Air traffic will increase substantially between Canada and China as the result of an amended air treaty between the two countries, predicts the chief executive officer of Vancouver airport.

"The amended treaty allows any Chinese or Canadian airline to fly between these markets and ups the frequencies to 60 (flights) per week for each side between now and 2008," Larry Berg, president and CEO of the Vancouver International Airport Authority, told delegates at a two-day public consultation forum held recently in Vancouver.

The old treaty limited the number of airlines and weekly flights to 15 each between the two countries.

Berg appeared at the airports public consultation and dialogue forum, designed to assist airport management in putting a 20-year strategic plan into place for 2007-2027.

Vancouver Airport CEO Larry Berg says YVR set to expand.

"I'm excited that we have the community leaders of today and tomorrow participating in our long-term planning. Their perspective will help us ensure that (the airport) continues to be developed to meet the needs of all British Columbians, and maintains its role as a major economic generator of our province," he said.

On the first day of the forum, delegates aged 18-30 from throughout the province offered their suggestions about the airport's role in supporting a sustainable future for the Lower Mainland, B.C. and Canada. On Day 2, B.C. mayors, economic development officers, business people and community leaders added their own perspectives.

Michael O'Brien, vice-president for strategic planning for the airport, also known as YVR, said the proposed ideas and concepts will be presented to the board of directors for consideration in the airport's 20-year plan.

"The board will be made aware of what we heard and we will suggest the kind of things we need to talk about and discuss, and then seek the board's permission to go ahead and look at it," he said.

He added the forum is part of an ongoing dialogue with many sources, including some aircraft manufacturers.

"One way to describe the process is the funnel analogy. Currently we are at the wide end of the funnel and eventually we have to narrow it down to get to the 2007-2027 plan," O'Brien, said.

One delegate, former Aboriginal Tourism British Columbia chair Richard Krentz, suggested the airport allow young native people to greet incoming passengers and make them aware of native tourism.

"The idea is to get our young people out there and showcase our aboriginal tourism, which is struggling right now," he said. "These goodwill ambassadors would meet incoming passengers at the airport and tell them all about native tourism."

These goodwill ambassadors would be trained by the elders in their native communities, who would make them aware of their cultural heritage and traditions so that they could convey this to incoming tourists, and also let them know what kind of native tourism is available, he said.

Berg said the airport will grow at a fast pace and expects to handle 45 million passengers a year by 2045. "Last year YVR handled 15.7 million passengers with 270,000 takeoffs and landings. In 40 years, a fair estimate of the likely mix of domestic and international routes leads to approximately 500,000 takeoffs and landings per year - the size of Denver or Las Vegas today."

The economic benefits of one new daily flight to China are vast. Such a flight contributes $17 million to the local Vancouver economy and generates 250 jobs, Berg said.

But Allan Baydala, chair of AIM BC, a tourism and communities organization concerned with the future of air transportation, said in an interview that significant changes will have to occur before YVR can realize its full gateway potential.

Canada will have to negotiate a new air treaty with the United States and make Vancouver more accessible to tourists worldwide, Baydala added.

Eva, a Taiwanese airline, wants to fly from Taipei to Vancouver and New York but cannot do this because of air- treaty restrictions. Likewise, no carrier can fly between France and British Columbia.

"If you want to go to Paris you have to fly to Montreal first. Canada hasn't kept pace with the rest of the world," Baydala said.

"Canada has been very slow in opening up the skies. Yet, the Americans are ready to sit down and talk to us about a new air treaty."

Many of the air treaties between Canada and other countries are still based on what it was like years ago, when Canadian Pacific Airlines and Air Canada were rival carriers, he noted. "The government essentially divided the world into two, with Europe going to Air Canada and Canadian Pacific getting Asia and Latin America."

The most recent air agreement with the U.S. expired last year, nine years after coming into effect in 1995. It proved to be a major economic benefactor to B.C. tourism by generating $1 billion in revenue from incoming U.S. tourists. And the sense of urgency for a new treaty is growing with the 2010 Olympics on the horizon and associated pre-Games travel.

The impact of the new air agreement with China is also seen to be huge. By 2015, Baydala said, it is estimated that 500,000 Chinese tourists will come here, spending an average of $4,600.

Passenger levels are back to pre-9/11 levels and last summer the airport's international gates were full during peak times. Construction has also started on a $420-million expansion of the international terminal. When complete, there will be nine new loading gates, two of which will be able to handle the Airbus 380 that will be operational next year.

The world's economic centres of power are changing, said Berg, and YVR intends to be a part of the trend.

"While the 20th century was an Atlantic century, where the economic nexus was primarily between Europe and North America ... the 21st century is a Pacific century," he told the forum. "By 2045, the largest economies in the world will be China, the United States, India and Japan - in that order," Berg said.

The airport's strategic plan is to become a global gateway between the Americas and Asia by taking advantage of its geographic location, which is closer to Asia than other West Coast cities. A flight from Beijing to Boston via Vancouver is four hours shorter than going through San Francisco.

A flight from Dallas to Beijing via Vancouver would be five hours shorter than through Los Angeles, he added.

(George Froehlich can be reached at george@businessedge.ca)