Cargo movements through Vancouver International Airport (YVR) are expected to improve this year following some tough years in the goods-movement business.
“In the last several years it’s been a rocky road because the airline business in the last 10 years has been up and down,” said Raymond Segat, director of cargo and business development at YVR, adding that the airport is expecting a modest increase in cargo movement in 2012.
That increase results in part from Canada’s first all-freight cargo service to Mainland China, which began carrying goods from Vancouver to Shanghai six months ago.
The flights, operated by China Southern Airlines, have been a boon to B.C. businesses specializing in perishable goods such as berries, salmon and geoduck, which is a delicacy in Asia.
In addition to China Southern’s presence at YVR, Cathay Pacific has upgraded its freighter aircraft out of the airport, which increases its capacity and expands its flight range.
On top of that, integrator companies such as UPS, DHL and Purolator have all increased their footprint at the airport in recent years as YVR looks to compete with Alaska’s premier cargo hub in Anchorage.
Segat said longer-range freighters such as Cathay Pacific’s new 747-400F out of YVR make direct flights to other continents easier and allow cargo planes to fly direct to Vancouver and avoid traditional fuelling stops in Anchorage.
“We see that as an opportunity for us.”
Still, YVR has a long way to go before it surpasses cargo movement at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, which is the U.S.A.’s second busiest cargo airport. YVR moved 205,018 tonnes of cargo in the first 11 months of 2011.
Although December cargo- movement numbers have yet to be published, Segat expected total goods movement in 2011 to be flat or slightly below 2010 (228,414 tonnes). •
