Showing posts with label Vancouver Airport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vancouver Airport. Show all posts

Friday, 3 June 2016

AUSTRALIA: Air Canada Begins Direct Flights From Brisbane To Vancouver

Canada's rugged landscape and ski slopes are now closer than ever before after Air Canada launched daily direct flights from Brisbane to Vancouver on Friday.

Air Canada's direct flights will link Brisbane to Vancouver in under 15 hours, departing from Brisbane 10.40am daily.

Air Canada's Boeing 787-8 will transport 251 passengers daily until October, when the airplane will be replaced to accommodate for 30 per cent more passengers.

At Brisbane International Airport on Friday, Queensland Tourism Minister Kate Jones said inbound tourism from Canada was growing at around six per cent every year and believed today's "significant milestone" would bring up to 90,000 additional North American visitors to Queensland over the next three years.

"We estimate it will generate an extra $56 million each year to the Brisbane economy and this is great news for tourism and businesses," she said.

"You can only just imagine the new partnerships and new opportunities because of the connection through this direct flight.

More than 260,000 North American visitors visited Queensland in the year to March 2016, a 14 per cent increase from the previous year.

Brisbane Airport Corporation chief executive Julieanne Alroe said these daily year-long direct flights would encourage North American visitors to stay in Queensland for longer and provide peace-of-mind for parents of those travelling to study abroad.

"We find that when people start their journey in Queensland, they stay longer in Queensland and then move north so we think it will mean not only will we get more Canadians here, we will get them to see more of Queensland," she said.

"A lot of families always feel much more comfortable with students on direct services, so we think the fact that the parent can put their child on at Vancouver and know they are going to get off in Brisbane.

"We find when we have these direct services that education is also a big beneficiary. We have seen it with the Japan service that started last year, we expect to see it with the Shanghai service that will start later in this year."

Ms Alroe said the flight would also work to close the economic gap between the two countries.

"Canada-Australia business ties are of increasing significance with our two economies sharing many major industries like mining, agriculture and tourism but complementing each other by operating opposing growing and tourist seasons," she said.

Vancouver Airport chief executive and president Craig Richmond said the new route was both "amazing and practical" for travellers from Brisbane and Vancouver.

"This new route to Vancouver is the only scheduled service between Brisbane and Canada," he said.

"Vancouver lies in a region that has been popular for Australians looking for adventure and Brisbane provides Canadians with access to some of Australia's great attractions as well as being a great city itself."

Air Canada global sales vice president Duncan Bureau said he was "excited" about how the market was looking for Queenslanders visiting Canada as well.

"There is a lot of travel between Australia and Canada, we already operate out of Sydney and there is a lot of people in this region that come to Canada, whether for working visas, students, travelling and there is a lot of economic reasons as well," he said.

Thursday, 17 December 2015

Flyers Choose World’s Best, Worst Airports

The best airports in the world are found in Asia, while the worst are located mostly in the developing world. And Paris.

Those are the overall conclusions from the 2015 edition of Sleeping In Airports’ best and worst airports lists, as voted by globetrotters around the world.

On the list of the world’s top airports are the usual suspects, with the perennial favourite, Singapore’s Changi Airport taking the top spot, followed by Incheon airport in Seoul, and Tokyo Haneda in Japan.

In fact, the top five airports listed all hail from Asia, with Taipei and Hong Kong also represented and Kuala Lumpur the other Asian airport at No. 9. European hubs round out the top 10 list.

The only North American airport to crack the list is Vancouver International Airport.

Meanwhile, the other end of the list represents a major departure from the world’s most luxurious airports.

There are no indoor jungles, aquariums, IMAX theatres, spas and luxury boutiques at Port Harcourt International Airport in Nigeria, for example, which nabbed the dubious title of world’s worst airport.

Travellers arriving or transiting through the Nigerian hub are warned to expect virtually no seating for resting their feet, no air-conditioning to cool them down in the stifling heat, and a tent that doubles as the arrivals hall.

While the list of the top 10 worst airports is largely filled with no surprises – most are from developing countries including Nepal, Uzbekistan, Haiti and Afghanistan – there is one conspicuous hub that may seem out of place at first glance.

But according to flyers, the amenities and staff at Paris Beauvais-Tille Airport are bad enough to crack the top 10 list.

“Located in what is plausibly a sparsely furnished converted factory with pre-fabricated ‘temporary’ 10-year-old extensions, BVA was voted this year to be the worst airport in Europe,” reads an explanation on the Sleeping In Airports site.

“Grievances from voters are detailed and far-reaching, but generally revolve around the absence of chairs, kind staff, sufficient toilets and hygienic standards.”

Top 10 airports:

1. Singapore Changi International Airport, Singapore (SIN)
2. Seoul Incheon International Airport, South Korea (ICN)
3. Tokyo Haneda International Airport, Japan (HND)
4. Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan (TPE)
5. Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong (HKG)
6. Munich International Airport, Germany (MUC)
7. Helsinki Airport, Finland (HEL)
8. Vancouver International Airport, Canada (YVR)
9. Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia (KUL)
10. Zurich Kloten International Airport, Switzerland (ZRH)

Top 10 worst airports in the world:

1. Port Harcourt International Airport, Nigeria (PHC)
2. Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport, Saudi Arabia (JED)
3. Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepal (KTM)
4. Tashkent International Airport, Uzbekistan (TAS)
5. Caracas Simon Bolivar International Airport, Venezuela (CCS)
6. Port au Prince Toussaint Louverture International Airport, Haiti (PAP)
7. Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan (KBL)
8. Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Vietnam (SGN)
9. Islamabad Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Pakistan (ISB)
10. Paris Beauvais-Tille International Airport outside Paris, France (BVA)