Aviation and Aerospace Headlines

B.C. Aviation Council Annual Airport’s Workshop & AGM

Our annual airport’s workshop and AGM was hosted in Nanaimo this week, over 100 delegates from airports, air operators, business professionals and students gathered for the 3 day conference. Conference highlights with photos are available at the following links:

• Day One
• Day Two
• Day Three

BCAC Scholarship Nominations Open, New Conair Group Scholarship added

BCAC Industry Awards

Nominations for BCAC Industry Awards can be submitted year round but must be in to our office no later than May 31 each year in order to be considered for the current year. Awards will be presented at the annual Silver Wings Awards event. In 2016, scheduled for October 26th at the Vancouver Convention Centre West.

Fill out the nomination form and recognize BC aviation talent. We live in the best province and have some exceptional aviators so please nominate them for recognition by their peers.

More Information

BCAC Scholarships

Deadline for all other Award and Scholarship Nominations – May 31, 2016

BC Aviation Council members recognize the financial pressures faces by students pursuing studies in aviation and aerospace, and the BCAC provides scholarships and awards for students on an annual basis.

Students actively pursuing studies in the following fields can apply for cash awards ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

• Commercial Pilot
• Aviation Maintenance
• Airport Operations
• Private Pilot

Apply Here

Air Canada now offering direct Vancouver to Delhi flights

VANCOUVER BC JAN 05 2010 – Various pictures of Vancouver International Airport (YVR) people leave the domestic terminal headed for International Arrivals. (Jon Murray/PNG) [PNG Merlin Archive]

Air Canada said Wednesday it is launching a non-stop service between Vancouver and India’s capital, Delhi, in October, thus securing for Vancouver International Airport one of the most sought-after routes in the local community.

Airline officials say the thrice-weekly flights will start on Oct. 20 — in time for the Diwali festivities, one of the most important holidays in the South Asian community. Air Canada said  Metro Vancouver’s enormous South Asian community has demanded the flight for many years. However, it was only with the addition last summer of the super-efficient Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to Air Canada’s fleet that a YVR-Delhi flight made economic sense.

Other programs, such as YVR’s ConnectYVR rate program for air carriers, were also significant factors.

“The (ConnectYVR) program provides a highly competitive rate structure and includes rates lower than any other major airport in Canada and competing U.S. airports,”  Air Canada said in a statement.

Vancouver Airport Authority president Craig Richmond said the flight — which officials have worked on for at least three years — was among the most desired routes by the local community.

Full story via The Province

Hawkair not returning for summer service

Hawkair’s plans to return summer service to the Prince Rupert Airport have changed.

The company will not be returning airline service to the Digby Island airport, as previously expected, said Hawkair president Jay Dilley last week.

After pulling its service beginning Dec. 1 of last year, the company was expecting to return to Prince Rupert as traffic typically grows in the summer months, but that’s not what the industry has been experiencing this year in B.C., the president said.

“We had intended on coming back in the summer time and we had sold basically two flights – a Monday flight and a Friday flight. A number of weeks back we had one of the backers on that flight pull out and the other one was committed, so we pre-sold the entire summer,” said the president.

Full story via the Northern View

New website launched at YXS

Prince George Airport Authority has launched a new website with additional features.

They include live flight tracking.

“Whether you are at the PG Airport or at home, you can now see, in real time, where planes are located and precisely when they will land,” marketing and communications manager Lindsay Cotter said.

It also includes a page on the PGAA’s mascot, Amelia Bearheart, as well as a Google 360 business view tour of the terminal. Flight schedules, travel tips and parking information are still featured on the website which is still located at www.pgairport.ca.

Full Story via the Prince George Citizen

Non-stop flights to Dease Lake to start June 6

NT Air will be providing non-stop service to Dease Lake from the Prince George. The seasonal flight takes to the skies twice a week starting June 6 and ending October 27.

“NT Air and Central Mountain Air (CMA), have been serving Dease Lake for over 30 years,” NT Air general manager, Mike Harris, said in a press release issued Tuesday. “This summer we’ve partnered up to provide the Dease Lake and surrounding area with service through Prince George with great connections out of YXS.”

Full story via Prince George Citizen

Transportation Minister highlights importance of regional airports

The importance of regional airports was highlighted during a conference in Nanaimo this week.

Todd Stone, B.C. Minister of Transportation spoke to airport executives from around the province and local officials about the B.C. Liberal government’s recently created air access program during a conference hosted by the British Columbia Aviation Council on Wednesday.

The B.C. Air Access Program was created last year and allocated $24 million for airport infrastructure investment between 2015-17, with $8 million set aside for 2016.

The program is specifically designed to focus on investing in infrastructure improvements for smaller and regional airports, such as the Nanaimo Airport.

Stone said the provincial government recognizes the importance of regional airports and the economic impact they have on their communities.

“A dynamic aviation sector is critical to job creation, delivering goods, expanding the market place and facilitating travel,” Stone said.

Full story via Nanaimo News Bulletin

Snowbirds make second pit stop of the month at YLW

Adam Proskiw/ InfoTel Mulitmedia

The Canadian Forces aerial demonstration team made a brief appearance at Kelowna International Airport today.

Airport spokesperson Jasmine Patrick says all ten of the CT-114 Tutor’s landed at YLW, refueled and left as quickly as they had arrived today, April 27.

“It wasn’t an official stop or anything,” she says. “They were just refuelling.”

As the Tutor’s took off in groups of three, they did it in style, leaving behind trails of harmless, white smoke from each of the planes.

“It’s part of their show and they try to do something fun for us when they leave,” Patrick says.

Full story via info news

YVR sells it share of the Vantage airport-management company

*Photo Courtesy of the Arlen Redekop/ Province 

The Vancouver Airport Authority has sold its 50-per-cent share in Vantage, which manages eight airports around the world using YVR expertise. The decision allows YVR concentrate on its local growth plans, including further terminal expansions.

The Vancouver Airport Authority started Vantage Airport Group in 1994 to provide management services to other airports. The purpose, officials say, was to offer the airport’s management experience, especially in privatization of public airports, while expanding Vancouver International Airport’s brand power while taking advantage of the growing air-facilities-management sector.

IN 2008, YVR sold a half interest to  Gateway Airports LP. Now it has sold the remaining half to Gateway, which was originally a British company but is now headquartered in New York.

Through the two stages of share sales and dividends over the 21 years YVR operated Vantage, the airport authority made $105 million, doubling its initial investment of $52.6 million.

But with passenger counts hitting a record 20 million last year and a projection of 25 million by 2020, YVR president Craig Richmond said the airport authority has to concentrate its attention and resources on a new 20-year strategic plan — which includes a terminal expansion as its centrepiece.

“We’re adding a million passengers a year, and it looks like we’ll do it again this year,” Richmond said. “We can honestly see that, if this continues, we’re going to hit capacity and run out of space. We don’t want that to happen. … That’s a huge focus and a big reason why we need to focus on YVR.”

Full story via the Vancouver Sun

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