Vancouver is getting ready to welcome the world's largest airplane as airport executives look forward to an influx of passengers from China, India and other Asian countries.

"We're adding nine international gates here, two of which will be capable of handling the big A380s," says Larry Berg, president and CEO of the Vancouver Airport Authority (YVR).

The gates are slated to be completed by 2009. A new five-storey building connecting the domestic and international terminals will also be built.

The Airbus 380 seats 555 passengers and is almost one-third larger than its closest rival, the Boeing 747. Many Canadian airports are not yet equipped to handle the huge planes, which are slated to begin flying next year when an order for Singapore Airlines is completed.

Photo courtesy of the Vancouver Airport Authority
Airport authority CEO Larry Berg says Vancouver International's ambitious expansion plan is designed to meet future demand for travel through Canada's Pacific gateway.

"This (expansion) is just to meet the demand for international traffic in and out of Vancouver - the Vancouver gateway linking Asia and North America," Berg noted, during a recent cement-pouring ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on the $420-million expansion.

"The shortest route between Asia and North America is through Vancouver, so a lot of carriers prefer this gateway."

The two A380 gates will be part of the first phase of the expansion, which will include four wide-body gates and be completed by the spring of 2007. The second phase will consist of the five remaining gates, to be built by the spring of 2009.

"The ground is prepared, so now we've got to bring in the steel," said Berg. "What you see a year from now will be the frame of the building going up."

The 56,000-sq.-m international terminal expansion, on which PCL Construction is the general contractor, is part of YVR's $1.4-billion Gateway capital program announced in 2004.

File photo by Dave Olecko, Business Edge
Airline analyst Rick Erickson says YVR needs the infrastructure.

In addition to the new international gates, it includes the $300-million airport portion of the RAV rapid transit line, scheduled for completion by fall of 2009 and $150-million worth of domestic-terminal upgrades.

Berg said the upgraded facility will stand out from other airports around the world because it will reflect B.C.'s art and culture. "It will feature the best of British Columbia - a real sense of place," said Berg. "My disappointment with a lot of airports built today is that they're just concrete buildings. You don't know where you are."

A large aquarium featuring indigenous marine life, a jellyfish tank and a stream running through the entire building will part of the B.C. theme. Berg said the new international wing will also have a lot of "very good" retail shops for international passengers and wireless Internet access for business travellers.

"We're going to be giving business travellers a relaxing environment that gives them a sense of where they are - not just in another building somewhere - that says they're in Vancouver and British Columbia," said Berg.

The expansion is part of the push to attract more visitors from China and other Asian countries. Berg told more than 100 guests at the cement-pouring ceremony that YVR expects to handle 16.4 million passengers this year and 21 million by 2010.

A large influx is expected to come from China now that its government has granted Canada approved-destination status, which allows more people to travel here. YVR currently accommodates 16 jets from China per week, but Berg hopes that number will increase to 60 in the near future.

"I think we'll start to see (the Chinese) increase definitely in the summer of '07," said Berg.

He predicts China Southern, Air Canada and Harmony Airways will offer more Chinese destinations by 2007, provided that they buy enough planes.

Rick Erickson, a Calgary-based airline industry analyst, says it's crucial that Vancouver accommodate the Airbus 380, because it will become more widely used in coming years - and carry many of the Asian passengers that Berg and other executives hope to attract.

"They've got to have infrastructure to handle that airplane," says Erickson, who is confident the airport's "very good management" will pass the test.

The A380 has already completed its maiden voyage in France. Air France and the airline serving the United Arab Emirates have also made Airbus 380 purchases.

Erickson says the terminal expansion is "probably very timely," because international traffic is returning to pre-9/11 levels. The nine new gates will help cater to an increasing number of Asian tourists.

Canada's international traffic is up five to seven per cent this year, while domestic travel has only increased by two per cent, says Erickson. Since it serves as a gateway, Vancouver experiences much of that increase.

Canada's West Coast city is now on par with San Francisco when it comes to being a gateway to North America for Asian travellers. The expansion will help Vancouver compete for Chinese tourists with nearby rivals, he believes.

"Seattle is not that far away," says Erickson "Neither is San Francisco or Los Angeles, or even Spokane."

In addition to serving Asia, the expansion will help enhance Vancouver's role as a transfer point for Air Canada passengers flying between Asia, Europe and Latin America, currently estimated at $300-$400 million US per year. The expansion will also provide economic value to Vancouver and the rest of B.C., because one 747 jet load of passengers is expected to generate tens of millions of dollars worth of investment in the province.

Erickson predicts the new terminal's indoor area will feature such amenities as a common-user lounge - as opposed to executive lounges on which airports charge a premium and a health spa.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Vancouver tries to be on the cutting edge of amenities," says Erickson.

Vancouver Airport CEO Berg is already looking beyond the upcoming expansion efforts. He predicts a new terminal will be needed by 2015, so construction will have to begin by 2012. Later this year, public consultation sessions will begin on a new runway planned for 2025.

"Vancouver's runway capacity is sufficient in the near term," says Erickson. "Certainly, by 2025, that runway will be required."

(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)