Yvr
 

I will be flying out of YVR on Cathay Pacific, flight leaving at 8:30am. I am leaning towards driving up from Washington State the night before. I live quite close to the border. It will be the first time I have flown first class purchased with Alaska Air miles and am wondering if it necessary to be at the airport 3 hours ahead of time with a first class ticket. Also, what would be the best place to stay overnight where I can leave my car for two weeks and also get a shuttle back and forth. Thanks for any input.

Been a while since I've lived in Vancouver, but I can tell you this:

- There's a good hotel at the airport, in the international terminal. Probably not cheap, but very convenient (and the bar has an excellent selection of Scotch if that's to your liking). Google it.
- There's good long-term parking not far from the terminal. Follow signage from Hwy 99 to the airport, then look for the parking lots on your right as you approach the terminal. They run a shuttle. Rate might be CDN$12 per day now??? I'm guessing, maybe someone else can advise.
- CX has a first & business class check-in desk on the outside wall of the international terminal, facing the main check-in area. Last time I went through there, about a year ago, the process was very efficient and so there should be no reason to show up 3 hrs early. If you stay at the airport hotel you can check with them the night before as the desk will be open for the night flight that CX runs (or used to run, it's been a while!) to HKG.

Service is good on CX so enjoy your flight!

No line-ups at the CX FC check-in. You don't need 3 hours but you might want to spend a bit of time in the lounge. International has a fast-track line for security.

There are 2 main lots. One is a privately run lot and the other is the YVR lot. The YVR lot is closer but there are often coupons for the private lot. Sorry, forgot the name of the private lot. I think they both run about $7/day and have shuttles.

The Fairmont YVR is attached to the airport but can get a bit pricey. Within Richmond itself, there is the 4 Points, Hilton, Marriott, and others for a bit less (and more things to do). It's about a 5-10 min drive to the airport from there.

Here is a list of hotels near the airport. Several of them offer Park and Fly specials. I know Hampton Inn and Marriott do, but I am sure there are others. You might have to phone them and ask for their Park and Fly rates, though, as they don't always have them available for booking via the Web sites.

The Fairmont YVR is a terrific hotel, with great soaker tubs in each room. And it'd be a great way to kick off the trip, if not the cheapest way to do it.

Another site that lists hotels w/ parking deals around YVR is here: http://www.parksleepflyhotels.com/ai.../vancouver.htm

Personally, I think the guideline about getting to the airport 3 hrs early is to give you some lead time to ensure that you don't get stuck in traffic and to ensure you can get through any bottlenecks at check-in or security. Walks to some gates are a bit of a trek too. If you're flying during a weekday morning, you might want to leave for YVR earlier if you get stuck in tunnel rush hour traffic for example. (I almost missed a morning flight because of an accident on a bridge.) If you have a first class ticket, I wouldn't worry too much about bottlenecks at check-in or security because as others have mentioned, you can get to use shorter queues.

If you stay at the airport hotel, you can use one of the long term lots at YVR. (And make sure you use a coupon.) I use Park'N Fly and the YVR Long Term Parking lot (though never longer than a week). They're both fairly similar distance from the terminals and offer free shuttles to and from. At Park'N Fly, you just drop your car off in a drop off lane, have staff park your car for you, sign-in, and wait for the shuttle to pick you up outside the building. They have your car waiting outside the building when you return. At YVR's lot, you just find a stall for your car in one huge parking lot and wait for the shuttle at a designated pickup shelter. The most glaring difference IMO is that your car is somewhat more "in the open" at the YVR lot but I haven't heard of anyone getting their cars broken into there (both lots security patrolled and have a gated exit).

http://parknfly.ca/spring2007/vancou...er.html?=61968

http://www.yvr.com/guide/parking/
http://www.yvr.com/pdf/guide/yvr_web_couponJan06.pdf

Prices are somewhat similar but it seems weekly parking is cheaper at Park'N Fly but daily parking is cheaper at YVR's lot.