. Lufthansa tried Munich during the peak summer season a few years ago and never brought the route back.

Vancouver just isn't big enough -- either in terms of population or business activity -- to support an O&D market to many cities. So either it acts as a transit point to funnel traffic to onward destinations (but Air Toronto -- er, I mean Air Canada -- doesn't seem to be growing YVR as a hub) or other airlines will collect passengers from YVR and other airports to their own hubs. The reality is that all of the cities listed here are one stop away via another city.

[Gordon]

It seems that the C-Pier Expansion opens tomorrow. some gates are being used Soft opening.

[zahav]

That's right, here's another sneak preview




















All photos taken by my co-workers, who are working on the project

[zahav]

oops, sorry for the small size... i must have shrank them when i uploaded.. you can click on each to make bigger