World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
Tel: (604) 276 6500 or 207 7077 (information).
Website: www.yvr.ca

The airport is located 15km (9 miles) southwest of the city centre and is a major gateway between Pacific Rim and North American destinations. It serves over 15 million passengers annually, making it Canada’s second busiest airport. The international and domestic terminals are connected directly to one another. The South Terminal (linked by shuttle bus) handles float plane and helicopter services, which are also available to the Downtown waterfront on Burrard Inlet.

Major airlines: The national airline is Air Canada (tel: (888) 247 2262; website: www.aircanada.com), which operates regional services under the Air Canada Jazz moniker and low-cost domestic routes as Tango. The low-cost airlines WestJet (tel: (888) 937 8538; website: www.westjet.com) and Jetsgo (tel: (866) 440 0441; website: www.jetsgo.net) operate flights between Vancouver and other destinations, mainly in Canada. Among the 40 other carriers serving the airport are Air New Zealand, Air Transat, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Continental Airlines, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Northwest Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines and Zoom Airlines.

Approximate flight times to Vancouver: From London is 9 hours 40 minutes; from New York is 6 hours 30 minutes; from Los Angeles is 2 hours 40 minutes; from Toronto is 4 hours 50 minutes and from Sydney is 18 hours 30 minutes.

Airport facilities: These include the Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel, duty-free and other shops, newspaper stands, restaurants, bars, nursery, bank, bureaux de change, ATMs, left luggage, Internet payphones, WiFi access, DVD rentals, chapel, hair salon, health spa, showers and visitor information (tel: (604) 207 1598). Car hire is available from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, National and Thrifty.

Business facilities: In addition to airline lounges, there is the CDS Business Centre, open 0500-2300 (tel: (604) 303 4500) in the international terminal. Services include fax, photocopying and computer workstations.

Arrival/departure tax: An airport improvement fee (AIF) is payable upon departure – C$5 for flights within British Columbia, and C$15 for flights outside the province. Other departure taxes are included in the ticket price.

Transport to the city: The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, under the name TransLink (tel: (604) 953 3333; website: www.translink.bc.ca), operates city buses and the SkyTrain, which combine to provide a convenient route into the city centre from the airport. Bus 424 operates a service 0530-2445 daily, to the Airport Station bus terminal, with frequent connections to the 98B express bus, which runs 0427-0119, to Downtown (total journey time – 45 minutes). Departures are every seven-eight minutes at peak times and every 15 minutes evenings and weekends. The fare is C$2.25-4.50.

A coach service to Downtown Vancouver hotels and the main bus depot is provided by Airporter (tel: (604) 946 8866 or (800) 668 3141; website: www.yvrairporter.com) every 15 minutes 0630-2115, then every half an hour until 2410 (journey time – 25-45 minutes). Fares cost C$12 one way and C$18 return (concessions are available). Coaches are also available to Seattle, Victoria and Whistler.

The taxi fare to Downtown is approximately C$25-30 (journey time – 25 minutes). A limousine service is also available from Limojet Gold Express (tel: (604) 273 1331; website: www.limojetgold.com) for a flat rate of C$39 (plus tax) to the city centre.