B . C . A I R P O R T S
S p e c i a l F e a t u r e
YVR: YOUR LOCAL
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
With 54 airlines serving 111 non-stop destinations, YVR proudly connects
British Columbia's people, products and businesses to the world.
yvr.ca
@YVRAIRPORT
VANCOUVERINTERNATIONALAIRPORT
@YVRAIRPORT
Strategically located just outside of
Vancouver and close to international
borders and highway corridors,
YXX has
recently cut its Airport Improvement Fee
by 50 per cent within Canada, and totally
eliminated it on international routes.
YXX
has also eliminated fees for aircraft parking,
aircraft loading bridge fees and baggage
handling fees.
These fee reductions have been
applauded by WestJet. Gregg Saretsky,
WestJet president and
CEO, stated at the
time: "The leadership demonstrated by
Abbotsford International Airport sets a
standard we hope others will follow....
When airports and airlines are strategically
aligned, that partnership benets everyone
involved. Airports that help us keep
operational costs low also allow us to keep
fares competitive and stimulate network
and ¦eet growth. Our business is built on
growing markets or creating new ones with
low fares and a great guest experience."
WestJet launched service at
YXX in
its second year of operations in 1997
with service to just two destinations:
Edmonton and Calgary. Having since
expanded the number of daily ¦ights to
those destinations, during the winter
months WestJet now also ¦ies weekly to
Puerto Vallarta. Starting October 29, it will
be launching twice-weekly service to Las
Vegas.
YXX will welcome over 500,000
passengers this year.
"In a business where relationships
are critical, the importance of having a
partner who appreciates that airports have
a signicant role to play in ensuring that
travel is a©ordable cannot be understated,"
says WestJet manager of public relations
Robert Palmer. "As a low-cost carrier,
WestJet very much appreciates that
YXX
takes cost control as seriously as we do."
Abbotsford International Airport also
has cost-e©ective land for development, all
just 12 minutes by air from Vancouver. As a
vital commercial and business hub,
YXX is
home to many major Canadian aerospace
rms such as Cascade Aerospace, a
specialty aerospace and defence contractor
employing in excess of 700 people; Conair
Aerial Fireghting, one of the largest
forest-re ghting companies in the world;
and Chinook Helicopters, the premier
helicopter school in North America,
produce about 25 per cent of new Canadian
helicopter pilots. Coastal Pacic Aviation
(partner with the University of the Fraser
Valley) is poised to make Abbotsford a
Centre of Excellence for ¦ight training for
domestic and international students. Many
other rms, such as Campbell Helicopters,
Shell Aerocentre and Sequoia Helicopters,
Alpine Aerotech and Marshall Aerospace
also all make
YXX their home base.
"Our business model empowers
entrepreneurs," says Parm Sidhu,
YXX
Airport general manager. "We're located
very strategically geographically, near two
border crossings right o© Highway 1, and
close to Boeing itself—one of the world's
largest aerospace companies. We're primed
to grow with the aerospace industry. It's all
about partnerships."
YXX International is
open for business!
