jeffjfj

Check out a map. YVR-BLI is the same distance as YVR-YXX. You actually come out better on gas because while you spend the same amount in gas, you can fill up in the US. Parking costs roughly the same at BLI as YXX, and both are cheaper than YVR.

LeSabre74

My time is worth more than that. As I said once the land crossing passport requirement goes into effect, watch BLI's numbers sink like a stone as the border becomes even more clogged.

jeffjfj

The border should be no more clogged (and could even be less so) once everyone's using passports - one swipe and the info pops up onscreen vs. having to manually enter the info, reconcile birth certificate with driver's license, etc. The rest will stay the same - where do you live, what's the purpose of your visit, have a nice day.

YOWkid

Most people living close to YVR will not drive to YXX to grab a flight, even if it's cheaper.

So, I'm not so sure massive amounts of people will drive down to BLI to catch a flight. There must be massive savings before people start changing their habits and driving down south to catch a flight.

Besides, it may only be advantageous for Vancouverites to drive down to BLI if they're flying to the U.S. anyway. Not many will drive south to travel internationally (I know some would), but no one in their right mind would drive to BLI only to fly back into Canada and be $50 ahead.

zoyabean

Most people who travel a lot wont, but families on vacation will. I know a lot of families who drive to SEA from the island to save money. We've done it when traveling with our kids for holidays. Last time we save almost $1000!!

That being said I wouldn't even consider it unless we saved at least $100 per person.. at $200 per person I would do it for sure.

YOWkid

That's exactly the point I was trying to make earlier -- people will only go to BLI if there are significant savings.

jeffjfj

Actually, there are many who are doing it - enough that WestJet is flying a few flights out of YXX. If you live in Richmond or Vancouver proper then you'll obviously prefer YVR. But for many others in the Lower Mainland it's easier & quicker to get to YXX than YVR due to traffic and route layout.

No one's arguing with that. But then again no one has yet implied that the savings will be insignificant. Any airline operating out of BLI in an attempt to gain pax from YVR will realise fairly quickly that undercutting YVR by $2 won't be enough of an incentive. However, savings out of SEA to places like PVR or Hawaii often run around $300 - that'd definitely be enough to get people thinking of flying out of BLI.

CZBB

Oh dear, you had better explain Southwest's business plan to them. They assume the average SW flier will drive 100 miles to catch a flight with better pricing. They seem to be doing fairly well.

You're looking at a difference of $150/person (return) for YVR-LAS-YVR vs BLI-LAS-BLI. Add in parking is 1/2 the price @ BLI and there's great incentive. Now, if you live in Surrey or further east, there's no time difference in getting to the two airports.

A good example would be me. In decent traffic from my house, it's about 25 min to YVR, or 50 min to either YXX or BLI. I'll save 10 right off the bat by parking at the terminal at YXX or BLI, vs taking a shuttle from Longterm (@YVR), so all of a sudden, the question is "Will you drive 15 extra minutes to save $75/each way?"

As for delays crossing the border, the longest border wait I've had in the last 2 years was the 45 min @ YVR pre-clearance, (as there were three YVR-HNL flights leaving within 30min of each other).

Personally I expect YXX and BLI to boom in the next 5 years.

cur

...what you pay for is what you get? if i pay $370 tax in for 2 people to go to florida, and i get delayed 8 hours, i'm not gonna go on FT telling everyone how much of an injustice this is and how everyone is lying to me. i'm going to spend the savings on that flight on some rum at the bar. hopefully your parents are just as easy going.

acysb87

My son drove from Vancouver last week to BLI to join me at LAS.The cost was about US160 all taxes in r/t.
He did note that there were many Canadian plated vehicles in parking lot.Best guess was 70%.
He also was required to show birth certificate only at land border crossing as his new passport will be ready next week.There is no requirement for Canadian passport on domestic US flights.

FATFlyer

Given Allegiant's growth at BLI I would think someone is seeing enough savings to use BLI.

Allegiant started in August 2004 operating 4 flights a week from BLI to LAS.

They currently operate, I think, 9 flights a week to LAS (over double the original number in only 2.5 years). Plus they added seasonal BLI-PSP 3 flights a week.

I have a hard time believing that is all being filled just by people from the Bellingham area.

YVR72

Allegiant's flight schedule lists "Vancouver, BC/Bellingham".

It's also great for our neighbours in Bellingham. They benefit from being so close to Vancouver, BC with these flights, but they also ride the exchange rate wave. Times are sure good right now though!

superdawg

I know there are airlines that never even took their first flight but Western (operated by Xtra) is already on shaky ground only 2 weeks after their first flight
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/256/story/48243.html

BTR_CDN

Just a couple of quick notes on Bellingham...

1.) Delta has started providing two flights a day to Bellingham from Salt Lake City.

2.) For those of you who aren't aware, Quick Coach has 5 buses going each way (7 during the summer) that transport people between YVR and SEA with a stop at BLI.

Obviously there is a Vancouver (and Vancouver Island and Southern Interior) based market for flights from Seattle and now Bellingham. I personally usually fly into Seattle rather than Vancouver as I can save $200-$300 flying into Seattle at Christmas and my relatives are happy to pick me up in Seattle as they use it for a chance/excuse to do some shopping in Bellingham or Seattle and maybe going to the casino for a bit.

I think the passport issue is a non-starter as no matter where you fly from, you're going to have to show your passport to someone at some point.

Ken hAAmer

One only needs to go to Bellis Fair mall to realize that for many residents of the GVRD (particularly those in the south) driving to Bellingham is a lot more convenient and trivial than driving to downtown Vancouver.

On many occasions, after a 3-5 minute wait in the line up at the border the entire transaction between me and the US official consists of:

INS: Where are you going today?
me: Bellis Fair Mall.
INS: Drive safely.

With a NEXUS card, it would be even faster.