Domestic Flights Check-in
http://files.photojerk.com/hkskyline/vancouver/DSCN2411.JPG

http://files.photojerk.com/hkskyline/vancouver/DSCN2412.JPG

Harmony Airways, which hired Jackie Chan for their advertisements.
http://files.photojerk.com/hkskyline/vancouver/DSCN2415.JPG

An old relic from Canadian Airlines, but it still survives well into 2003 at Gate 20.
http://files.photojerk.com/hkskyline/vancouver/DSCN2417.JPG

interesting do you have more photos from the interior of the terminals?

Congrats to Vancouver, who's airport is in the world top ten. A nice airport for sure.

Anyone knows any detail about their future expansion, because I read that they are planning on expanding the international terminal due to 2010 Olympics.

YVR must seize Asian markets, airport boss says
Old paradigm of limited route rights must change if Canada is to stay competitive

Jenny Lee
Vancouver sun

Thursday, March 24, 2005

The number of passengers through Vancouver International Airport increased almost 10 per cent to 15.7 million in 2004, with the biggest growth coming from Asia-Pacific traffic.

"Our strategic plan sees YVR as a premier global gateway for passengers and cargo between the Americas and Asia -- seizing the advantage of YVR's strategic geographic location closer to Asia than other West Coast cities," said airport chief executive Larry Berg at a Vancouver Board of Trade lunch Wednesday.

He said the airport authority will attend talks next month between Canada and China aimed at easing flight restrictions between the two countries.

"Our objective will be to allow more carriers to serve the two countries with greater frequencies," Berg told reporters after his speech.

Current policy limits Canada-China flights to two carriers and 15 flights per country, per week. "Airlines like Harmony aren't flying into China because Air Canada consumes 14 of the 15 frequencies," Berg said.

Chinese carriers are similarly being turned away.

Berg said that 60 per cent of Canada's international aviation treaties don't allow foreign carrier access to Vancouver, and that the old paradigm of limited route rights and frequencies "must change if Canada is to remain competitive in a global economy."

"We need foreign carrier access to Vancouver, and we need to ensure that air agreements include so-called fifth freedom rights," he said. "Those fifth freedom rights are essential to make the gateway work. They are what allow a foreign carrier to fly beyond Vancouver to the U.S. market."

In January, China granted Canada "Approved Destination Status," facilitating travel by Chinese tourists to Canada.

"Tourism B.C. has predicted that we could see 300,000 tourists by 2010, compared to last year's 75,000 Chinese visitors. . . . But we need to liberalize the air agreement so that visitors from China are going to be able to get here," Berg said.

"It's up to us -- the Airport Authority, the Board of Trade, this community -- to make sure that the window of opportunity doesn't close on us."

Berg also called for a more liberal air agreement with the U.S., and spoke enthusiastically about NEXUS Air, a 17-month pilot project to speed the U.S.-Canada customs and immigration process for frequent travellers.

"Building a bigger and bigger customs hall is not the solution to border congestion. Using technology and doing it smarter is the solution," he said. Pre-approved travellers receive a card that will allow them to be processed in as little as 60 seconds, using iris recognition.

By 2044, Vancouver International Airport will have 500,000 takeoffs and landing per year, or one plane coming or going every minute. The airport authority projects 45 million passengers, or triple the current passenger volume. Air cargo will increase to 1.3 million tonnes, or five times today's figure.

More than 1,000 new direct jobs are created for every additional one million passengers.

To handle the anticipated growth, YVR has plans for $1.4 billion in improvements over the next decade, Berg said. These include the $420-million expansion of its international terminal currently underway, and a $300-million contribution to the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit line.

The airport also has a 20-year master plan for that contemplates additional runways, terminal reconfigurations, and transportation options connecting Sea Island with Vancouver, Richmond and the rest of B.C.

The Arthur Laing Bridge is at capacity during rush hour and handles more traffic than the Oak Street bridge, he said. The Arthur Laing Bridge was originally built to serve the airport, but now two-thirds of of bridge traffic comes from commuters. As possible solutions, he suggested twining the Arthur Laing, Airport Connector and Dinsmore bridges, considering a new tunnel connection to Vancouver, exclusive-use lanes from the airport terminal and cargo areas to Highway 99 and policies encouraging rapid transit.

Berg called for YVR's rent to be reduced by 50 per cent, and he is hoping the issue will be resolved and changes implemented in 2006.

"The assets at YVR were valued at $170 million at transfer, and we're paying $80 million in rent annually. That's a pretty high rate of return on investment."

As half the rent is paid by the airlines, half of any reduction would be "handed back to the airlines and would hopefully [translate] into lower passenger fares," he said.

YVR, one of my favourite airports! Gorgeous blue green interior :)

Aerial Photos anyone? Airliners.net only has 2. :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/RIMG0052.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/RIMG0039.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/RIMG0034.jpg

^ :cheers:

Good sized airport, considering it has land around to expand. Not heard too much about this airport, although it ranks consistently among passengers as one of the best in north america.

One of the nicest control towers in the world ive ever seen... Some are really ugly, like Heathrow.

International Departures

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/yvr-01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/yvr-02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/yvr-03.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/yvr-04.jpg

http://www.yvr.ca/authority/airmail/index.asp?id=183

Spring Issue 2005


YVR Says Goodbye to the Old Control Tower

A familiar feature of Vancouver International Airport’s 1960s era terminal is going to disappear. The old control tower, built in 1967, is being dismantled over the next few months as part of the airport’s comprehensive seismic upgrading program.



In mid-June, Pacific Blasting & Demolition Ltd., a Burnaby-based company, will begin to remove the cab, or top of the tower. Once the cab has been removed, a tower crane will be fitted into the tower and a steel deck and scaffolding will be temporarily erected. As the icon comes down, all of the reusable materials, such as the concrete and steel, will be recycled.



The majority of the work will be done at night to avoid disruptions to airport operations. The demolition will take place seven days a week and is scheduled to last until the end of September. Although preparatory work is already underway, visible changes won’t be evident until early next month.



Though not in use since 1996, when it was replaced by the new control tower, the old tower is one of the last remaining features of the terminal that opened in 1968. It was most recently the home of Phil Reimer, one of Vancouver’s most popular radio weathermen, who provided the Lower Mainland with weather updates live from YVR. Although Phil will no longer be broadcasting from the tower, he will continue to provide listeners with updates from a new location at YVR.

AIRPORT FISH
The latest expansion at Vancouver International Airport to accommodate the new Airbus A380 will also accommodate marine life. Building on the YVR tradition of creating an airport with a distinctive west coast feel, a new wing for the International Terminal Building will feature a large aquarium showcasing regional sea life. A stream will run through the centre of the terminal and a jellyfish tank will be located in the rotunda.



Vancouver International Airport Authority has developed a 10-year, $1.4-billion capital program that will ensure YVR meets the growing demands for air travel, and continues developing the airport as a premier global gateway and economic generator for British Columbia. The program's projects are designed to accommodate the 23 million passengers projected at YVR by 2013, as well as handle the newer, larger aircraft of the future.

The major projects in the Airport Authority's capital program, listed below, are expected to generate 5,200 person-years of employment and $525-million in direct GDP.
$420 million International Terminal Expansion and Upgrades
$352 million Information Technology and Sustaining Capital
$300 million RAV Line (Airport Spur Portion)
$150 million Domestic Terminal Upgrades
$ 65 million Airfield Projects
$ 60 million Baggage System Upgrades
$ 55 million Roads & Parking

^Wow! When any other information or pictures is availible on the YVR expansion, please post here. Also, where will the expansion be, how big etc..

^ Should I also add in that the airport is planning to fill in the ocean to put in a fourth runway by 2025? The terminal expansions are 9 additional international gates and 12 additional domestic gates, by 2008. I don't know about domestic, but the international gates are being built on the very eastern section of the international terminal.


this photo is from when the first phase of the expansion was still being constructed, almost finish though. you see a tower to the east, that's a hotel, and the space there will be the new international gates.
http://www.globalairphotos.com/richmond/99photos/rhh9084.jpg
http://img85.exs.cx/img85/9394/yvr3kv.jpg



the airport currently has a capacity of 14 million/year and with expansions, YVR will have a capacity of 23 million/year by 2015.

and there's also the northlands development:
http://www.yvr.ca/pdf/authority/northlands/Northlands_conceptPlan_phase34.pdf
http://www.yvr.ca/pdf/authority/northlands/Northlands_conceptImage.pdf




Rated THE BEST AIRPORT IN NORTH AMERICA and depending on which study, is either in the top 3 or top 10 in the world list.





http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/w-277.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/w-273.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/W-491-%7E1.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin1.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin4.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin3.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin8.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin2.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin7.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin9.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin6.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fi11.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fi10.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin5.jpg
http://peterchow.com/photos/Panoramic/Vancouver/vancouver-airport-park.jpg
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/transport/images/59B.jpg
http://www.apeg.bc.ca/branches/seatosky/images/yvr-tour3.JPG
http://www.d-w-d.com/r0800/images/projects/YVR-Pacific-Passage-200x157.jpg
http://www.cysys.net/images/new_images/project_pics/yvr.jpg
http://www.aldrichpears.com/images/pacificpass.jpg
http://img53.exs.cx/img53/3456/myphotos0089.jpg
http://superciliousness.com/640/200408bcyvrgate.jpg
http://www.iesna.org/LDA_7-98/LDA_7-98_Graphics/wow01.jpg
http://www.edwhitephotographics.com/images/portfolio/exterior/YVR.jpg

Not bad.

A 4th runway? I thought they had 2 paralel runway system?

A 4th runway? I thought they had 2 paralel runway system?

Airport officials say more capacity is needed. We currently have 3, we need a fourth in 20 years.

wow.. canadian airports look so cool.. i like em.

Should I also add in that the airport is planning to fill in the ocean to put in a fourth runway by 2025?

From the photo below, it looks like the third runway is not parallel with the other two parallel runways, but is rather a cross-wind runway. Would the potential fourth runway be parallel with the other two, allowing two landings and one take-off at a time or two take-offs and one landing at a time, or would it be parallel with the present cross-wind runway?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/RIMG0034.jpg

^there is no space for another parallel runway. You may see space on that aerial photo but that space down in the bottom is actually the airport conservation area. what appears to be the south runway on that picture is actually the north runway and north of that runway is actually going to be massive airport high-tech, office, and air hanger development as seen below:
http://img28.exs.cx/img28/1889/yvr.jpg




the plan is to actually build a fourth runway that shoots into the ocean.

So on the left side of the island in this picture, the ocean on the top left or bottom left of the island could be filled to put in a fourth runway:
http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/richmond/2004/rhh2004_104.jpg



I should also mention that they also have ideas to twin several bridges going to the airport and as well, they are suggesting to build a new tunnel to Vancouver:



Fourth runway?

By Eve Edmonds

In 1928, Charles Lindbergh refused to include Vancouver in his victory tour because it didn't have a decent airport.

Today, YVR is "rated by international travellers as one of the top 10 airports in the world - and number one in North America for passenger satisfaction," said Larry Berg, president and CEO of the Vancouver International Airport Authority.

And it's all thanks to vision - the courage to look into the future, said Berg at a two-day conference, which brought together community, industry and government leaders.

"I think Vancouver and federal government planners showed tremendous foresight in acquiring Sea Island (in the 1950s and '60s). They granted to you and me the flexibility, the opportunity to build a better airport."

The question at Forum 44, Flying 40 years into BC's Future was what are we going to grant our children and grandchildren? What visions have we for the next 40 years? And we had better think of something, because standing still is not an option, he added. The numbers alone are going to force change one way or another.

Currently, 15.5 million passengers fly in and out of YVR every year. By 2044, that number will be 45 million, almost three times higher.

Today there are 26,000 jobs on Sea Island. In 2044, the airport will employ upwards of 53,000 people.

Today 215,800 tonnes of cargo come and go from YVR. In 2044, that will be 1,300,000 tonnes.

As it stands, the airport can't handle those increases, said Berg, who talked about four aspects of the airport that need to be addressed: the terminal, building a fourth runway, developing ground transportation and changing its location.

While the issue of ground transportation was deemed a priority among the audience, in fact it was the question of runways that sparked immediate controversy.

"It took us 19-20 years to agree on a third runway," said Richmond MLA Greg Halsey-Brandt. "If we are going to need a fourth runway by 2025, I would get started on that."

Berg laid out three proposals for a fourth runway: one south of the south runway, but there is only space for an arrival runway, not a parallel runway.

There is more space north of the north runway, but that land is a conservation area. A third possibility is a runway west of the island that runs out into the ocean, but then foreshore habitat could be detrimentally affected.

Maybe Sea Island is simply not big enough to maintain a fourth runway, suggested Berg. "Do we need a brand new airport like Hong Kong or Denver?" he asked his audience.

Berg stressed that all his suggestions are simply "conversation starters," although one audience member who had been involved in the highly contentious debate on building a third runway said that some of these proposals were unnecessarily provocative.

On the issue of ground transportation, Berg notes that the Arthur Laing Bridge, which was originally intended as an airport-only bridge, is already operating at capacity during rush hour.

Growing congestion could be offset by "building more roads and bridges, twinning the Arthur Laing, Airport Connector and Dinsmore Bridges: perhaps looking at a new tunnel connection to Vancouver, adding more road capacity on the Island," said Berg.

"But are we just pushing the bottleneck into Vancouver or Richmond?" he asked.

Critical to an efficient ground transportation situation is developing public transit.

"You can see why the Airport Authority has been a vocal supporter of RAV and works closely with TransLink to promote transit options to the airport."

The Vancouver Airport Authority has a long way to go before it formalizes any of these plans, but the conference was a chance to garner new ideas and creative solutions, Berg said.

It knows that a future vision doesn't have a hope of taking off without input and support from the community, he added.

Berg laid out three proposals for a fourth runway: one south of the south runway, but there is only space for an arrival runway, not a parallel runway.

There is more space north of the north runway, but that land is a conservation area. A third possibility is a runway west of the island that runs out into the ocean, but then foreshore habitat could be detrimentally affected.

I would assume that this third option of a runway that runs out into the ocean, would be a runway that is parallel with the cross-wind runway. I can't imagine that Berg's talking about building a third parallel runway that is so far west, so as to avoid landing on top of the terminal building, that it would almost completely stick straight out into the water on reclaimed land. That would be a truly revolutionary concept. Why not? :)

The airport is also getting third rail rapid transit. Called the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver Line, this 19.5-km rapid transit line is 2/3rds tunnel and 1/3rd elevated. It'll cost $1.73 billion, with 19 stations and it will take 25 minutes to ride it. It'll be completed by November 2009 with construction beginning in August 2005. 100,000 people will commute on it daily starting in 2009. Most of the tunnel will be stacked and built by cut and cover.


The airport station is elevated, ignore the at-grade rendering below:
http://img62.exs.cx/img62/6700/rav.jpg

Another station rendering for YVR Terminus:
http://img230.echo.cx/img230/2584/rav17qb.jpg


The official plan, note that 2nd Avenue is not a future station but will also be built by '09:
[img]http://ravprapidtransit.com/en/pics/map.jpg



and here's the new RAV line bridge from Vancouver to Richmond:
http://img230.echo.cx/img230/9752/rav0qd.jpg

I would assume that this third option of a runway that runs out into the ocean, would be a runway that is parallel with the cross-wind runway. I can't imagine that Berg's talking about building a third parallel runway that is so far west, so as to avoid landing on top of the terminal building, that it would almost completely stick straight out into the water on reclaimed land. That would be a truly revolutionary concept. Why not? :)


hey, Hong Kong tore a mountain island apart for their airport!:righton:

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/529/2507fairmont_airport_ext.jpg

http://img299.echo.cx/img299/7089/yvr3xv.jpg

http://www.yvr.ca/pdf/authority/YVR_Community2005.pdf


i'm lost in words....it's undescribeable.

Wow, now this is the info that I have been trying to find ever since I found out that they were expanding!

Traveller unaware he caused security scare
JANE ARMSTRONG AND COLIN FREEZE
27 June 2005
The Globe and Mail

VANCOUVER AND TORONTO -- It was either bad directions or one massive misunderstanding. Whatever the case, a male traveller managed to board a Toronto-bound Air Canada jet in Vancouver without passing through security yesterday.

The breach was not detected fast enough to stop the traveller, who boarded the plane just minutes before the airport's departure lounges were evacuated and domestic flights were cancelled for the rest of the morning, RCMP said.

The breach prompted a massive security sweep of domestic departures lounges and caused long delays for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to police and security, the unwitting culprit — who was captured on a poorly shot ceiling videotape at Vancouver airport — had already boarded his flight. As his plane flew to Toronto, the man had no idea of the furor he had caused back in Vancouver. When he stepped off his flight at 5:30 p.m., he quickly learned he was being hunted by police.

“It was a misunderstanding by a passenger,” Richmond RCMP Staff Sergeant Al Ramey said.

“The misunderstanding was not deliberate.”

Staff Sgt. Ramey said it appeared the man was given improper directions or else he failed to understand instructions from an employee of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the federal agency that oversees airport security in Canada.

“A man was seen bypassing security,” Staff Sgt. Ramey said.

By the time security realized the man had not been screened, “he was lost in the crowd.”

Staff Sgt. Ramey said he did not know precisely what was said to the traveller to steer him wrong.

However, a spokeswoman for CATSA said an employee pointed the passenger to a screening area, but he went in another direction.

Yesterday, a Transport Canada spokeswoman said the department is investigating the incident.

As the Air Canada flight approached Toronto, police in Peel Region examined the videotape to find the man.

“We got him, everything is all right and he has an explanation,” said Sergeant Andy Keizerwaard of the Peel Regional Police, the force that is responsible for Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

“I'm sure he was surprised.”

Even though airport security has become increasingly sophisticated since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, police in Peel say they had no name to work with, only a poor video image.

Sgt. Keizerwaard said the image was shot by a Vancouver airport ceiling camera from a distance of about 10 metres, with the frame containing about 18 people — making it very difficult to tell just who was the problematic passenger. Going by appearances, he said, the man they wanted to question could have been 20 to 50 years old.

Plus, he said, “We're lucky we got him because they had it narrowed down to only one of four flights. They determined he was either on the flight to Toronto, the flight to Victoria, and I can't remember the other two places.

“So we just took our chances on this end. They gave us a description and waited for that guy to, hopefully, walk off, and if he didn't we would have presumed he got off one of the other flights.”

“He's looks balding, that's all I can say from here,” added Sgt. Keizerwaard, who remained in the Pearson airport office as other officers attended the scene. “It turned out there was one guy that looked like him and everything jibed — but it [the photo] wasn't much to work with.”

Jacqueline Bannister, a CATSA spokeswoman, said the passenger misunderstood directions.

“The passenger was directed towards a specific area of the pre-board screening. He misunderstood the exact area that he was asked to go and went farther than what he should have gone. And [he] basically understood that he could just go through — which was not the case.”

Regardless, she added: “We certainly will be reviewing this to ensure that this does not occur again at this particular airport nor at any other airport across the country.”

The federal government created the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority in 2002 to oversee air security in Canada after the 2001 terrorist attacks and authorized it to spend $1.9-billion on security measures over five years.

Yesterday, while the man was en route to Toronto, thousands of travellers at Vancouver airport faced long lines. Every passenger who had earlier passed through security was re-screened. By early afternoon, long lines snaked outside onto the sidewalk.

Flights resumed shortly after noon, but there were delays for the rest of the day.

With a report from Steven Chase in Ottawa

what a joke evacutating the whole terminal come so person didn't go through security. This paranoia is getting out of hand now.

New airport radar will help avoid repeat of Concorde crash

VANCOUVER, Aug 15, 2005 (AFP) - Vancouver airport will next year become the first in the world to operate a new radar system that can detect the smallest piece of debris on a runway with pinpoint accuracy, officials said.

Vancouver International Airport, on Canada's west coast, has bought four Tarsier radar units developed by British company QinetiQ following the Concorde crash at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport in July, 2000 which killed 113 people.

The disaster was blamed on a piece of metal that fell of another passenger jet, punctured a tyre and caused secondary damage.

The Tarsier, based on high-resolution millimeter wave radar, is able to detect material the size of a five centimetre (two inch) bolt to within three metres (10 feet), at a range of up to two kilometres (1.5 miles).

It can also tell if the item is made of metal, plastic, glass, wood or animal remains, said Craig Richmond, Vancouver International Airport Authority's vice-president of operations.

Once computer software identifies the item, a global positioning system is used to direct airport staff to its location to clean up the debris, he said.

Currently, checking for debris is done manually -- staff walk up and down runways with a broom and a dustpan. Prone to human error, the method is also time consuming and expensive if it delays incoming or outgoing flights, Richmond said.

Vancouver International airport hosted the first full trial of the Tarsier system in 2004. It has since been tested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, London's Heathrow airport and at a US Air Force base in Texas.

Richmond said that during tests, the Tarsier detected flocks of birds and a plastic water bottle at night that was more than one kilometre (0.6 mile) away.

The system costs about 1.2 million US dollars but Steve Brittan, managing director of QinetiQ Airport Radar, believes it will become invaluable as the cost from debris damage and resulting delays around the world is about 4.0 billion US dollars a year.

"And, the safety of life argument is the most compelling (reason) of all," he added.

The radar system is part of a 1.2 billion US dollar expansion of Vancouver airport, which expects up to 100,000 people per day during the 2010 Winter Olympics and plans to upgrade facilities to accommodate the Airbus 380, the world's largest jumbo, by 2009.

In 2005, the airport expects 16.4 million travelers, rising to 21.1 million in 2010.

This supposedly happened quite a bit earlier today, and I would have thought it would be reported on some news channel by now if true, so take this tidbit I just got straight from an airline employee with a grain of salt or two:

A China Eastern plane collided on landing with an Air Canada plane. Passengers were frightened but uninjured. The engine needs to be replaced. This isn't supposed to be the same story as the one involving a China Eastern emergency landing a month earlier.

[EDIT] This was either an incredibly minor, non-newsworthy incident, or didn't actually happen.

Customs:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ce/Vancouver_Airport_Inside.jpg/400px-Vancouver_Airport_Inside.jpg
International Terminal:
http://www.vanvr.com/vanvr/Gallery/spiritOfGwaii/spirit.jpeg
International Check in Counters:
http://vancouver-canada.ca/images/airportarrival.JPG
Outside:
http://www.vancouverairportinformation.ca/Images/vancouver_airport5.jpg
International Terminal
http://www.vancouverairportinformation.ca/Images/vancouver_airport6.jpg
Arrivals:
http://www.vancouverairportinformation.ca/Images/vancouver_airport9.jpg
Domestic Check in counters
http://www.vancouverairportinformation.ca/Images/airport_vancouver4.jpg

i love YVR.. better than i like YYZ. this airport is very green!! oh btw, the statues are amazing!! eventhough i visited this airport just for transit, i still got the feeling of relax and comfort.

i live in vancouver, but when its at night, inside its very dim.. and the statues represent the first nations... bbut what i hate is slow customs and slow baggage claims, but security checks are quick..

A few more...


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi/en/thunb/c/ce/Vancouver_Airport_Inside.jpg/400px-Vancouver_Airport_Inside.jpg
http://www.vancouverairportinformation.ca/Images/vancouver_airport2.jpg
http://www.architecture.uwaterloo.ca/faculty_projects/terri/images/yvr1.jpg
http://www.quantumgroup.ca/images/yvr2.jpg

Great pics....does any one have any info about the International terminal expansion???

Great pics....does any one have any info about the International terminal expansion???

They will be adding i think 9 gates, and the first phase will finish by spring 2007 with 4 gates ready with 2 gates compatible with the new airbus 380. and then they will be building this 5 storey building also leading to the RAV line and also link up the domestic and international terminals. that will open at about Summer 2007. This will add more checkin counters, security check areas, and having things going more efficient.

Boy i've been in that airport 1/2 dozens times and never seen any of that! I guess it has to do with taking the short flight to Victoria...

Expansion...
http://img299.echo.cx/img299/7089/yvr3xv.jpg

Boy i've been in that airport 1/2 dozens times and never seen any of that! I guess it has to do with taking the short flight to Victoria...

maybe because you took the short cuts =O

^ probably because he only went to the south terminal.

CANADA LINE: YVR Terminus

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1723/yvr41uc.jpg
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/3667/yvr54ng.jpg
http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/2959/yvr67xb.jpg
http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/7573/yvr70go.jpg







http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/3045/yvr19jz.jpg




http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/4085/yvr23me.jpg




http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/5927/yvr31nw.jpg



Some very interesting options. They should include a new ferry terminal as part of a potential plan as well.



And the option with the satellite terminal facility, the people mover should go over (or around) the parking facility and should be directly connected to the RAV Terminus station (with a walkway).



The north-south taxiway, that goes over Grant Machonichie Way and the future Canada Line, is depicted in a few options.

Boy i've been in that airport 1/2 dozens times and never seen any of that! I guess it has to do with taking the short flight to Victoria...

i know why! because when he''s going to victoria, he either goes from south terminal or from the domestic terminal and the domestic terminals dont have those stuff in it

beautiful!

Great project. What will the capacity be at the end of Phase 1 and upon completion?

omgsh, where did u find those plans?! :>

Mr.X, thankyou very much for those pics:D:D

http://ochiba.x-maru.org/albums/view/000023/040810-VancoverDay1-04-r.jpg
http://www.yvr.ca/ecards/images/large_cards/yvrnorth.jpg
http://www.edwhitephotographics.com/images/portfolio/exterior/YVR.jpg
http://www.globalairphotos.com/richmond/99photos/rhh9084.jpg
http://vancouver-canada.ca/images/airportarrival.JPG
http://www.vancouverairportinformation.ca/Images/vancouver_airport5.jpg
http://www.dereklepper.com/arch-comm-interior/18.jpg
http://canada.archiseek.com/british_columbia/vancouver/images/yvr_interior_lge.jpg
http://superciliousness.com/640/200408bcyvrgate.jpg
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the check in counters that are in rows, are only in the domestic terminal, i can say that the domestic terminal has brighter lighting that the international terminal

i live in vancouver, but when its at night, inside its very dim.. and the statues represent the first nations... bbut what i hate is slow customs and slow baggage claims, but security checks are quick..

I flew to Vancouver from London in 1994 and as it was Christmas the customs at both airports asked me what was in my presents and I said I didn't know they were presents from my mum which was true. Both sets of customs let me through without having to open them, which I thought was nice. Ahh the days of innocence in international air travel.


By the way, the new train line being built for the winter Olympics, will it connect directly to the Airport?

I've been through it a few times, but for the life of me can't remember much about it,
except for a kind of mountain mural on one wall.

I flew to Vancouver from London in 1994 and as it was Christmas the customs at both airports asked me what was in my presents and I said I didn't know they were presents from my mum which was true. Both sets of customs let me through without having to open them, which I thought was nice. Ahh the days of innocence in international air travel.


By the way, the new train line being built for the winter Olympics, will it connect directly to the Airport?

first of all... as you know 1994, nothing much has happened, compared to what happens now after the 9/11

and the train does lead to the International terminal, this train will bring you from the airport to Richmond and Vancouver and Downtown vancouver.

Pics from the Open House public consultation at:

http://www.canadaline.ca/pubConsCurrent.asp

Uploaded by Mr. X2 at SSP:


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By the way, the new train line being built for the winter Olympics, will it connect directly to the Airport?

It's not actually meant for the Olympics; rather, it was more of a public transportation project. It will be connected to the airport directly, but will also benefit the huge amount of people who work at the airport.

The new terrminal expantion look well underway the last time I was at YVR at the end of January. Does anyone have pictures?

Love my airport..happy to live 10 minutes from it..:)
They're getting started on the RAV line by the way. #3 in richmond got constructions on it and my beloved cambie is being ruined :(

Love my airport..happy to live 10 minutes from it..:)
They're getting started on the RAV line by the way. #3 in richmond got constructions on it and my beloved cambie is being ruined :(

Why do some people talk about Cambie street as if it was the greatest street ever. Its just a glorified Victoria drive.

^ same thoughts, nothing special about Cambie. the line should've been elevated south of QE Park on the greenway.

^ same thoughts, nothing special about Cambie. the line should've been elevated south of QE Park on the greenway.

they shouldve just made a station in QE park xD

some pics...

The crowded custom area:
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A peice of art in the restricted areas
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Why do some people talk about Cambie street as if it was the greatest street ever. Its just a glorified Victoria drive.

Because it is the best (or was the best rather). Name a better central street in Vancouver that leads you to downtown..oak is ugly granville isnt far ahead. Im not saying RAV will make it look bad once finished but for 3 year or so it will be a mess.

Have those changes regarding the runways and new bridges been agreed to yet, or is it only a study? I don't recall any media announcements for them.

Anyways great pics on the proposed changes. Thanks! :cheers:

Have those changes regarding the runways and new bridges been agreed to yet, or is it only a study? I don't recall any media announcements for them.

Anyways great pics on the proposed changes. Thanks! :cheers:

they're all studies.

Airport upgrade to cost billions
Existing facilities pushed to capacity by heavy demand

Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, April 06, 2006

To listen to story, click link.

Vancouver International Airport will need a new $1-billion terminal by 2015 and a third runway -- worth "hundreds of millions of dollars" -- by 2025 as surging passenger traffic pushes existing facilities to full capacity, airport authority president Larry Berg said Wednesday.

That's on top of an estimated $1 billion the airport expects to spend over the next four years on the Canada Line, gate expansions to the international terminal, a new structure linking the domestic and international terminals and associated improvements.

So airport improvement fees that have raised close to $600 million since 1993, will remain a fact of life for the foreseeable future, Berg said after a Vancouver Board of Trade speech.

"If we don't add this infrastructure improvement, airlines will just go to other West Coast airports," he said in an interview.

Vancouver airport had a record 16.4 million passengers last year and Berg expects about 23 million passengers will use the airport in 2015, with growth expected to come from several global markets -- including North America, Europe and Asia.

Berg said the airport authority has the financial capacity now to borrow the money needed for the future capital projects. He noted Standard and Poor's credit rating agency recently raised the authority's credit rating to AA, making it one of just four airports in the world to achieve that rating -- along with Los Angeles International, Aeroports de Paris and Oklahoma City airports.

Details of the airport authority's future development plans will be outlined in the first draft of a long-term plan the authority expects to release later this spring.

Berg said the airport will add nine new gates by 2010, giving it a total of 62. But the airport will need 11 more gates by 2015 and 14 more by 2023, creating the need for a new $1-billion terminal by as early as 2015.

"Our plan will be to develop a flexible facility that could be built in phases as needed," he said.

The authority will recommend the new terminal be located to the east of the existing international terminal and be served directly by a Canada Line station.

Before a new runway is built in 2025, the airport plans to build two new taxiways to get the maximum use of its existing runways. A north-south taxiway will connect the western ends of the two runways and in 2014, the airport wants to build an elevated taxiway that will cross over Grant McConachie Way and the Canada Line.

Berg said an underground taxiway isn't practical for Sea Island so an elevated facility was the obvious option.

"Elevated taxiways are quite common now and not much more expensive to build than conventional taxiways," he said.

Berg said there are two options for a future third runway -- build it along the foreshore or build it south of the existing south runway.

He said there are cost and environmental concerns with the foreshore option but it has received significant support from the public because it moves noise farther away from residential areas. The south runway option was not as popular because it moves noise closer to some Richmond neighbourhoods, Berg said, and the exact cost of either option has not been determined.

"It depends, but when you start talking runways, you're into hundreds of millions of dollars," he said.

Berg said there are no plans to increase the airport improvement fee, which was introduced in 1993 to finance capital improvements.

"But as long as we're in this major construction mode for the foreseeable future, it's my expectation [the fee] will continue to be in place," he said.

The fee -- expected to generate about $70 million this year -- adds $5 to the cost of a flight to a B.C. or Yukon destination, $10 for North America and Hawaii, and $15 for destinations outside North America.

Berg said a new economic impact study has determined that Vancouver International Airport accounts for 26,700 direct jobs and generates $6.8 billion in total economic output. He said the numbers have grown modestly in the past five years, despite a downturn in the aviation industry caused by 9/11, SARS and record-high fuel prices.

The study said positive factors boosting airport activity since 2000 include a 15-per-cent increase in overseas flights, continuing construction projects, growth in air cargo business, growth of WestJet and other domestic carriers and expansion of retail services.

bconstantineau@png.canwest.com

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Link building ties buildings and transit together

Jean Sorensen
Correspondent

Passengers arriving from the Canada Line at VIA will disembark from the elevated guide way station and walk into a new $100 facility that provides a spectacular view of B.C.’s best artistic talent and natural beauty. The YVR line connects to the Link building’s upper-floor mezzanine via a covered walkway. Once inside and within the Link’s balcony area, passengers will be able to look around – and down – at the large atrium created in the building and used as a focal point within. This attraction houses the building’s totem pole carved by Don Yeomans. The floor has been tiled to resemble the ocean’s seaweed. While the atrium lighting gives the illusion of the northern aurora borealis. Together, the facility brings together the themes of land, sea and sky. This atrium area is also expected to prove popular with “meet and greet” arrivals and guests.

The five-storey Link building is also the lynch-pin bringing together the two major terminals (International and Domestic) within the airport. Top floors are reserved for office space, while the entrance level from the transit line is also a passenger check-in area. The lower level below provides baggage handling. “Our budget is $117.7 million and we are 50 per cent complete,” says Cowan, adding that the facility should be opened by summer 2007.

Kasian Architecture is providing the design for the Link building, while Keen Engineering is providing the mechanical, R.A. Duff and Associates the electrical, and Ledcor Industries is the general contractor.

Cowan says the Link building – with its ability to provide almost seamless travel for arriving and departing passengers – “stacks up with the best of them” when other international airport transit stations are considered.


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Vancouver Airport Brings B.C. and First Nations design into $1 billion revamp

Jean Sorensen

Correspondent

Vancouver International Airport Authority is spending $1 billion on capital expenditure improvements, but when work is finished – on the cusp of the Olympics – the Authority will land not just a state-of-the-art airport as a simple transit point but a transit attraction.

Vancouver International Airport (VIA) will still offer all the features of a modern international airport but its terminals will showcase striking architecture, native art, and such features as an aquarium displaying B.C. coastal aquatic life. The upgrade, showing off B.C.’s talents and natural attributes, will accommodate an increased volume of traffic as traffic is expected to climb from 17 to 21 million passengers annually by 2010. Current capacity is being fully utilized and projections indicate that B.C. will develop more tourism and commercial links within the Asia Pacific area to which VIA is the major gateway.

Bob Cowan, VIA Authority senior vice-president of engineering, describes how the new revamped airport will leave a lasting impression on B.C. visitors.

“When there has been a need for increased capacity or restoration, we have carried them out using the YVR style of building, and the YVR style is to build in a way that reflects the company. We are trying to bring a bit of what is B.C. and the First Nations into the current design,” he says.

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Glass loading bridges for jumbo jets


Jean Sorensen
Correspondent

Things are bigger and better at the International terminal. It is going through a $420 million expansion with the addition of a new wing and nine new gates. Phase I, expected to complete in March-June 2007, will see the first of four new gates added, with two designed to handle the coming generation of wide-bodied, double-decker jetliners (A380s) arriving from large-volume markets such as China.

The gates will feature something new to Vancouver - glass, loading bridges serving both upper and lower decks of the jumbo jets. An enhanced baggage handling and screening system has also been installed to expedite the millions of pieces of luggage flowing through the international airport terminal annually. Phase II (the other five gates) could be completed as early as 2009, before B.C. hosts the 2010 Olympics.

The 30,000 square-metre new wing – double the size of Vancouver’s convention centre – will also bring under its roof a B.C. meandering coastal stream (albeit man-made) flowing through the interior. Departing passengers will move through the building enjoying the stream and seating areas along the flowing water. The Fog Woman and Raven, a yellow-cedar carving of a creek woman, by B.C. master carver Dempsey Bob, will be added to the stream scene but will also be another piece of distinctive B.C. artwork joining that of Bill Reid, the 20-foot long canoe sculpture known as Spirit of Haida Gwaii, The Jade Canoe, which is on display at the terminal food court.

“We are building a piece of B.C. in the terminal building,” says Cowan, who is over-seeing the $1 billion expansion, addition, and upgrade of facilities.

Where the stream ends, it flows into an aquarium. “This is a substantial aquarium,” says Cowan. Along with a jellyfish tank, the aquatic show will provide visitors to B.C. with an insight into the wide range of indigenous marine life offered. The terminal project – which includes a kilometre of moving sidewalk – is currently 75 per cent complete. The design is by Stantec Architecture, structural engineering by Bush Bowan, mechanical engineering by Keen Engineering, and electrical engineering is by R.A. Duff and Associates, while PCL Constructors Westcoast are serving as general contractors.

YVR eyes creating runway across habitat
Although the airport said it expects broad public support, one environmental group calls it 'madness'



William Boei, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, November 10, 2006

Vancouver International Airport is considering building a $1.2-billion runway more than four kilometres into the Strait of Georgia, over the sensitive fish and wildlife habitat of Sturgeon Bank.

The foreshore runway would extend 4,270 metres west from the dike on the ocean side of Sea Island, according to YVR planning documents. It would be 60 metres wide and capable of handling aircraft in use now and anticipated in the future.

Although the airport said it expects broad public support for the foreshore option, one environmental group calls it "madness," while the City of Richmond and the Greater Vancouver Regional District are urging the airport to consider other options.

The foreshore runway is one of three options the Vancouver International Airport Authority is keeping open in its draft 20-year master plan, which extends airport planning to 2027.

The other two options are for runways of either 2,740 metres or 2,130 metres to be built on Sea Island south of existing runways. The south runway options would cost $300 million or less, but would create new noise problems for residents in nearby Richmond.

The airport expects to reach capacity on existing runways by about 2022 to 2025, even if it improves the runways and taxiways to boost capacity from 400,000 takeoffs and landings a year to about 450,000, the planning documents say.

The airport saw 275,000 landings and takeoffs in 2005, and demand is forecast to rise to 484,000 by 2027.

A 10- to 15-year head start is needed to get a runway built, said Anne Murray, the airport's vice-president for community and environmental affairs, and a runway decision will probably not be made until 2012 to 2015.

"We don't want to build something if it's not required," Murray said. "We don't need to make that decision yet."

Adding a runway to a major airport can be a decades-long process. For example, YVR's north runway, opened in 1996, required some 50 years of planning, government input, public hearings, and construction, according to the airport authority.

The foreshore runway would boost capacity by about 210,000 takeoffs and landings to more than 600,000, which is expected to meet demand until 2044.

Preliminary studies showed the foreshore option, by moving takeoffs and landings away from residential areas, would reduce the number of people bothered by airport noise by 7.6 per cent, while a south runway would increase noise problems by up to 12 per cent.

Because of the noise factor, the 20-year plan said, the foreshore runway was "likely to fare well with public opinion because of its minimal impact on residential areas in Vancouver and Richmond, despite the other environmental impacts."

The document doesn't detail them, but it says there are "significant environmental impacts on the foreshore and river habitat, and these would have to be well mitigated before approval for such a project would be forthcoming."

However, the Vancouver Natural History Society says in a letter to the airport that the foreshore runway "would destroy a large area of Sturgeon Bank, which is part of one of the richest wildlife habitats in Canada."

"The Delta foreshore, including Sturgeon Bank, supports millions of overwintering, migratory and resident birds and is a key stopover on the Pacific Flyway," the society said, warning that the runway also risks a serious bird-strike problem that could kill thousands of birds.

"It's madness," said John Werring, a salmon conservation biologist with the David Suzuki Foundation, adding that the foreshore runway is the most environmentally destructive runway option available.

Werring said it would mean extensive damage to bird habitat, resident and migratory, and that "Sturgeon Bank is one of the most sensitive areas for fish habitat," including green sturgeon.

The airport would have to keep birds away from the runway to prevent collisions with aircraft, and whether it does that by killing birds or firing boom cannons, it will affect an area much larger than the runway itself, he said. A fuel spill or plane crash on or near the runway could be devastating to wildlife.

Regional district staff say the runway would affect the operations of Iona Beach Regional Park. It would require the Iona sewage outfall jetty -- part of the park -- to be relocated, and would have "significant impacts on the aquatic and migratory bird habitats in this part of the Fraser River Estuary."

A GVRD staff report says the airport should wait for a regional airport strategy to be developed, which could lead to smaller airports handling more small aircraft to ease the load on the international airport.

Richmond city council has rejected a staff recommendation to endorse the foreshore runway.

"They were concerned about the environmental impact," said Richmond spokesman Ted Townsend.

Council was also unhappy about the potential noise from a south runway.

"They weren't convinced of the actual need for a third runway," Townsend said. "There was some feeling that perhaps capacity issues could be addressed by other regional airports."

Murray said other airports in the region are in the picture, but many of the small aircraft that now use the international airport connect to national and international flights and can't use other airports.

"Even with those other airports," she said, "we think we'll need a new runway at YVR about 2025."

Murray said the airport is aware of environmental concerns and agreed that a south runway -- especially the shorter option -- would have much less environmental impact. "But it moves the noise closer to the community."

bboei@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2006

Airport plans alarm GVRD
Major expansion, residential developments may conflict with district's long-term plans



William Boei, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, November 10, 2006

International airport expansion plans and the prospect of new residential and industrial development on first nations land in Delta are ringing alarm bells at the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

GVRD staff reports warn that the plans, which are largely out of the region's control, may conflict with its long-term planning strategy and cause sprawl instead of compact growth.

The region is worried about several options outlined in Vancouver International Airport's draft 20-year master plan, including:

n A new runway extending more than four kilometres into the Strait of Georgia, crossing the sensitive fish and wildlife habitat of Sturgeon Banks and slicing through a jetty that is part of Iona Beach Regional Park.

n A car-dependent office park on the east side of Sea Island that puts new jobs far away from homes instead of in regional growth centres.

n Tolls or dedicated lanes on the Arthur Laing and Dinsmore bridges -- both owned by the airport -- without reference to a regional transportation strategy.

In Delta, GVRD staff warn, the imminent settlement of B.C.'s first urban first nations treaty, with the Tsawwassen First Nation, poses several problems.

About 400 hectares of protected farmland is expected to be part of the settlement, and the provincial government has indicated it may unilaterally take the land out of the Agricultural Land Reserve to allow industrial and residential developments.

That could set a precedent for other treaty settlements involving farmland in the Lower Mainland and put new pressure on protected farmland, says a GVRD staff report.

The report also warns that the Tsawwassen First Nation may be planning to develop some of the land jointly with the neighbouring Musqueam reserve.

If that happens, "there are serious implications that urban sprawl will occur with the creation of a very large residential and industrial town adjacent to TFN lands," the report says.

GVRD chairwoman and Delta Mayor Lois Jackson held out little hope that the province will change its mind about the Delta farmland.

"I'm not encouraged," Jackson said. "I think the province is simply going to put it in the treaty or do an order-in-council and take that land out."

She said Agriculture Minister Pat Bell had told her the decision should not be made by the Agricultural Land Commission, which normally handles farmland exclusion bids.

The GVRD staff report was triggered by stories from The Vancouver Sun's legislature bureau that said the province may bypass the application process. The stories said the government is worried the normal process might lead to a contentious public debate and an uncertain outcome that could jeopardize the treaty.

But the GVRD report says such a move would:

n Create an uneven playing field, with first nations' priorities trumping those of the region's municipalities.

n Jeopardize "the integrity of the green zone within Greater Vancouver's regional growth strategy."

n Lead to land-use conflicts between farm operations in the land reserve and non-farm uses on adjoining land, "and potentially compromising the agricultural use of ALR lands."

Jackson didn't know if the Greater Vancouver Airport Authority will be sympathetic to the region's concerns. The authority did brief the GVRD last summer on its proposed 20-year master plan.

The new runway would be built by 2025. The airport hasn't decided whether it should be built south of its existing runways, which would cause noise problems and is already being opposed by neighbouring Richmond, or along the foreshore, which would cause environmental concerns and be much more expensive.

GVRD staff are recommending the region make its concerns about Delta known to the provincial government, and ask the airport to maximize the capacity of existing runways and hammer out a regional airport strategy with other airports in the region, the GVRD and TransLink "prior to pursuing an additional runway."

GVRD officials say 52 hectares of airport land whose zoning allows office parks should be designated for airport-related and industrial uses only.

"Every effort should be made to concentrate office uses in established centres near housing, shops and services that are well served by transit," the report says.

Bridge tolls and dedicated lanes are consistent with the region's outlook, but the airport should help develop a regional transportation strategy before it starts tolling bridges, it says.

The Tsawwassen farmland report will be presented to the GVRD's agriculture committee today and the airport report goes to the land use and transportation committee on Friday. Both may appear on the GVRD board's agenda later this month.

bboei@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2006

YVR Construction Update
Construction of the new Canada Line YVR-Airport Station
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If you've visited YVR recently, you may have noticed how construction projects in and around the airport are flying along.

With a growing number of passengers and changes within the airline industry, we are continuing to expand and adapt to meet the needs of the industry and our customers.

International Terminal Expansion

The largest construction project underway at YVR is a $420-million, nine-gate expansion to the International Terminal. Phase one of the expansion, four gates, is nearly complete and scheduled to open in March. Crews have recently installed lighting, carpet, gate counters and art murals in each of the four new gates. Building upon YVR's distinctive design tradition, the new wing will celebrate the spectacular nature of the Pacific West Coast with a large aquarium showcasing indigenous marine life, a jellyfish tank, and a stream running through the centre of the building. Passenger forecasts indicate that the additional five gates will be required between 2011 and 2014.

Link Building

So named because it will link the International and Domestic terminals, the $117-million Link Building will provide increased international check-in capacity, passenger screening, additional baggage systems and office space. This five-story building will be connected to the Canada Line station via a covered walkway, and will serve as a central hub for passengers traveling through YVR.

Construction crews are currently focusing on the completion of the Link Concourse, including the check-in area, baggage conveyors and the transfer corridor and pre-board screening areas on Level 4. Completion of the Link Building is scheduled for summer 2007.

Canada Line

In keeping with our goal of being a sustainable and environmentally conscious organization, the Airport Authority has committed up to $300-million to fund the airport portion of the Canada Line rapid transit line, which will link downtown Vancouver, Richmond City Centre and Vancouver International Airport.

Now that the last section of the Canada Line guideway adjacent to the International Terminal has been completed, work on the YVR Canada Line station has begun. Crews are preparing the site, piling, constructing columns and building two new elevators.

Meanwhile, bridge construction continues on the Middle Arm of the Fraser River. This involves mobilizing equipment and materials, concrete and steel work, piling, pier and guideway construction and assembly of the bridge deck segments using cranes. Crews are also busy lifting and locking segments of the elevated walkway into place on Sea Island. Track installation work on the elevated guideway also begins this month. Later this year, the guideway will "walk" across the completed Middle Arm bridge to complete the last few sections near the Arthur Laing Bridge.

Parking at YVR will not be impacted by the construction process. Passengers and visitors may notice some minor changes to traffic patterns near the terminals, but every effort is being made to minimize disruption. For more information on the Canada Line, please visit www.canadaline.ca (http://www.canadaline.ca).
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Pics of the Link building from the steel frame fabricators. The tower actually is a small component, it seems that the back stucture extends quite a bit...

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Pictures of the new International Terminal Expansion:

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Our project remains on schedule. Power and heat are being distributed throughout the building. Mechanical commissioning is well underway, and electrical has completed final connections. Curtainwall doors are nearing completion. Level 2 walls and soffit finishes are well underway. Millwork panels to cores are being installed, together with final trims. Level 4 Moving walkways installation near completion and finishes are being applied. Carpeting on passenger level is now 2/3 through. Tenant areas have been turned over to Owner/Tenants as required.

Flooring removing in the actively operating Terminal Building is progressing together with Starbuck demise area. Thematics creek topper is completed to new building area. Washroom finishes are progressing. Food court Area Terrazzo is completed.

Bridge cladding & Apron drive bridges are well underway, internal finishes ongoing. We have begun demolishing existing temporary passenger walkways and installing permanent gate bridges.

Wellfield mains are completed, tested. Pumps installation underway.



New expanded international terminal wing
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The new Link Building under construction will connect the Domestic and International terminals as well as connect both to the new Canada Line.
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March 6, 2007 - 11:30 AM | YVR.ca

YVR OPENS NEW GATES IN INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL EXPANSION
Terminal Facilities Feature West Coast Design and Expanded Retail Program

Richmond, B.C. (March 6, 2007): Vancouver Airport Authority celebrated today the official opening of four new gates as part of the first phase of YVR's International Terminal expansion. Designed to better accommodate the airport's growing passenger traffic and the larger aircraft of the future, the facilities feature an expanded retail program and build upon YVR's distinctive design tradition.

"This expansion is the cornerstone of the Airport Authority's $1.0-billion capital construction program, and essential to accommodating our growth as we prepare to serve a record 17.5 million passengers in 2007," said Larry Berg, President and CEO, Vancouver Airport Authority. "With these new facilities, YVR is poised to become the premier North American gateway to Asia."

This commitment to growing Asia-Pacific traffic was illustrated at today's event with the arrival of the first aircraft to use the new terminal facilities; Air Canada AC8 arrived this morning at Gate 65 on its regular route from Hong Kong.

Building upon YVR's distinctive design tradition, the $200-million, 36,000 square metre expansion features the West Coast colour palette and unique architectural themes evident in both YVR's existing terminal facilities and newly launched logo. The building, which opened as scheduled on March 1 for airline maintenance, testing and familiarization, features 400 metres of moving walkways to facilitate passenger movement through the terminal; 27 plasma signs that switch between multiple languages to help international passengers navigate the airport; and a first for YVR - check-in kiosks located at each of the new gates, to help passengers rebook flights quickly in the event of a cancellation.

Come June 2007, the unique design features of the central pavilion area will be finished, including a large aquarium showcasing indigenous marine life, a 30,000-gallon seawater tank housing 100 moon jellyfish, and a stream running through the centre of the building. When complete, the facilities will also feature more than 25 new shops and services, including premium duty free shopping and full-service restaurants and cafés.

Ray Zibrik, President of YVR Project Management, the subsidiary company responsible for overseeing the project, recognizes the completion of the building was made possible by the dedication of hundreds of people. "I would like to thank all of the skilful and dedicated workers, engineers and designers, who have given more than 900,000 hours of hard work since the project's inception in 2005, for completing the expansion on time and on budget."

The project was funded through a combination of airport revenue sources, including retail sales, airplane landing fees and the Airport Improvement Fee. The $1.0-billion construction program is expected to generate 5,200 person-years of employment and $525-million in direct GDP.



The new YVR logo reflects on the airport's design colours.
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Explanation of the new logo:
http://pacificmetropolis.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/yvr_logo.jpg

I for one will be glad when the latest terminal renovations/expansions are finished. Going from Domestic to International in January was a nightmare. hopefully by July, my next visit things are much more organized/finished.

The new international wing:



60 Meter West Coast Themed Creek
http://www.pcl.com/media/files/Projects/22_BC_Region/2200428_5_300.jpg

http://www.pcl.com/media/files/Projects/22_BC_Region/2200428_1_300.jpg

http://www.pcl.com/media/files/Projects/22_BC_Region/2200428_2_300.jpg



30,000 Gallon Jellyfish Aquarium
http://www.pcl.com/media/files/Projects/22_BC_Region/2200428_3_300.jpg

http://www.pcl.com/media/files/Projects/22_BC_Region/2200428_4_300.jpg

Looking good. I will be passing through in less than two weeks.

Wow beautiful... Love the westcoast flair they've put into the design. A lot better than the somewhat sterile nature of YYZ.

Good to know that Vancouver was able to secure a Public Transit connection to their airport- Toronto won't be considered for such preferential treatment dollars, especially when it comes to the Torys. They would rather see Toronto implode and disappear..Keep it up and Vancouver might end up with electrified trains and a subway..


p5

I went through Vancouver's international terminal back in 2000. Very impressed then, these new additions will make it even better. Bravo, Vancouver!

OMG !!

looks really beautiful, nice job YVR!

it reminds me the Amsterdam Schiphol airport

Really impressive and nice projects there.

Part of the newly completed phase I international terminal expansion:


60-metre west coast themed creek
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1325/598496389_1e480e81b9.jpg?v=0

30,000 gallon jellyfish tank operated by the Vancouver Aquarium
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1314/598831932_fe2ac73a0c.jpg?v=0

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1211/598523773_45fd8a4ae3.jpg?v=0

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1010/598844966_9889fe4942.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/216/487804016_3265804044.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/95/231416315_0e7a6c7625.jpg?v=0


Lights resemble "floating logs"
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/207/487804136_7f6dbbfcd9.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/174/487831933_99b9e98a3e.jpg?v=0



The core of the newly expanded international terminal....behind this pic is a Tim Hortons, a Milestones, and shops.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/206/487804264_29e74ba0e5.jpg?v=0




New expanded international terminal wing completed, adding 5 gates. On the left, at the black area is the site of phase II which will add another 4 gates by 2009. In total, 9 gates will be added with 4 gates capable of handling the new A380's.
http://pacificmetropolis.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/yvr_terminal_expansion_by_larry_goldstei_3.jpg


The new $120 million Link Building under construction will connect the Domestic and International terminals as well as connect both to the new Canada Line. Will be completed by this summer.
http://pacificmetropolis.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/link_building_ii_by_larry_goldstein.jpg
http://pacificmetropolis.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/link_building.jpg






Construction of the new Canada Line YVR-Airport Station
http://www.yvr.ca/authority/images/airmail/construction.JPG
http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/richmond/2007/rhh2007_308.jpg
http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/richmond/2007/rhh2007_341.jpg

Photos by Tintinium:


Link building
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1411/729599948_7995bcd5ea_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1320/729599846_55131c244a_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1236/729574292_e27e3217fe_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1239/729574416_e312ac0407_b.jpg




Canada Line YVR-Airport Station construction
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1291/729600502_e1503b7ec1_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1188/728823621_33176f28d6_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1287/729599792_b96848af73_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1214/729599730_8a4484dc49_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1371/728823503_3a7d50a55f_b.jpg





Canada Line road overpass near YVR's Templeton Station
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1267/728823705_e19fce927a_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1112/728823633_f98c1a3699_b.jpg




YVR Templeton Station and track switches at the station
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1294/728823815_ed4f2b1c59_b.jpg

SATELLITE AQUARIUM OPENS IN NEW INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL AT YVR IN VANCOUVER

Vancouver, BC: Vancouver International Airport opened its new international terminal yesterday, which includes two aquatic exhibits operated and maintained by the Vancouver Aquarium.

Located at the end of the stream that runs through the new terminal wing, the 114,000-litre main aquarium houses a rich collection of marine life native to B.C., including several rockfish species, anemones, sea stars, sea cucumbers, greenlings and perch. A smaller, dramatic exhibit features moon jellies that are reared at the Vancouver Aquarium by its resident jelly expert.

Some of the rockfish in the main aquarium were carefully chosen to further the Vancouver Aquarium’s rockfish conservation research. Researchers know very little about reproduction of some very important species of fish, and this exhibit will allow Aquarium scientists to investigate ongoing questions about rockfish reproduction and offspring.

The Vancouver Aquarium rotates its aquarists in maintaining the YVR aquarium on a daily basis. Divers will continue to fine-tune the exhibit over the next several months, carefully placing rocks, kelp and anemones, as well as performing regular cleaning and feeding dives.

YVR estimates that more than one million people a year will pass through the terminal, providing the Aquarium with a wonderful way to help people to connect with B.C. wildlife, even if they don’t have the chance to explore B.C.’s underwater wild coast or even stroll the seawall in Stanley Park.

As a non-profit organization devoted to the conservation of aquatic life, the Aquarium is excited about the opportunity to showcase the brilliance of marine life in B.C. and teach people how important it is to ensure that our natural environment stays pristine for future generations.

Nice airport and pics!

Vancouver International Airport - YVR - was named the best airport in North America by SkyTrax in their comprehensive survey of 7.8 million passengers of 95 nationalities.

http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/3789/yvrbestairportinnamz5.jpg

http://www.worldairportawards.com/Awards_2007/Airport2007.htm

YVR is also the 8th best airport in the world in 2007... Compared to #15 for 2006. Quite an improvment!

Wow this really means a lot. Congrats hometown!!!

kudos to vancouver..just love the hotel accomodations too..very convenient!

A short amateur video of the airport's latest expansion which includes a stream filled with fish and turtles and an aquarium with jellyfish, B.C. fish, and starfish:

ZHsgh36RTrY

I was out at YVR this morning and I brought along my camera.

YVR LINK Building and the YVR Canada Line station under construction. One can begin to see where the pedestrian concourse will be located to connect the station to the Link building.
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/3158/yvrlinkbldgandcanadalinsh7.jpg
My photo


Zoom of the Link Building.
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/1227/yvrlinkbldgandcanadalinpx6.jpg
My photo


Single track section of the guideway leading to the YVR station.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/4301/canadalineyvrsingletraccf8.jpg
My photo


YVR Canada Line station and the Link Building from the other side.
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/3882/yvrlinkbldgandcanadalinrs2.jpg
My photo


Interior of the Link Building, concourse area.
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/5014/yvrlinkbldginteriorseptwz3.jpg
My photo

Can anyone confirm/deny the rumours that Air India has officially announced flights to YVR starting in late 2007 or early 2008? It was posted on Wikipedia but I can't find the source information anywhere. Help please...

^^ They said in a press release that they were going to launch a daily Vancouver route in late 2007 or early 2008. So it's kind of official since AI people said it. Jet Airways has also said YVR is their second Canadian destination, service begining in 2008. Jet will probably come to YVR in mid-late 2008.

BTW, if you had looked carefully, there is a link to the press release on the Wikipedia article.

^^ They said in a press release that they were going to launch a daily Vancouver route in late 2007 or early 2008. So it's kind of official since AI people said it. Jet Airways has also said YVR is their second Canadian destination, service begining in 2008. Jet will probably come to YVR in mid-late 2008.

BTW, if you had looked carefully, there is a link to the press release on the Wikipedia article.
Sorry, but that link doesn't confirm a route announcement. I'm not suggesting that it won't happen, but stating that they want to start their route in late 2007 or early 2008 is not an official announcement. It looks like just plans for now. Also, can you please point me to the Jet Airways announcement?

Jet Airways has not officially announced the route, but they said they were seriously considering YVR. YVR is the only logical choice after YYZ in Canada anyways. Maybe they fly to YVR on a seasonal basis. They eventually want to serve about 8 cities in N.A and 8 in India via their BRU mini-hub.

Currently they fly to 3 -- Toronto, Newark, New York.
Planned for 2008/2009 -- L.A., maybe even SFO, Chicago, Washington and Vancouver.

this is in the news today!

Non-stop Delhi-Vancouver flights announced

NEW DELHI, INDIA - Premier Gordon Campbell announced today that Kingfisher Airlines has committed to operate the first non-stop Delhi-Vancouver flights as soon as possible.

It's expected that the non-stop service will reduce travel time between Delhi and Vancouver from about 25 hours to 15 hours.

"Building better transportation links between B.C. and India will build on the already-close social, cultural and business relationships that exist between our two jurisdictions," said Campbell, after meeting with Dr. Vijay Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines' chairman and CEO, in Delhi.

"The convenience of direct, non-stop flights between Vancouver and Delhi will create a major benefit for our whole community."

Added Campbell, "It helps establish our gateway status for the world's two fastest-growing economies, China and India, while creating a vital link for our Indo-Canadian community, business,

investors from B.C. and our tourism industry."

Mallya said thousands of people traveling between B.C. and India every month will benefit from the direct service.

Tony Gugliotta, the Vancouver Airport Authority's senior vice-president of marketing and commercial development, said the service is integral to the Vancouver Gateway Strategy, as Delhi represents the largest market not served non-stop from Vancouver.

"We see the market as having enormous potential, not only through our cultural ties, but through increased business and tourism linkages," he said. "Non-stop service will greatly enhance the convenience and ease for travel between Delhi and Vancouver."

India was the second-highest source for immigrants settling in British Columbia in 2006. About 28 per cent of all Indian tourists to Canada arrived through Vancouver in 2006.

Earlier in Premier Campbell's mission to Asia, Cathy Pacific and China Southern Airlines announced increased air service between China and Vancouver.

Campbell is currently on his fourth mission to Asia.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/n...31a1dbf&k=6689

15 hours? What kind of routing will it be and it looks like it'll be nonstop as well.

Kingfisher has said all flights to North America will be non-stop from India. Can't wait to experience their top-notch service. They recently got awarded 5-star status from Skytrax.

Congrats to Vancouver. Pleased about that. Can anyone tell me how many, if any, Air China flights are coming into Vancouver and where from? Just curious cause I did not realise that AC signed a code share with Air China to use their planes and crew on flights between Canada and China?

Here is the link.

http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/rulings-decisions/decisions/2007/A/611-A-2007_e.html

Congrats to Vancouver. Pleased about that. Can anyone tell me how many, if any, Air China flights are coming into Vancouver and where from? Just curious cause I did not realise that AC signed a code share with Air China to use their planes and crew on flights between Canada and China?

Here is the link.

http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/rulings-decisions/decisions/2007/A/611-A-2007_e.html


From my memory, I think Air China operates daily to Vancouver. What I know for sure is that the flight comes from Beijing (PEK).

posted by raggedy13:




Vancouver airport will see more than $250 million worth of construction work each year until 2025 - Construction expected to be halted only for 2010 Olympics

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/images/archivesid/25613/300.jpg
About $1.2 billion will be spent on construction projects at YVR prior to the Olympics. Another $2.8 billion is expected to be spent by 2025.

BRIAN MARTIN
CORRESPONDENT
Dec. 10, 2007

There are people in the construction industry who call it the “never-ending project”. Some of them weren’t even born in 1968 when it all began.

For sure, all will likely be long gone before it is finished.

It is YVR – Vancouver International Airport. The domestic terminal at the existing airport opened nearly 40 years ago as the only terminal. Prior to that, activity centred around what is now known as the South Airport.

Today that area is limited to private flights and local charters. Since first opening, however, YVR has seldom if ever not been under construction.

John Lenahan, P Eng, is the manager of transportation and planning for the airport. On Nov. 28, he met with the Vancouver Regional Construction Association to bring them up to date on construction so far and outline the future.

Current construction projects at the airport will amount to $4 billion by the time 2025 comes around.

About $1.2 billion of that will be spent prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. It’s not hard to see why expansion is required. In 1990 the airport handled 10 million passengers. By 2020 it is expected it will handle 25 million.

YVR is among the busiest airports in North America and right near the top when it comes to Asian markets. Major projects either underway or being planned include $420 million worth of upgrades to the International Terminal. Close to half of that has already been completed with the recent additions to the West Chevron (west wing).

That project scooped up two Gold Awards of Excellence for Keith Plumbing and Heating and one Gold Award for general contractor, PCL Constructors Westcoast Ltd in the recent VRCA Awards of Excellence competition.

The expansion now allows YVR to handle the new A380 double-decker aircraft recently launched by Airbus Industries.

Lenahan pointed out that although the giant airplane, which can carry close to 900 economy class passengers is not yet slated to serve Vancouver, YVR expects it won’t be long before it shows up. A further $100 million expansion to the West Chevron is planned for 2011-2013.

Between the domestic terminal and the international terminal is the Link Building which connects the two.

It is a $100 million project that is expected to be completed within days.

A second Link Building on the airside of the terminal will be built and finished in 2009. In addition to the International Terminal some $352 million is being spent on a series of smaller projects as well as $150 million worth of upgrades to the Domestic Terminal. YVR is also contributing $300 million towards the extension of the new SkyTrain line, currently under construction, connecting the airport in Richmond to Vancouver.

Initially there will be one station at the airport but provisions have been made for a second station to serve a new terminal in years to come.

The SkyTrain Canada Line should be completed by November of 2009. Airfield improvements, including items such as aprons and taxiways will add another $65 million, roadways and parking will come to $55 million and $60 million is being spent on upgraded baggage handling systems. The only time in the foreseeable future that there will not be construction underway at YVR, said Lenahan, is just before, during and after the 2010 Olympics.

“We don’t want the airport under construction during that time,” he said.

Other than during that period, somewhere between $250 million and $350 million worth of work will be completed annually at YVR.




Quite impressive. And they're planning to start construction on a $4-billion 12,000 foot out to sea runway in 2025. It'll take 10 years to fill in the ocean.

Any renders of further details on upgrades to Vancouver airport at all?

you can see some stuff here: http://www.yvr.ca/authority/construction/index.asp?id=northlands

they have a a section devoted to construction at www.yvr.ca if that link doesn't work - its on the menu on the left

Here are some pictures of the new YVR Link building that "links" the Domestic Terminal and the International Terminal.

The Link building consists of lots of offices for YVR (that you can't really see), expanded international check-in and the gateway for the Canada Line Airport station.

The 2nd floor of the atrium was not open. I think they will open that when the Canada Line station is completed.

My opinion is that the atrium looks really big from the outside but is actually quite small from the inside. You would think that the atrium would cover the new check-in counters so I am a little bit disappointed.

What should have been built is an atrium similar to the one at Surrey's Central City....(talk about the wrong building in the wrong place...)

Also there this thread seems to be lacking pictures, so there are other pictures of the Domestic Terminal and International Terminal.

The pictures are out of order. For a more organized description go to http://ngaie.blogspot.com

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4950.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4952.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4954.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4957.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4959.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4960.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4962.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4963.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4965.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4966.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4970.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4972.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4975.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4976.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4978.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4979.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4981.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4982.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4983.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4986.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4989.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4990.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4991.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4993.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4994.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4995.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4998.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4999.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_5000.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_5001.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_5005.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_5006.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_5007.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_5010.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_5011.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_5013.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_5015.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_5017.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_5019.jpg

great pics

was last there about 3 weeks ago - gets better everytime

^ omg....wow. i love the contrast the wood roof makes, and the glass atrium is awesome.

Nice pictures...

Wonderful.:okay:

Vancouver International Airport Expansion


2007 passengers: 17.5 million

Projected growth: 23.8 million by 2015

Expansion: $1.5-billion program includes international terminal expansion and upgrades, new building linking domestic and international terminals and new Canada Line rapid transit service

Airport Improvement Fee: $5 for passengers travelling within B.C. and Yukon, $15 for all other destinations

Neat features: Bill Reid's iconic sculpture - The Spirit of Haida Gwai, The Jade Canoe - and a 114,000-litre saltwater aquarium featuring local marine life


By November 2009, in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Canada Line, a rapid transit line running from Richmond to the airport to downtown Vancouver, will be completed, for which Vancouver International Airport is contributing up to $300 million. The total cost of the project is $2 billion. A Link Building ($117 million, completion 2007) will be the docking area for users of the line and will link the international terminal with the domestic terminal. A nine-gate international terminal expansion will be done in two phases ($420 million; Phase 1 – 2007; Phase 2 – as soon as 2010). The first phase will see four new gates with two conventional wide-bodied gates and two able to accommodate the Airbus A380. The international terminal addition will have several examples of beauty in British Columbia, including a stream in a proposed pathway and fish and jellyfish tanks.





Originally posted by en2:


http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6347.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6350.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6352.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6355.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6356.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6358.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6359.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6361.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6362.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6367.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6368.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6372.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6374.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6375.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6377.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6378.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6379.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6381.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6382.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6383.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6384.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6385.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6387.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6388.jpg






Pictures by Tafryn of the newly built Link Building (connects the domestic and international terminals with the new Canada Line):

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-01-11/images/KICX5517.jpg

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-01-14/images/KICX5676.jpg

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-01-14/images/KICX5678.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2074/2160744146_674ca224be_o.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4950.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4952.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4954.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4957.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4959.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4960.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4963.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4965.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4966.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/YVR/IMG_4970.jpg






The new Canada Line stations at the airport (YVR Airport, Sea Island Centre, Templeton):

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6342.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff121/mindstorms32/May%201%2008%20YVR-Seoul/IMG_6343.jpg

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-18/images/KICX6297.jpg

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-18/images/KICX6297.jpg

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-18/images/KICX6319.jpg

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-18/images/KICX6308.jpg

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-15/images/KICX6069.jpg

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-20/images/KICX6372.jpg

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-20/images/KICX6358.jpg

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-20/images/KICX6348.jpg

http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-06-20/images/KICX6345.jpg

I was waiting for someone to start a thread like this. Great start Mr.X =D

beautiful

Nice people mover there. :lol:

Nice people mover there. :lol:

It may be the world's smallest metro system, but it definitely is the world's largest people mover!:lol::cheers::nuts::banana:

I see my pics reposted here, awesome, I had wondered where the original YVR thread was...

Kind of related to the thread topic:

A closer look at airport expansion across Canada

Canwest News Service

Friday, July 04, 2008

More than $7 billion worth up upgrades are planned at major airports across Canada so they can handle millions of extra passengers. Separate factboxes of spending plans and capacity targets for 13 cities:

Victoria International Airport

2007 passengers: 1.48 million

Projected growth: 1.55 million passengers by 2010; 1.8 million by 2015

Expansion: $133 million through 2025 to extend main runway, aprons and taxiways, new loading bridges, terminal and customs facility expansion, increased parking and improving access to airport from highway.

Airport Improvement Fee: $10 for departing passengers

Neat feature: Illarion Gallant's "Bouquet of Memories" art installation

outside departures terminal

Major complaint: Limited direct flights to/from Victoria major destinations



Vancouver International Airport

2007 passengers: 17.5 million

Projected growth: 23.8 million by 2015

Expansion: $1-billion-plus program includes international terminal expansion and upgrades, new building linking domestic and international terminals and new Canada Line rapid transit service

Airport Improvement Fee: $5 for passengers travelling within B.C. and Yukon, $15 for all other destinations

Neat features: Bill Reid's iconic sculpture - The Spirit of Haida Gwai, The Jade Canoe - and a 114,000-litre saltwater aquarium featuring local marine life

Major complaint: Long customs lineups



Calgary International Airport

2007 passengers: 12.26 million

Projected growth: 30 million annual capacity by 2030

Expansion: $3 billion by 2018 - includes international transborder concourse, which will add 20 new gates and associated aircraft apron; expansions to the transborder baggage facility and Canadian Inspection Services area; more surface parking and 2,000-stall addition to car parkade; fourth runway, 4,267 metres

Airport Improvement Fee: $20 for all departing non-connecting passengers

Neat features: White Hat volunteers. Space Port Educational Facility. 30-minute free parking

Major complaint: Congestion at U.S. transborder concourse



Edmonton International Airport

2007 passengers: 6.1 million

Projected growth: 9 million passengers by 2012

Expansion: $1.1 billion by 2012 for new passenger concourse, 13 new airplane gates for total of 30, more parking

Airport Improvement Fee: $15 for departing passengers

Neat feature: Jack Shadbolt's historic Bush Pilot in Northern Sky mural

Major complaint: $48 taxi fare to downtown



Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport

2007 Passengers: 1.04 million

Projected growth: 1.2 million passengers by 2011

Expansion: $70 million between 2009 and 2018 for runway reconstruction, terminal renovations and expansion

Airport Improvement Fee: $10 for departing passengers

Neat Feature: Split-level terminal design to improve efficiency and passenger flow

Major Complaint: Shortage of taxis



Regina International Airport

2007 passengers: 962,962

Projected growth: 1.5 million passengers by 2027

Expansion: $100 million over the next 20 years

Airport Improvement Fee: $15 for departing passengers (increased from $10 in April 2007)

Neat feature: Circular skylight-sundial in arrivals lobby.

Major complaints: Shortage of taxis at peak periods, inability to get more international flights due to Canada Border Services Agency staffing policies



James Richardson International Airport (Winnipeg)

2007 passengers: 3.57 million

Projected growth: 4 million by 2015

Expansion: $585 million, 51,000-square-metre terminal under construction. To open in 2010 with boarding/departure gates increasing from nine to 15

Airport Improvement Fee: Increased from $15 to $20 for departing passengers on Jan. 1, 2008

Neat Feature: $6.3-million Greyhound bus terminal, $100 million Canada Post mail sorting plant and a proposed $20-million, seven-storey hotel

Major complaint: Old terminal won't be preservedJames Richardson International Airport (formerly Winnipeg International Airport)



Windsor Airport

2007 passengers: 245,000

Projected growth: 400,000 passengers by 2018

Expansion: $600,000 to add pre-boarding area including cafe, business lounge, children's play area.

Airport Improvement Fee: None

Neat feature: Mural of Windsor's Willistead Manor, designed by architect Albert Kahn for Henry Chandler Walker

Major complaint: Not enough direct-flight options



Toronto Pearson International Airport

2007 passengers: 31.5 million

Projected growth: 36 million by 2010 and 42 million by 2015

Expansion: Airport development program $4.4 billion, 10-year construction plan completed in 2007 - new terminal one, expanded terminal three, new runway and new firehalls

Airport Improvement Fee: $20 for departing passengers, $8 for connecting passengers

Neat feature: Artwork by Ingo Maurer - giant water tank with small moving cubes

Major complaint: Not enough taxis, especially in poor weather



Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport

2007 passengers: 4.09 million

Projected growth: 4.5 million by 2010, 5.9 million by 2020

Expansion: Phase II by late 2008, budgeted at $111 million, includes addition to parking garage, construction of major addition to new passenger terminal building. Phase III sometime after 2017

Airport Improvement Fee: $15 for departing passengers

Neat feature: Three-level water feature that represents the various

waterways in Ottawa

Major complaint: Lack of large round analogue two-handed clocks



Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (Montreal)

2007 passengers: 12.4 million

Projected growth: 14.6 million passengers by 2012

Expansion: $1.5 billion spent since 2000 in relocations of service hangars and reconfiguration of road network, construction of new transborder departures hall to be completed in 2009, new Marriott hotel to open in fall of 2008

Airport Improvement Fee: $20 plus GST for departing passengers

Neat feature: Montreal's only passenger airport

Major complaint: Noisy night flights



Halifax Stanfield International Airport

2007 passengers: 3.47 million

Projected growth: 4.1 million passengers by 2012

Expansion: Midway through 10-year, $97.5-million capital improvement plan for new terminal facilities, restored runways, parking and passenger amenities.

Airport Improvement Fee: $10 for departing passengers

Neat Feature: International arrivals lounge features life-size model of Alexander Graham Bell's Silver Dart bi-plane.

Major complaint: Lack of parking (airport is constructing 2,300-space parkade)



St. John's International Airport

2007 passengers: 1.2 million

Projected growth: 3.4 million by 2015

Expansion: Five-year, $65-million capital program beginning spring 2009. To include terminal building expansion, new and renovated operations buildings, rehabilitation and resurfacing of secondary runway, and fleet replacement

Airport Improvement Fee: $15 for departing passengers

Neat feature: Memorial display for service people stationed or passed through airport during WWII

Major complaints: Poor road signage for airport turnoff; lack of rental cars in peak seasons
© Canwest News Service 2008

You said it: frequent flyers comment on Canadian airports
Here's what Canadians feel about some of their major airports

Canwest News Service

Friday, July 04, 2008

VANCOUVER

. Vancouver travel agent Scott Clute likes the physical layout of Vancouver International Airport because it's easy to access and everything is under one roof.

"At least you can physically get from one end of the airport to the other without leaving the building," he said. "It's not like other airports with separate terminals that force you to connect by shuttle bus."

Clute said he also likes the airport's outside signage that makes it clear to departing passengers where each airline is located.

But he feels there are not enough security checkpoints to handle the volume of passengers, which creates large lineups. He also complained that security measures at the airport are not consistent.

"Passengers have to go through rigorous security but I've seen catering trucks go through the airport perimeter without being checked," Clute said.

. Calgary resident Lindsay Clarkson, who often flies to Vancouver on business, said the customs area at the airport is a "zoo" if a few international flights arrive at the same time and has often waited up to an hour to clear customs.

She also complained that a moving sidewalk in the domestic terminal always seems to be broken, forcing a long walk from one gate to another.

But Clarkson stressed the international terminal - with its water features and artifacts - is "absolutely beautiful," an opinion she has heard from many other frequent flyers.

"It's a nice airport but it just seems to be always in transition and always under construction," she said. "Will it ever be finished?"

EDMONTON

. Ron Cocking, of Melbourne, Australia, who was recently in Edmonton to visit friends, said he thinks the airport "is fantastic."

"We got dropped off, walked over, pressed a few buttons (on the self-check-in kiosk) and we were through."

Added Diana Cocking: "We got through customs in five minutes coming in. Melbourne's a very good airport, but it takes longer there than here. You can find you way around here very easily too."

. Linda Farching, of Edmonton: "The shuttle dropped me off at the right gate and the self check-in is very quick. The security screening is quick too. In Saskatoon I've lined up for 15 or 20 minutes."

. Anne Steiner, of Strathcona County, visiting her daughter in Fort McMurray: "I don't drive so I took a bus from Strathcona County to the Hotel Macdonald and took the Sky Shuttle. It's great and only $15. The self check-in is good but I need help with it and I can usually find someone. At Fort McMurray my daughter helps me with it.

"I get easily lost at large airports but Edmonton is easy to get around."

. Roy Winder, of Edmonton, seeing off his daughter to Vancouver: "It's a good airport but it depends on where you park. They're going to need more parking soon. My wife uses a wheelchair and at other airports they have golf carts to get people like that around."

. Jenna Winder, of Vancouver: "It's way better than Vancouver. The fast check-in is fabulous. Vancouver's only an hour-and-half flight so I don't bother with the food services here, but there seems to be a good choice."

WINDSOR

. Roger and Ann Sadler, who live in Windsor, travel regularly to Winnipeg to visit relatives and would like see direct flights from Windsor to Western Canada, rather than having to make connections at Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

But Roger Sadler, who is retired from Chrysler Canada, said: "We've never had any problems flying through here and the fact we live 10 minutes away makes any flight from here very convenient.

"I'd like see a few more amenities, such as more food and beverage locations, but generally it's a hassle-free experience."

. Roger Friis, who works for Mackenzie Financial and lives about 45 minutes from the airport, travels regularly to Toronto on business and also finds Windsor to be easy and convenient.

"You don't have to arrive 90 minutes ahead of time. You can basically get here 30 minutes before the flight and walk right on," said Friis.

"As a result, I don't find the lack of amenities an issue because I'm rarely here long enough to notice," he said. "Parking's cheap and even the long-term lot is only a two-minute walk, so this airport provides a much more enjoyable flying experience than some of the larger airports."

. For Colette Hooson, a Windsor-based national representative for the Canadian Auto Workers union, the lack of amenities is more than balanced by the convenience.

"No matter where you live in Windsor, you're no more than 20 minutes away. Parking's always plentiful and available and it's always spotlessly clean," said Hooson, who flies to Toronto on union business on a regular basis.

. Jeffrey Dale, chief executive of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation, a lobby group, said most airports like Ottawa need more gates.

"Have you ever sat in an airplane at 5 p.m. on a Friday, waiting 30 minutes or more for a gate to open?"

He said that Canadian airports have generally managed growing traffic demand prudently.

The addition of custom pre-clearance services and more direct flights to major U.S. and European centres is relieving pressure at major hub airports like Toronto and reducing the environmental and fuel costs of takeoffs and landings.

He said that concerns about high fuel costs and the environmental costs of air travel is leading more companies to use advanced teleconference technology and other communication tools.

"But most deals still require face time and that means continued business travel."

OTTAWA

. Rod Bryden, former Ottawa Senators owner and chief executive of Plasco Energy, which makes technology that turns garbage into energy, doesn't see the current airport building boom ending soon.

He has travelled extensively for years, for the NHL hockey club, as chief executive of WorldHeart Corp. and now in his involvement with several ventures, including Plasco.

"I think the airports are likely to be congested for the foreseeable future. We also will fill the highways with additional traffic, despite the fact that road transport is the largest single source of greenhouse gases."

. Bob Ridpath, director of global travel for Nortel Networks, says business travel in India is significantly cheaper than in other countries. In addition, expansion of airports in Delhi and Mumbai has improved travel times and efficiency.

Vancouver Sun, Edmonton Journal, Windsor Star and Ottawa Citizen
© Vancouver Sun 2008

Air Canada slashes flights to China
Tourism officials concerned about possible impact on number of Chinese visitors to B.C.

Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, July 04, 2008

Air Canada has slashed its Vancouver-to-Beijing/Shanghai service from 14 flights a week to seven as the airline cuts costs in response to record fuel prices.

The airline announced Friday that effective Oct. 26, it will fly from Vancouver to Beijing three times a week and from Vancouver to Shanghai four times. It currently offers a daily service to both Chinese cities.

The service reduction worries B.C. tourism officials trying to boost the number of Chinese visitors to the province. Travel to B.C. will be showcased to media and tour operators in Beijing this summer during the Olympics.

"Obviously this is troubling for us because we're completely at the mercy of airlift capacity to drive long-haul business," Tourism BC president Rod Harris said in an interview.

Canada is still trying to nail down an Approved Destination Status deal with China, which would allow more Chinese residents to travel to this country. But Harris notes that even without that status, China remains a vital market for B.C.

More than 91,000 Chinese residents visited B.C. last year, putting it ahead of other international markets like Germany, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The average Chinese visitor in 2006 spent more than $2,800.

Tourism BC expected a modest increase in Chinese visitations to B.C. this year, but Harris said those prospects could be affected by the reduction in Air Canada's flights.

The airline announced last month it would cut its system capacity by seven per cent and shed up to 2,000 jobs to become more efficient as fuel costs skyrocket. Previously announced route cancellations and suspensions include Vancouver-Osaka, Vancouver-Sacramento, Calgary-Prince George, Calgary-Comox and Toronto-Kelowna.

"We prefer to maintain the integrity of the network by opting for reduced flight frequencies, rather than cancellations, and that's what we have done here by keeping a daily non-stop service between Vancouver and China," Air Canada representative Angela Mah said in an interview.

She noted the service cuts don't take effect until the fall, when demand traditionally drops off - indicating the airline is satisfied with the current passenger load.

"We match capacity with demand, so we will maintain our double-daily flights from Vancouver to China throughout the summer," Mah said.

She said service cutbacks announced at the airline so far represent the "vast majority" of planned autumn and winter schedule reductions, although Air Canada will continue to evaluate future demand.

University of B.C. associate professor Marc-David Seidel doubts the cutbacks will have a huge impact on travel between Canada and China, noting Air China and China Eastern Airlines still offer regular services from Vancouver to Beijing and Shanghai.

He said Air Canada's decision to maintain a reduced service to the two cities will make it easier to boost it in the future when the need arises.

"If they had pulled out entirely, it would have been harder to re-enter in the future because they'd have to renegotiate local contracts," Seidel explained. "By keeping some service, it's very easy to add capacity later."

Cathay Pacific Airways recently announced rising costs would force it to reduce its Vancouver-to-Hong Kong service from 21 flights a week to 17 by mid-September.

Vancouver International Airport Authority chief financial officer Glenn McCoy said the airport has expected airline cutbacks, given the rising cost of fuel.

"It's a concern whenever you have a reduction in capacity," he said. "But I think we still have a very good stable financial base that will allow us to withstand the impact of this."

bconstantineau@png.canwest.com


© Vancouver Sun 20

The Air Canada cuts are quite dramatic - about 50%. Are they having major loading issues on those routes?

^^ All the Air China flights I've been on from YVR have been full, and I can't imagine demand for Vancouver-China flights decreasing right now. It's probably the higher Canadian wages combined with soaring fuel prices.

Cathay Pacific is lowering its weekly Vancouver-Hong Kong flights from 21 to 17 and will be using more of its smaller and even older planes.....fuel costs are at fault once again.


Too bad, both Cathay and Air Canada are lowering their weekly flights to China when there is so much demand between China and Vancouver.

By Chan Cheuk Hang Calvin from HKADB :

http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/78_153.jpg

http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/4780_207.jpg

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http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/066_136.jpg

Awesome pictures!!!

More pics please!!

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20060827/IMG_2282.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/20060827/IMG_2313.jpg

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By Chan Cheuk Hang Calvin from HKADB :

http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/5543_131.jpg

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By Chan Cheuk Hang Calvin from HKADB :

http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/1_843.jpg

http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/6222_997.jpg

By Gordon Tan from HKADB :

http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/20091207_20091207_1150_757.jpg

http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/20091207_20091207_jv2c1207_208.jpg

Put a kick on the old thread here...

Skymark May Order 15 A380s in International Expansion
November 12, 2010, 7:39 AM EST

By Chris Cooper and Kiyotaka Matsuda

...


Skymark intends for the A380s to be profitable in the first year of operation, he said. Future destinations will include Los Angeles, Honolulu, Vancouver, Melbourne, Bangkok, Singapore and Rome, he said.

Click for full article:
(Bloomberg (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-11-12/skymark-may-order-15-a380s-in-international-expansion.html), 2010)

Other news....


YVR wins award of excellence for its concessions
http://www.vancouversun.com/3808643.bin
YVR has gone up against some of North America's top airports and soared to the top.
Photograph by: Les Bazso, PNG

VANCOUVER -- YVR has gone up against some of North America's top airports and soared to the top.

The Vancouver International Airport beat out 140 other airports to win the Richard A. Griesbach Award of Excellence winner in the 2010 Airport Concessions Contest. The purpose of the Airports Council International-North America contest is to inspire creativity in the industry and to recognize innovative and outstanding airport concessions.

Contest organizers cited YVR's 167 shops, services and restaurants and its series of 10 zoned streets and plazas that showcase regions of B.C. and feature artwork, water-features, aquariums, and unique interior design.

Concourse C at YVR placed second in the best specialty retail category for small- and medium-sized airports.

“Now in our thirteenth year of holding the Richard A. Griesbach Excellence in Airport Concessions Contest, ACI-NA congratulates Vancouver as this year’s overall award of excellence winner,” said ACI-NA President Greg Principato. “These award-winning entries help promote the innovative spirit within the airport concessions industry as well as showcase the best programs in North America.”
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

(Vancouver Sun (http://www.vancouversun.com/wins+award+excellence+concessions/3808640/story.html#ixzz15Qy0ZiSf), 2010)

YVR welcomes Canada's only daily flight to Japan's Haneda Airport
Press Release
August 17, 2010

Richmond, BC (August 17, 2010) Vancouver Airport Authority is pleased to welcome Air Canada’s new daily non-stop air service between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Haneda Airport. Starting in January 2011, YVR will enjoy the first and only connection between Canada and Haneda, which is only 30 minutes from downtown Tokyo. The new service complements Air Canada’s existing route between YVR and Narita, doubling the number of Air Canada’s daily flights from YVR to Japan. Not only does the new route provide increased business opportunities and economic growth, it also solidifies British Columbia as a destination of choice for trade and tourism.

“I congratulate Air Canada for expanding its service options between YVR and the Asia-Pacific region. New and increased air services are good for the people and businesses of British Columbia,” said Larry Berg, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vancouver Airport Authority. “This new Vancouver – Tokyo Haneda service will not only strengthen trade and tourism ties between these two regions, but also continue to develop YVR as a key Asia-Pacific gateway.”

A 2005 economic impact study determined that every new wide-body daily international service to YVR generates between 102 and 190 person-years of employment, between $5 million and $8.9 million in wages, and between $8 million and $15 million to British Columbia’s GDP annually. With more than 26,000 people who work on Sea Island, Vancouver International Airport is one of British Columbia’s key economic and employment generators.

“The success of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games showcased British Columbia as a prime destination for tourism and world events,” said Berg. “YVR is North America’s closest major airport to Asia—our prime location and connectivity to the Asia-Pacific region will be one of the many benefits we will be promoting at this year’s Routes 2010 forum in September.”

Vancouver Airport Authority is proud to host the 2010 World Route Development Forum, the largest global meeting place for airports and airlines. Vancouver is the first city in the Americas to host this event, which brings together international air carriers, airports and tourism authorities to map out future air services around the globe.

Stubborn coyote delays flights at YVR
Planes had to wait until it was chased off runway
Vancouver Sun
24 November 2010

Coyote, this is Vancouver air-traffic control.

You are requested to take off immediately from the south runway.

Wishful thinking, as it turned out.

The wily urban predator had no immediate interest in leaving the western end of the runway, forcing the delay of three aircraft departures until airport staff could chase the animal away.

The fur started to fly last Sunday at 7 a.m., according to a Transport Canada preliminary report on the incident.

"Several reports of coyote vicinity of the threshold of Runway 08R," the report tersely said.

"Three departures delayed less than five minutes" while a Vancouver Airport Authority vehicle "chased coyote southbound toward [Fraser] river," the report added.

YVR officials could provide no further details Tuesday about the incident.

Vancouver is not the only urban airport in North America to encounter coyotes.

Ohio's Dayton International Airport was forced to erect a perimeter fence to keep coyotes out. An airport employee was hurt chasing a coyote from a runway on April 22 when his airport vehicle overturned on wet grass.

Two runways at Boston's Logan International Airport were temporarily closed in May 2009 due to the presence of a coyote. The animal died after being struck by a truck as workers tried to corral it.

However, bird strikes are a much bigger safety issue than coyotes at Vancouver airport.

In 2009, YVR's wildlife management staff shot 327 birds while another 336 birds were killed in 146 bird strikes -- collisions -- with aircraft.

Staff scared away an estimated 816,000 birds using a variety of harassment techniques, including pyrotechnics, sirens, lights, propane cannons and trained border collies.

Looks like YVR will be getting a boost from the Asian market yet again. Words from Airline Route:

As per 09DEC10 GDS timetable display, Philippine Airlines is to introduce 370-seater Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on Trans-Pacific service in Summer 2011.
From 27MAR11, Boeing 777-300ER aircraft replaces 264-seater Airbus A340-300 on Manila – Vancouver PR116/117 service, 3 times a week. The remaining 4 weekly service, PR106/107, with onward service to Las Vegas, remains A340 service. With the aircraft change, Vancouver gets additional 318 seats per week per direction.
Summer 2011 Schedule for PR116/117:

PR116 MNL1920 – 1600YVR 77W 135
PR117 YVR2340 – 0350+2MNL 77W 135

(Airline Route (http://airlineroute.net/2010/12/09/pr-yvr-s11/), 2010)

I'm sure CZ is going to fly to YVR very soon now, especially since Transport Canada approved slots for CZ.

China Southern Cargo, according to the carrier, is to start new service to Vancouver and Milan Malpensa starting 27MAR11, at the launch of Summer season.
The Skyteam Cargo member, subject to government approval, is to operate:

Shanghai Pu Dong – Los Angeles – Vancouver – Shanghai Pu Dong
Guangzhou – Amsterdam – Milan Malpensa – Guangzhou
Frequencies unspecified at this moment, while operating aircraft is to be either Boeing 747-400F or 777-200F.

(Airline Route (http://airlineroute.net/2010/12/16/czc-yvrmxp-s11/), 2010)

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/518/5187748.html

http://pic.feeyo.com/pic/20101217/201012170207412257.jpg

http://pic.feeyo.com/pic/20101217/201012170308116632.jpg

the KLM windows looks really nice :)

Float plane operators walk away from unfinished terminal
Dispute over trip levy leads to proposal to build second facility
18 January 2011
The Globe and Mail

VANCOUVER -- A long-running dispute between float plane operators and the developers of a new terminal has veered into even choppier waters, with the operators saying they want to build their own facility.

The two groups have been at loggerheads for months over a levy that would be added to fares at the $22-million facility, nearing completion at the north end of the new Vancouver Convention Centre.

“The economy of it just doesn't work for us,” Greg McDougall, chief executive officer of Harbour Air and president of the eight-member Vancouver Commercial Seaplane Operators' Association, said Monday.

“And it's a blank cheque for the developer, because they can charge whatever they like, in perpetuity.”

The developers – Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre, a joint venture between the Clarke Group and Ledcor – say a $12 one-way trip fee is needed to generate a reasonable rate of return for the private-sector partners in a modern, user-friendly terminal.

Float planes, which ferry business people, tourists and other passengers between downtown Vancouver and Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and other destinations, are a fixture on the harbour scene but are without a permanent home.

Harbour Air moved its previous facility to make way for construction of the convention centre and is currently operating from a base in Coal Harbour, where some nearby residents have complained of noise.

That makeshift solution was supposed to be resolved with the construction of a new float plane facility, which was planned as part of the new convention centre. VHVC struck a deal with B.C. Pavilion Corp., the provincial Crown corporation that runs the convention centre, to build and operate the terminal.

At the time the facility was announced, in September, 2010, VHFC was counting on Harbour Air as its main tenant.

But fees soon became an issue. After months of negotiations, the float plane operators this week said they haven't been able to reach an agreement with VHFC in relation to fees and want to run their own, non-profit facility on a Port-Metro-Vancouver-owned site east of the convention centre.

That leaves VHFC putting the final touches on a facility that, at this point, has no anchor tenant.

The operators' proposal for a would-be rival terminal has “zero” impact on VHFC's plans, VHFC chairman Graham Clarke said Monday. The facility is expected to be complete in May, he said.

“We are quite far down the road, we have built all the floats, we are in the process of building the commercial retail unit in the northwest corner of the building, we are doing the elevators – we have invested a lot of money in the building and we are just going to keep going,” Mr. Clarke said.

Sites east of the convention centre have been considered – and ruled out – before, based on issues including marine navigation routes.

Under its lease with the city, Harbour Air was to move from its existing site some time in 2012, when a two-year term expires, or when a new, permanent facility is built – whichever came first.

Once a new facility operating, Harbour Air's lease would no longer be in effect, a city spokeswoman said Monday, adding that the company could apply for a new lease for a new site at any time.

Harbour Air, the biggest float plane operator, has taken the lead in negotiations on the new terminal. But smaller operators are also weighing in, saying the potential levy would drive away passengers and business.

“Twenty-four dollars is just too much,” Philip Reece, marketing director for Saltspring Air. “And you could justify $24, if it was going to be $24 for something – but we still don't have access to the other public transport, it's not going to be the facility we want.”

Port Metro Vancouver representatives were not immediately available for comment.

By Gordon Tan from HKADB :

http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/20110101_20110101_v2c2639_849.jpg

http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/20110101_20110101_v2c2537_108.jpg

http://www.hkadb.com/forum/files/20110101_20110101_v2c2572_308.jpg

Seaplane decision still months away
Proposed $24 levy at new terminal in Vancouver sparks controversy
26 January 2011
Victoria Times Colonist

It's going to take months to decide whether seaplane operators can build a new terminal and relocate the Vancouver Harbour airport to the east side of Canada Place, says a Port Metro Vancouver official.

Seaplane companies are angry with a $24 round-trip-per-passenger levy planned by a private developer of a new terminal at the north end of the Vancouver Convention Centre. These businesses include Harbour Air, which operates in Victoria Harbour. About 350,000 passengers use the Vancouver seaplane airport annually.

The companies want to build their own not-for-profit terminal to the east of Canada Place, leasing land from the port for commercial space. They are also suggesting moving the existing airport to that side, said Philip Reece, a director at Salt Spring Air.

Port Metro Vancouver agreed in a Monday meeting with operators to outline in a letter what's needed for a detailed application for a float plane terminal.

The total size of the operators' terminal has not been determined, Reece said. It would link up with walkway to the SeaBus.

To avoid passing on extra costs to passengers, the operators' commercial space on land would include a coffee shop, bicycle rentals and possibly other activities, Reece said.

Seaplanes would be able to navigate there, as they are used to working out of busy harbours, he said.

Duncan Wilson, port spokesman, said Tuesday: "It's going to take months to do a proper evaluation."

"For any development on port land, we do an environmental assessment, and in this case, it's just not on the land, it is on the operations, too," said Wilson. This includes examining impact of float planes as they taxi on the water, emissions, noise, safety in navigation, plus community consultations.

As for the airport proposal, Wilson said: "Relocating one of B.C.'s busiest airports is going to require a complete assessment of safety, environmental and community impacts."

The current airport on the west side of Canada Place is seen by the port as the "optimal" site, but the operators' proposal would be considered, he said.

Maple Fun Tours delays Japan plans
29 January 2011
The Globe and Mail

Maple Fun Tours has postponed plans to introduce Canadian holiday packages for Japanese visitors. The Vancouver-based tour operator said last fall that it wanted to start flights in June, but it has decided to delay the launch until May or June of 2012. Jacques Kavafian, chief executive officer of parent Maple Fun Travel, said Friday that there were snags in hiring aircraft in a timely fashion for routes planned from Osaka and Nagoya to Vancouver. Mr. Kavafian said he could have scrambled to get vacation tours in place this August or September, but it's best to open at the start of the summer travel season in 2012. WestJet Airlines Ltd. co-founder Mark Hill and former Air Canada chief financial officer Robert Peterson are part of the venture to tap the market for Japanese tourists.

I was wondering why it took so long...

Crisis looms for world's biggest float-plane industry
Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre at odds with seaplane operators association's vision for not-for-profit Harbour Hub
Special to the Vancouver Sun
17 February 2011
Vancouver Sun

Part of what makes Vancouver unique is we host the province's fourth busiest airport in the heart of downtown. It's the float-plane terminal in Vancouver harbour, anchoring the world's largest fleet of seaplanes.

This vital link, which transports 350,000 people in and out of downtown every year, has always been run by the float-plane industry itself at minimal cost to passengers. It is about to be crippled, however, and some seaplane operators may be shut out of the harbour altogether.

We are facing a crisis brought on by a private consortium, known as the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre, which has been given permission by the provincial government to build a $22-million float-plane terminal on the north end of the new Vancouver Convention Centre.

To pay for their investment and future profits -for a terminal the float-plane industry believes is also poorly designed and too expensive -the developers want to tack on a minimum fee of $24 for every passenger flying in and out of Vancouver harbour.

No other major Canadian airport operates under such a structure in which a private developer can set airport fees that amount to $4 million to $5 million annually -fees that they can raise at will in the future. As an industry whose viability rests upon offering affordable air-transport options to the public, we cannot agree to this exorbitant airport fee. It is also not in the public interest for government to hand such authority to a forprofit developer that has effectively been handed a monopoly in the harbour.

We in the float-plane industry also have grave misgivings about the design and location of the $22-million terminal being built by the private developers behind Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre.

The views of our industry -builders and operators of seaplane passenger terminals for generations -were ignored in the design of the proposed facility. We have warned the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre that given the inflated costs and serious flaws no float plane operator would sign up as a tenant.

None have. Aside from inflated construction costs, the deficiencies of the proposed terminal include: No direct connection from the terminal to public transit, and the Canada Line to Vancouver International Airport; no viable passenger pickup or drop-off area; lack of affordable parking; exposure to heavy winds and high waves; and a design that adds hundreds of metres of walking distance for those who need to use the terminal.

The Vancouver Commercial Seaplane Operators Association, which represents the eight seaplane companies that want a functional terminal, has a better and cheaper solution for the industry and the public: The Harbour Hub.

The association is applying to Port Metro Vancouver to build this not-for-profit passenger terminal east of Canada Place, at about half the cost.

The Harbour Hub will link the float-plane terminal, effectively British Columbia's fourth largest airport, to the Canada Line, SkyTrain, the West Coast Express and other forms of public transit.

It also is a multi-modal hub, fitting in with Vancouver's future transportation needs. It would enable the inclusion of Helijet in the terminal, providing shared services such as check-ins and baggage handling, and future passenger ferries operating out of the downtown.

More importantly, the Harbour Hub would be constructed at half the cost. That eliminates the need for a $24 fee for passengers who wish to fly in and out of the terminal. Our intention is to invest savings and revenues into the terminal, to push costs down and keep ticket prices affordable.

There is an important piece of national public policy at stake here. The creep upwards in airport rents, which are being passed onto the public, means air travellers are going south of the border. One need only visit Bellingham's airport to see the worrying trend of British Columbians bypassing our airports.

Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu warned of this crisis in a recent speech to Toronto's Canadian Cub: "We increasingly see Canadians driving across the border to Buffalo, to Plattsburgh, to Seattle to get on flights because they are cheaper."

At the moment, Vancouver's float plane operators use a temporary terminal in Coal Harbour whose permit is running out. We need to find a new location and are committed to doing so, fulfilling our promise to the City of Vancouver and Coal Harbour residents.

We believe the Harbour Hub is in the public interest. Our aircraft will take off and land further out from shore, reducing noise for residents. We will connect passengers to public transit and we will work with Transport Canada to ensure safety.

We could re-locate our existing docks east of Canada Place in a matter of weeks, all at no cost to the taxpayer or public. We can also continue to operate while we build the Harbour Hub.

This is the seaplane terminal that Vancouver -and its float plane industry -needs for the future.

Greg McDougall is the president of the Vancouver Commercial Seaplane Operators. Philip Reece is director of Salt Spring Air.

YVR named best airport in North America; Fairmont Vancouver also tops category

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/named+best+airport+North+America+Fairmont+Vancouver+also+tops+category/4531359/story.html#ixzz1IgmXk2jW

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Airport and the Fairmont Vancouver Airport were recognized Wednesday at the 2011 World Airport Awards held in Copenhagen.

YVR was named best airport in North America, while the Fairmont Vancouver was awarded the Best Airport Hotel in North America. The Fairmont Vancouver was also named fifth-best airport hotel in the world.

The awards are determined by Skytrax, which collected responses from more than 11 million questionnaires distributed to passengers around the world, representing more than 100 nationalities and covering more than 240 airports worldwide. Airline travelers voted for the world’s best airports, best airport hotels, best staff service, best shopping and in other categories.

“We are honoured to accept such an esteemed award,” Craig Reaume, general manager of the Fairmont Vancouver said in a news release. “This speaks volumes about the levels of service and guest experience we provide.”

Reaume said the hotel offered an “unrivaled location” located above the U.S. departures level, and “authentically local British Columbia experiences “ in its restaurant and bar.

Travelers voted the Hong Kong International as the world's best airport and the Regal Airport Hotel in Hong Kong as the top hotel.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Su


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/named+best+airport+North+America+Fairmont+Vancouver+also+tops+category/4531359/story.html#ixzz1IgmFZJoT

(Vancouver Sun (http://www.vancouversun.com/business/named+best+airport+North+America+Fairmont+Vancouver+also+tops+category/4531359/story.html?tab=PHOT), 2011)

YVR Announces Canada's First Aircraft Engine-Testing Enclosure
April 12, 2011

http://www.yvr.ca/libraries/homepage_content_switcher/ground_run-up_enclosure.sflb.ashx

State-of-the-art facility to reduce aircraft noise in the community

Richmond, B.C. (April 12, 2011): Vancouver Airport Authority today announced details of Canada’s first Ground Run-up Enclosure (GRE), a state-of-the-art facility designed to minimize noise from engine run-ups that are conducted as part of regular aircraft maintenance work.

The $12-million facility, to be located adjacent to YVR’s South Terminal, will reduce the engine run-up noise heard in nearby neighbourhoods by up to 50 per cent, while providing time and fuel efficiencies to air carriers operating out of Airport South and overall environmental benefits to the entire region.

“We are incredibly pleased to embark on such a leading-edge project that not only demonstrates a commitment to our neighbours, but also to our operators and our natural environment,” said Anne Murray, Vice President, Community and Environmental Affairs, Vancouver Airport Authority. “Vancouver Airport Authority is committed to managing airport noise, balancing the community’s desire for safe, convenient, 24-hour air travel with urban living,”

The GRE is a three-sided, open-roofed enclosure, as tall as a five-storey building and built with noise-absorbing panels and perforated by several louvered vents for aerodynamic purposes. The GRE is designed to reduce engine run-up noise by absorbing and channelling sound up rather than out.

In addition to noise abatement, the GRE will provide a glycol recovery and containment area during winter de-icing operations. The GRE will also provide fuel and time efficiencies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions for Airport South operators who no longer need to taxi to the designated run-up area at the west end of Sea Island.

“We have been studying the social, economic and environmental benefits of a GRE for the past three years as part of our comprehensive Noise Management Plan,” Murray said. “YVR’s engine-testing enclosure will be one of the largest construction projects undertaken on the airport’s South side in recent years and will offer our community significant benefits for years to come.”

YVR’s Noise Management Program focuses on initiatives that address aircraft noise in the community, including published noise abatement procedures, community noise information seminars, an airport noise monitoring and flight tracking system and a complaint management and response system.

Engine run-ups are mandatory by Transport Canada as part of stringent maintenance and safety standards that require operators to test engines and their components before an aircraft is put back into service. More than seven per cent of noise complaints received by YVR are related to engine run-ups.
Construction of the Ground Run-up Enclosure and adjoining apron will begin in April 2011 and is slated for completion in December 2011.

About Vancouver Airport Authority
Vancouver Airport Authority is a community-based, not-for-profit organization that operates Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Canada's second busiest airport, YVR served 16.8 million passengers in 2010 and handled more than 293,000 aircraft landings and take-offs on its runways. Sixty-seven airlines serve YVR, connecting people and businesses to 119 destinations in Canada, the U.S. and around the world. The Airport Authority is committed to creating an airport that British Columbia can be proud of: a premier global gateway, local economic generator and community contributor.

-YVR-

For further information:
YVR Media Relations
604.880.9815 ; media_relations@yvr.ca
www.yvr.ca Twitter: @yvrairport
(YVR (http://www.yvr.ca/en/about/media-room/news-releases/2011/11-04-12/yvr_announces_canada_s_first_aircraft_engine-testing_enclosure.aspx), 2011)

Additional Images + Videos: http://yvr.brollarchive.com/

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/273/2733733.html

http://pic.feeyo.com/pic/20071103/200711030214525464.jpg

http://pic.feeyo.com/pic/20071103/200711030220192792.jpg

http://pic.feeyo.com/pic/20071103/200711030223284613.jpg

Great photos!!!!! loving the ANZ boeing 777.

Not specifically YVR but the other airport in Vancouver :

A bumpy flight
Some float-plane operators insist Vancouver's new terminal amounts to a monopoly that will add hefty passenger fees to each flight
21 May 2011
The Globe and Mail

VANCOUVER -- With their ability to touch down nearly anywhere with water, float planes have long been the taxis of the hinterland.

In British Columbia, the aircraft are also an increasingly popular option for commuters. Politicos flying back and forth between Victoria and the mainland account for much of the traffic, but seaplanes also cater to small business owners, contractors and tourists, with 350,000 to 400,000 passengers flying in and out of Vancouver Harbour every year.

Evidence of that shift, and the millions of dollars in business it represents, can be seen floating on Vancouver Harbour, where workers are putting the finishing touches on a new float-plane terminal scheduled to open May 25 to replace a temporary facility a few minutes' walk to the west.

The high stakes are also evident in a bitter standoff between the developers of the new terminal and prospective tenants, including Vancouver-based Harbour Air, the biggest float-plane operator in the province and the company that operates the existing facility. In January, float-plane operators publicly balked over what they called a passenger levy of $12 per flight in and out of the harbour via the new facility.

Based on the rent Harbour Air pays for its current space, the cost per trip works out to about $2, says Harbour Air CEO Greg McDougall. At Seair's Richmond float-plane base, companies pay about $3 per trip.

Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre, the developer of the new terminal, says the cost is not a passenger levy but rent – and that it reflects the price of building to the latest safety and performance standards. As the clock ticks down to the opening, the two sides remain at loggerheads, even though VHFC has reduced the charges enough to attract two float-plane operators, which signed on to use the new terminal at $9.50 per trip. The other operators insist that is still too high.

The province is taking heat from tourism interests worried about potentially higher ticket costs. The city, meanwhile, is under pressure to keep its promise to Coal Harbour residents to close a “temporary” float-plane facility that's been in place since 2004.

Stick-handling the file for the province is Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Pat Bell, who on Friday said he was hopeful a solution could be found.

Float planes are “significant both from a transportation perspective and from a tourism perspective,” Mr. Bell said. “It's something that is important to not just residents of B.C. but to the tourism industry – to make sure we are able to move people around efficiently.”

Float planes have been zipping in and out of Vancouver Harbour for decades, but the current impasse dates back to 2004, when Harbour Air was bumped from its site at the foot of Burrard Street to make room for the Convention Centre expansion.

The dislocation was supposed to last only a few years, until a new facility was built, but construction on the new terminal didn't start until last year.

The current situation includes questions about how the deal was put out to bid and awarded. VHFC says it won the project in a transparent process and has made changes and concessions in an attempt to please Harbour Air. But Greg McDougall, president of Harbour Air, says his company was shut out because float-plane operators were told that the winner would have to provide retail and commercial space – something his company had no expertise in – and were stunned when the float-plane portion later became a separate lease. In the legislature this month, Mr. Bell said he would consider reviewing the procurement process.

Mr. McDougall has also fiercely objected to a private developer holding what he calls a monopoly on float-plane traffic.

VHFC chairman Graham Clarke – who was the chair of the Vancouver Airport Authority for 13 years before stepping down in 2010 – says private consortiums worldwide are taking on the complex, expensive tasks of running airports. One of the leaders in the field is Vancouver Airport Services Ltd., a Vancouver Airport Authority subsidiary that runs airports in Canada, the United Kingdom and Jamaica. Float-plane bases are typically small and run as non-profits.

When the new terminal is up and running, Harbour Air will likely face pressure from the city to pull up stakes. The company's agreement with the city allows it to stay on its current site until 2012 or when a new terminal is complete, whichever comes first.

The city has not given the company notice but has asked for a decommissioning plan, said David McLellan, general manager of community services with the City of Vancouver.

Council has been clear that once the new terminal is open, it would not support an extension for Harbour Air on the current site, he said.

Mr. McDougall, who over the past two decades has built his company from a handful of aircraft to the world's biggest float-plane-only operation, insists that operators should be given a green light to build a non-profit terminal at a different location.

Others aren't counting on that possibility. At the new terminal last week, Seair president Peter Clarke said his Richmond-based company has long wanted to expand its downtown presence.

Under the terms of its deal with VHFC, Seair will not pay rent for a few months, an incentive Mr. Clarke likened to those commonly offered by commercial real-estate landlords. And he said the $9.50 per passenger rate is reasonable for the services the new terminal will provide.

“We've always wanted to be here and we have always said we are going to be there when it opens,” Mr. Clarke said.

***********

IT'S BEEN A LONG, FRUSTRATING FLIGHT

Next week, some float-plane companies will settle into Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre. Some stops along the way:

• 2004: Float-plane companies operating from a base at the foot of Burrard Street are required to move west, to the Coal Harbour site, to make room for an expanded Convention Centre. Neighbourhood residents are told the facility will be there for a maximum of three years.

• 2004: The Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project starts consultations for a new, permanent seaplane terminal.

• 2005: PCI Properties Corp. wins the bid to develop the float-plane terminal and related retail space.

• 2006-2010: Float-plane operators and the developer wrangle over cost and design; the early budget is $11-million.

• 2010: BC Pavilion Corporation signs a water-lot lease with Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre, a joint venture between the Clarke Group of Companies and the Ledcor Group of Companies. PCI retains the commercial and retail part of the operation.

• January, 2011: Float-plane operators go public with objections to fees at the new terminal, saying the fees would add $12 to the cost of each flight in and out of the harbour. VHFC says the fees reflect its costs and a reasonable return on investment. Both sides accuse the other of being a monopoly.

• February, 2011: Float-plane operators file a complaint with the provincial ombudsman over the new terminal.

• May 6, 2011: Two float-plane operators, Seair and Tofino Air, sign up to use the new terminal, agreeing to pay a fee of $9.50 per trip.

• May 25, 2011: The official opening of VHFC.

Wendy Stueck

Vancouver airport turns 80
When it opened there was a single runway, now it welcomes 17 million passengers a year
Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun: Friday, July 22, 2011 12:08 PM

http://www.globaltvbc.com/money/5140984.bin?size=sw380nws

Tony Gugliotta, senior vice president for marketing and commercial development at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond poses July 20, 2011 in the Link Atrium that connects the domestic and international terminals with the Canada Line.
Photo Credit: Ric Ernst, VANCOUVER SUN
In 1927, aviation icon Charles Lindbergh turned up his nose at flying into Vancouver as part of a North American tour marking his epic New York-to-Paris flight because "there was no field fit to land on."

Their invitation rejected, the city fathers were stung into action and four years later, on July 22, 1931, the Vancouver airport was officially opened on Sea Island with a hard-surfaced runway, the first in Canada.

So there, Charles.

And today, as Vancouver International Airport celebrates its 80th birthday, it draws delegations from airports around the world to admire its public art and West Coast decoration.

"There's a growing number of airports coming to talk to us about it," says Don Ehrenholz, vice-president of operations at the Vancouver Airport Authority.

They, too, would like their airports to showcase their regions, in the same way that Vancouver is reflected in the airport's theme of forest, sea and native art - the centrepiece being Bill Reid's Jade Canoe.

"They talk to us about how they can move in that direction. It's a growing trend," says Ehrenholz.

The original airport, bought and paid for by the City of Vancouver, was located where the south terminal is today.

It might have been elsewhere; the city looked at various sites, including one on the mud flats in North Vancouver, according to airport historian Richard Cook.

"They were looking all over for sites and they did consider North Vancouver, but the area was part of an Indian reserve so they went to Richmond," says Cook, who began working at the airport in 1957 and is now retired.

He believes the two biggest events in the airport's history were moving the main terminal to its present site in 1968 and the creation of the Vancouver Airport Authority in July 1992.

"Moving the terminal to the north allowed the airport to expand. By 1968, we were completely overcrowded in the old terminal. We needed room to breathe," says Cook.

"Then creating the airport authority enabled the airport to expand faster than it would under the federal government," said Cook.

Ehrenholz says that move was necessary because the federal government didn't have the money to fund the necessary expansion of the airport.

"Transport Canada decided to move to privatization and the Vancouver Airport Authority was born - the first airport to be privatized in Canada," he says.

Since then, more than $2.5 billion worth of expansion has occurred at the airport, including a new international terminal, a new runway, development of hotel and commercial facilities and the commissioning of public art.

In 1968, the new terminal provided 700,000 square feet. Today's terminal encompasses 3.5 million square feet and will likely expand again within the next 10 years, says Ehrenholz.

"We have 17 million passengers a year now [compared to 1,072 the year the airport first opened] and we can handle up to 21 million depending on the mix of aircraft. We expect to be up to 24-to-25 million within 10 years so there will have to be some growth - about five or six more gates - but not as much as we've seen in the last 10 years," he says.

Ehrenholz says YVR wants the airport to become a transit hub for passengers coming from Europe or Asia and heading to other destinations.

"We'd like to grow that business in the next 10 years. It would bring in people and maybe during the two hours they spend getting a coffee here they would get a brief taste of the West Coast and decide to come back for a visit," he says. But all that's in the future. Today is about the past.

So happy birthday, YVR.

YVR OPEN HOUSE

Two-day celebration

In recognition of YVR's 80th anniversary, the Vancouver Airport Authority is acknowledging the past and celebrating the future with a free community open house today and Saturday.

The two-day open house celebration takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days, and highlights include an airside ballet at 11 a.m. daily; an 80 Memorable Moments photo gallery; a vintage aircraft display at the South Terminal; aircraft flypasts; a variety of family entertainment; and free commemorative giveaways. For detailed information and a schedule of events, visit www. yvr.ca.
(Global TV BC (http://www.globaltvbc.com/money/Vancouver+airport+turns/5145625/story.html) 2011)

China Eastern Reducing Vancouver service in Nov/Dec 2011
As per 04AUG11 GDS timetable display, China Eastern from 31OCT11 to 11DEC11 is temporary reducing Shanghai Pu Dong – Vancouver service from Daily to 5 weekly.

Service continues to be operated by Airbus A340-300 aircraft.

Schedule:

MU581 PVG1330 – 0910YVR 343 x27
MU582 YVR1330 – 1635+1PVG 343 x27


(Airline Route (http://airlineroute.net/2011/08/04/mu-yvr-w11/) 2011)

Additional interest from China *New China-to-Vancouver flights to bring visitors and jobs*
*
*Guangdong- China:***Representatives from China's Sichuan Airlines and the Vancouver Airport Authority have signed a letter of intent with the goal of starting a new three flights a week service to Vancouver in 2012, bringing with it a boost in tourism and new jobs, announced Premier Christy Clark.
*
The Premier met with Zhang Huiyu, Vice General Manager for Sichuan Airlines, and Tony Gugliotta, Senior Vice President Marketing and Business Development for Vancouver Airport Authority in Guangzhou, China as part of her Jobs Trade Mission.*The new service would be the company's first foray into North America.
*
"Expanding markets for B.C. products and services, particularly in Asia, is a*key*pillar of Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan," said Premier Clark. "Sichuan Airlines' plans to start this new service will provide another way for British Columbian and Chinese businesses and individuals to expand trade, and will create jobs, new personal connections and $50 million in additional tourism-related revenue annually between Canada and China."
*
Before flights can begin, Sichuan Airlines must receive approval from Transport Canada.* Just this year China Southern Airlines started flying passengers and cargo from Guangzhou to YVR.**The new Chengdu - Shenyang - YVR service would generate substantial direct economic benefits to British Columbia, including 31,000 additional visitors to BC annually, and $3.5 million to BC's GDP every year.
*
"Sichuan Airlines, along with its partners, looks forward to increasing the existing trade, business and personal ties between China and Canada by specifically helping to move passengers and cargo between Chengdu, Shenyang and Vancouver," said Zhang Huiyu of Sichuan Airlines.
*
In 2009, China granted Canada Approved Destination Status (ADS) following the visit of Prime Minister Harper to China which allowed tourism operators in both countries to market their destinations to the other country. Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, has a population of over 14 million and is a business, trade and technology centre in southwest China.* Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province, has a population of nine million and is an industrial hub in northeast China.* Both cities would be new and important markets for B.C.*
*
"Strengthening our infrastructure to get our goods and services to market is a key pillar of* the BC Jobs Plan and a new service*from China would do that, " said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Blair Lekstrom. "Adding additional air services from China would enrich our air connection to Asia and increase business possibilities."
*
"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the federal government's investments and partnerships in building the Asia-Pacific Gateway continue to strategically position Canada as the corridor of choice between high-growth Asian markets and North America," said the Honourable Ed Fast, Canada's Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia Pacific Gateway who recently returned from a trade mission to China where he promoted Canada's competitive advantages directly to China's political and business leaders.* "We welcome further indications of private sector interest in strengthening Canada's competitive advantages by facilitating the movement of goods, services and people between Canada and China.* Deepening Canada's trading relationship with China creates jobs and prosperity for hardworking British Columbians and all Canadians."
*
"This would be an exciting development for YVR and the province," said Vancouver Airport Authority's Tony Gugliotta. "It demonstrates that B.C. is an attractive destination for Chinese tourists and a favoured partner for new business. It also highlights the importance of Vancouver International Airport as an economic generator for B.C."
*
As part of the BC Jobs Plan, Premier Christy Clark is leading the largest trade mission in the province's history to promote BC as a safe harbour for investment. The Jobs and Trade Mission is focused on strengthening existing relationships between B.C. and Asian markets, opening doors for new relationships and setting the stage for future opportunities in China and India. Delegates from more than 130 companies and organizations are accompanying the Premier as part of the effort to defend and create jobs here at home. Health Minister Mike de Jong will also be accompanying the Premier during her time in India. *
Japan and Hong Kong are also on the jobs and trade mission itinerary. Forests Minister Steve Thomson will travel to Japan and Minister Pat Bell, Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, ends his part of the mission in Hong Kong.
*Quick Facts:*
·*********Chinese visitors spend an average of $1,600 per person when they visit Canada.
·*********Sichuan Airlines operates a fleet of 62 aircraft (including 3 A330-200)*from its main hub in Chengdu.* It has an extensive domestic network and began operating internationally in 2007.* It now operates routes to Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Maldives, Vietnam and the island of Saipan.* This service will be Sichuan's first route to North America.*
·*********The BC Jobs Plan commits the Province to aggressively seek out partnerships with aviation companies to increase flights to the province.
** (Government of British Columbia (http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2009-2013/2011PREM0138-001430.htm) 2011)

Sorry if this sounds stupid but I have always wondered why Canadian IATA codes for some of its airports begins with Y. :?:

Sorry if this sounds stupid but I have always wondered why Canadian IATA codes for some of its airports begins with Y. :?:Probably because at the time, Y wasn't widely used in other places of the world. And there was a desire to create a more uniform code across the country.

Ok understood. Thank you! :)

Hey guys I have a quick question. On all of the concept diagrams and sketches for YVR's newest international wing, the arm appears to be longer than the real thing. On google earth, there appears to be some space without tarmac for future developments. I know that the airport will go through another terminal expansion within the next few years, and I'm wondering if this will be a part of it.

Hey guys I have a quick question. On all of the concept diagrams and sketches for YVR's newest international wing, the arm appears to be longer than the real thing. On google earth, there appears to be some space without tarmac for future developments. I know that the airport will go through another terminal expansion within the next few years, and I'm wondering if this will be a part of it.

Correct. In fact, the boarding gates are numbered in a way that allows for the expansion without having to renumber all the boarding gates again:

http://www.yvr.ca/Libraries/Maps/Terminal_Map.sflb.ashx

Boarding Gates 59-63 are missing, meaning there would be room for at least four more boarding gates, and I'd reckon that there boarding gates would be able to accommodate A380-sized aircrafts (currently, I believe Boarding Gates 58 and 64 can do this).

Correct. In fact, the boarding gates are numbered in a way that allows for the expansion without having to renumber all the boarding gates again:

http://www.yvr.ca/Libraries/Maps/Terminal_Map.sflb.ashx

Boarding Gates 59-63 are missing, meaning there would be room for at least four more boarding gates, and I'd reckon that there boarding gates would be able to accommodate A380-sized aircrafts (currently, I believe Boarding Gates 58 and 64 can do this).

Thanks! That's very interesting.

Probably because at the time, Y wasn't widely used in other places of the world. And there was a desire to create a more uniform code across the country.

Actually that is not correct.

The U.S. National Weather Service initially established airport codes many many years ago. Canada was allotted a “Y” for all airports associated with a weather office.

FYI Toronto's CITY CODE is actually YTO and it includes YYZ, YKZ and YTZ airports. :)