7636 replies to this topic

[Missed Approach]

This interview on Shaw TV in Kelowna with the Director of the Kelowna Airport is a great insight to what they are working on for the future as they look to surpass YYJ. Listening to the interview made me increasingly embarrassed of YYJ and the closed off society the VAA portraits and the lack luster effort to promote, market and engage the community it serves.  

 

Wondering when the next Vibrant Victoria Interview will happen with the VAA CEO. They have been very quiet over the last year and nearly zero activity on their website with progress into the future.

 

Yesterday's accident was a prime example of how unplugged they are, 2 hours after to put anything out on social media and then to say there were no delays when jets sat on the apron and some diverted and canceled and pax sent to ferries.  

 

Youtube link

 

[edited by admin to link to video]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=782&v=rc2tpteDVWQ 

 

Up Front with Sam Samaddar

Edited by Missed Approach, 13 February 2018 - 01:59 PM.

[RPPB]

They have posted the position of Director of Business Development and Community Relations on their website.

[Citified.ca]

An artist's rendering of Victoria International Airport's departures area terminal expansion. Construction of the multi-million dollar project is expected to take over two years to complete.

 

27-month terminal expansion project underway at Victoria International Airport

https://victoria.cit...tional-airport/

[lanforod]

^ what's the new part, that whole wing? 

 

Are those solar panels, or just partial mock-ups of jet-ways?

[Mike K.]

Those are covered walkways.

 

Here's how the existing lower departures area looks:

 

[lanforod]

Ah I get it. Something wrong with using actual jet-ways like every other modern airport does? Raise the lounge up 6 feet, then ramp up another 6 feet in a jetway...

[Mike K.]

Airlines have to pay to use jetways so the preference is to park on the tarmac and acquaint passengers with west coast rain showers

 

But at YYJ those little planes don't really need to use jetways as they have staircases that reach the ground. Anything larger than a CRJ jet or a Dash 8 needs to use the jetway or a roll-up staircase.

[jonny]

When I was at the airport on Saturday morning (at 4 o bloody clock in the morning, but I digress) the aircraft parking spots looked pretty much full. I should have counted but if I recall correctly there were two Delta jets, an Alaskan Q400, the AC Rouge 767, a handful of AC planes, a WJ 737 and at least two WJ Q400s. Plus a Pacific Coastal plane or two.

It's kind of crazy how Delta seems to have surpassed Alaska in terms of service within a year or so.

Edit: I guess the United CRJ must have been there too.

Edited by jonny, 14 February 2018 - 08:47 AM.

[Mike K.]

Delta is taking on Alaskan in Seattle hard. They're trying to establish themselves as the main player out of Seattle, which has historically been Alaskan's and only Alaskan's turf.

 

Two years ago when Delta first appeared they had insane deals out of YYJ. I booked a roundtrip flight for two to Frisco and it cost about $400, taxes in!

[jonny]

You know, I don't think I have ever flown Delta. I've flown all the major and most of the obscure NA brands, but not Delta.

I was really surprised to see not only two Delta jets at YYJ but an Embraer to boot. That's quite a bit of lift off to SeaTac for our little airport (well, at least compared to what we historically have had).

[spanky123]

Delta is taking on Alaskan in Seattle hard. They're trying to establish themselves as the main player out of Seattle, which has historically been Alaskan's and only Alaskan's turf.

 

Two years ago when Delta first appeared they had insane deals out of YYJ. I booked a roundtrip flight for two to Frisco and it cost about $400, taxes in!

 

I think that it cuts both ways. By ending their relationship with Alaska, Delta has gained some inrounds into markets like Victoria, but lost access to a lot of other peripheral markets in the US. Alaska has a new partnership with Virgin plus their existing deals with American and WestJet so I think that they are fine.

 

In terms of overall access to Seattle, we used to have 5 flights a day with Alaska and now we have 6 flights a day combined. 

Edited by spanky123, 14 February 2018 - 08:51 AM.

[Hotel Mike]

^

And not enough flights to Seattle, I might add. We were returning from the US...flew into Seattle at 19:15. The next Horizon flight to Victoria was at 23:17. That seems silly for a 30 minute flight.

[tjv]

Ah I get it. Something wrong with using actual jet-ways like every other modern airport does? Raise the lounge up 6 feet, then ramp up another 6 feet in a jetway...

Agree completely, I should hire some hillbillies to play the jug and geetar out front

 

Might as well just have some ATCO trailers in a parking lot.  YYJ is a joke and this "expansion" just confirms it

[VicHockeyFan]

I don't know... in fairness, is there another airport in the world that has such temperate climates as ours, year-round?  I'm not sure that fresh-air walk is ever painful, or requires a change of clothes to tackle.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 14 February 2018 - 10:32 AM.

[VicHockeyFan]

I mean I usually dress for it anyway. If I’m heading off to the Carribean for a week I’m usually already in my Speedo. Apart from some shrinkage on a cold day, I’m good for that short walk.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 14 February 2018 - 10:44 AM.

[shoeflack]

Every major airport in Canada (and most internationally) require you to go outside to get on a propeller plane. Every so often they'll pull a Q400 to a jetway, but it's rare.

 

YVR has outdoor space for both WestJet and Air Canada. Calgary has outdoor space for WestJet and uses jetways and then a staircase for AC Express. They also put you on a bus sometimes and take you to some more remote stands for the smaller Beech aircraft. Toronto same thing...mostly outdoor space for prop planes.

 

YYJ is literally no different than any airport in the world in the way it handles propeller plane loading. Most jets here do load/unload using the jetway as they would anywhere else.

 

This expansion will actually make YYJ more like a regular airport in that you will load through your gate door, as opposed to right now everyone using the same door at the end of the terminal. So there will be gates now on either side of the holding area so you have a shorter walk outside to your plane.

[Nparker]

...is there another airport in the world that has such temperate climates as ours, year-round? ...

The Kona airport on the Big Island of Hawaii is very open air and so is the Palm Springs (CA) airport.

[lanforod]

Yeah, no, I'm not referring to prop planes here. Is this expansion due to higher passenger counts and demand? Yes? If so, are not most of those additional flights coming from jets, not prop planes? So shouldn't YYJ be expanding jetway terminal space?

[tjv]

^agreed, is YYJ a commuter airport like Nanaimo and Campbell River or a REAL airport?  This expansion just cements it that it should say "welcome to YYJ, your commuter airport to the real airports in Seattle and Vancouver"

 

Might as well have some ATCO trailers on the tarmac before going out into the cold rainy weather

[shoeflack]

I've talked about this here before, but the reality is that YYJ is very good at what it does. Shuttling passengers off to larger airports with better connections.

 

When you're as close as we are to YVR and SEA, getting more and more jet service is a challenge.

 

Right now the bulk of YYJ passengers arrive and depart on prop planes, so they are building to suit that crowd. Their master plan does include expansion of the jetway service area. A couple extra gates, so that's coming longer down the road.