Travel: Flights to Vancouver International from Newcastle (ncl)

YVR, Vancouver International Airport

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is located just South of the city. There are frequent flights between here and many major cities in Canada and the USA. There are also frequent direct flights to many cities in Asia and some cities in Europe. It is one of the world's largest airports with terminals designed to accommodate the new Airbus A380, which had a test landing at YVR on Wed. Nov 29, 2006.

Before 2005, a $15 Airport Improvement Fee was levied as a departure tax against all travellers using the Vancouver International Airport. The aim of the fee was to offset the costs of building the airport. Just recently, collection of the Airport Improvement Fee at check-in was discontinued which resulted in shorter lines through customs and security. However, the fee is still collected, but hidden in the tax section of an airline ticket.

The airport has a policy of ?street pricing?, obliging retailers and restaurants to sell at the same prices in the airport as in the city to avoid customer gouging. Typical fast-food restaurants are located before the security check-ins in the departure areas. For a nice meal, a Milestone's restaurant is located in the domestic terminal just outside the security check-in. In the international terminal, the upscale Fairmont Hotel has a nice view and some reasonably priced choices on their menu.

One little quirk about travel out of Canada into the USA is that you will clear customs before you board the plane, so give yourself some extra time to check-in when you leave Vancouver for U.S. destinations. Note that this also means that duty-free purchases are only available in one shop between the check-in counter and US Customs; and are not available at U.S. bound gate lounges or on the plane since technically you are already in the U.S. This also means that there are direct flights from Vancouver into cities that do not have customs clearance facilities (for example Kona in Hawaii).

The cheapest way from the airport to downtown is public bus. Take bus number 424 to Airport Station and change to the "98 B-Line" bus. The total trip to Burrard Station downtown takes about 40 minutes. The bus into downtown can be crowded, but it does run frequently (about every 8 minutes during peak hours). The fare to downtown is $3.25 from start of service to 6:30pm weekdays, or $2.25 after 6:30pm and on weekends - keep hold of your transfer ticket, as it is good for 90 minutes of travel on any public transit, from time of purchase. Drivers take exact Canadian coin fare only; bills are not accepted, and there is nowhere to get change once you have left the arrivals terminal, so get change first! Translink, the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority, serves all areas of Greater Vancouver, with bus and community shuttle services, an overhead light rail transit system (SkyTrain), a ferry to the North Shore from Downtown (SeaBus) and the West Coast Express Commuter Train . They have a trip planning service to get you from point A to B at a minimal cost. or 604-953-3333.

If you don't mind spending the extra money, more convenient is the "YVR Airporter" (1-800-668-3141) which costs $13 one way or $20 return, and drops off at major hotels downtown. Unfortunately the airporter service runs only 8:00am-10:00pm. The public transit option describe above runs later than the airporter. A taxi ride downtown will cost about $25. All taxis that serve the airport are required to accept credit cards. The taxi ride is under half an hour.

One word of warning for when you are leaving through the airport. Due to construction, there are currently (April 2007) few eating places on the other side of the security in the International concourse. (There are more in the USA and Domestic concourses) If you want something more substantial than coffee shops then eat before going through security.

Vancouver has scheduled non-stop, year-round air service to Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Manila, Shanghai, Beijing, Honolulu, Maui, Auckland (non-stop in June 2007), Sydney (non-stop in December 2007) Anchorage, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York, Mexico City, London, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. Dozens of other cities are served by charter flights on a seasonal basis - Europe in the summer, and Mexico and the Caribbean in the winter.

Air Canada and WestJet have the majority of domestic flights into YVR, but seasonal charter airlines Skyservice and Air Transat also fly to Toronto. Air North also competes with Air Canada with a direct flight to Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory. A variety of smaller regional airlines including but not limited to Pacific Coastal, Central Mountain Air, Hawkair, Helijet, Craig Air, and Orca Airways, fly out of YVR's South Terminal facility. There is also a floatplane dock near the South Terminal and several small airlines have scheduled flights to destinations on Vancouver Island and up the Sunshine Coast.

Floatplane and heliport There are floatplane facilities located both in the Coal Harbour area of downtown Vancouver (CXH) and at Vancouver International South Terminal (YVR). Floatplanes operated by Harbour Air, Baxter Aviation, Salt Spring Air and West Coast Air fly frequently from downtown Vancouver and/or YVR to Victoria's Inner Harbour and other destinations including the scenic Gulf Islands. Some of these float plane operators will also do tours of the city and nearby attractions starting at about $80-100 per person... a great way to see the city. A quick search of Google will bring up websites for most of these float plane operators.

Finally, Helijet operates helicopter service from the downtown heliport, providing quick and convenient connections to Victoria and Whistler.

Abbotsford International Airport (YXX), Vancouver's alternative airport which is located in the Eastern Lower Mainland about an hour out of the city. Most flights that come into this airport are domestic. The best way to reach Vancouver is by car, take the Trans-Canada Highway west. If you plan on using public transit it is recommended that you fly into YVR (Vancouver International Airport), the only way to reach downtown Vancouver on Translink is by taking the West Coast Express commuter train from Mission Station.

This airport is very handy if you are trying to access the Lower Mainland, and do not need to enter the city of Vancouver itself. With an arranged ride, you can be in and out of this airport in under 10 minutes (with no checked in baggage).

Flying in and out of Seattle and then using the bus for travel to and from Vancouver is often less expensive than buying a direct flight. For budget travellers, consider checking flights to and from Seattle. The bus ride takes about 5 hours one way and driving time is approximately 2.5 to 3 hours.