JANUARY 2012
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Flying downhill with Braydon Luscombe
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The winter sports season is here and for many that means heading to the local mountains to enjoy fun and games in the snow. However, for Braydon Luscombe, the winter season means business –a heavy travel schedule for competing in para-alpine races across North America and Europe. Sponsored by Vancouver Airport Authority since 2009, Luscombe, a former prospect athlete with the 2010 Legacies Now, Growing Champions program, has moved up to the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team (CPAST). He competes in the standing category for para-alpine athletes as his right leg was amputated after contracting an illness as a child. His natural talent, dedication and solid race finishes resulted in Alpine Canada Alpin selecting him for the 2011-2012 Senior National team. Luscombe has been training throughout the year with his fellow national team mates in preparation for his inaugural season to represent Canada on the international circuit. At 19, Luscombe displays an impressive level of maturity and commitment to his craft. He trains on snow approximately 100 days per year, 35 of those being race starts.
With YVR as his travel sponsor, Luscombe receives funding to help with the expense of the sport he loves. He has already travelled this season to Chile, Switzerland, the U.S. and Alberta. When asked what he is most excited about this season, Luscombe said: “I am stoked for my first year at the Senior National level. I had a great slalom run in my first Nor-Am race of the year at Copper Mountain (Colorado) with a 3rd place finish. I am really looking forward to the rest of the season.” Luscombe will hit the slopes seeking more podium finishes at Kimberley and Panorama in B.C., as well as New Hampshire and Colorado in the U.S. and the Canadian Nationals in Quebec. Travelling from race to race with the team takes a great deal of organization, especially with the equipment these elite athletes require. There are 13 members of the team, six of whom are from British Columbia. Luscombe, from Duncan, B.C., often travels through YVR. “YVR has got to be one of the easiest airports to travel through on my journeys, one path from point A to point B,”
Photo: Brianne Law/Alpine Canada Alpin.
Sponsored by Vancouver Airport Authority, Braydon Luscombe is all business as he prepares for his inaugural season on the Alpine Canada Alpin Senior National team. said Luscombe. Each team member is responsible for transporting their own equipment, so YVR’s oversized baggage carts (introduced for the 2010 Winter Games) come in handy to accommodate the multiple pairs of skis, poles, boots and team gear. Luscombe is looking to improve on his already impressive record. His favourite
discipline is slalom, in which he achieved 2nd place at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax, Nova Scotia, last season. With his 3rd place finish in Colorado this year, he has certainly made a great start. It is hoped that having YVR’s logo emblazoned on his helmet will help him fly downhill to more successes throughout the season.
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World’s longest cargo aircraft lands at YVR Billionaires look skyward
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travel: Last month, the world’s longest cargo plane, Cathay Pacific’s new 747-8 Freighter measuring 73.3 metres, landed at YVR for the first time.
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Last month, Cathay Pacific’s brand new 747-8 Freighter touched down at YVR for the first time, an encouraging sign for increased exports between Canada and Asia. The 747-8 Freighter is the world’s longest cargo aircraft measuring 73.3metres and holds up to 134 tonnes of cargo—16
per cent more volume than the airline’s predecessor, the 747-400. Not only does the aircraft hold more cargo, it is a leader in environmental performance. The 747-8 Freighter is more fuel efficient, produces fewer emissions and is 30 per cent quieter than its predecessor, thanks to the latest innovations in aircraft
Pallets of oysters bound for Hong Kong were loaded onto Cathay’s new 747-8 Freighter.
engine technology. Cathay Pacific is the first Asia Pacific airline to take delivery of 747-8 Freighters and currently operates three weekly freighter trips between Vancouver and Hong Kong, including cargo on the airline’s twice-daily passenger service. The new freighter will become the workhorse
of the airline’s cargo operations to and from North America into destinations throughout China and Asia. With its increased volume, better fuel efficiency and reduced noise, Cathay Pacific’s new aircraft offers a welcome boost for trade between Vancouver and Asia.
Changes to airfare advertising The Government of Canada has announced a timeline for proceeding with regulations requiring Canadian air carriers to include all fees and taxes in their advertised prices. Clause 27 of the Act to Amend the Canada Transportation Act, which was passed in Parliament in June 2007, required carriers to include all extra fees, surcharges and taxes in the advertised ticket price. However, Canadian carriers have
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maintained that mandating them to advertise the full cost of a ticket is unfair, given that some foreign carriers could continue to advertise their base fares online, where Canadian travellers could purchase their tickets. Since then, U.S. and European Union governments have moved to all-in airfare advertising. The United States has also further strengthened regulations requiring all-in airfare advertising that are scheduled to come into effect on January 24, 2012.
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Regulations, which will include consultations with stakeholders, will now be drafted requiring Canadian airlines to advertise the full price of airfares, including any airport taxes and other fees, by Christmas 2012. While the provinces of Ontario and Quebec all ready require travel agencies to include all fees and surcharges in their advertised prices, most other provinces require no such provision for travel agencies.
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Pierre Poilievre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport (left), and Steven Fletcher, Minister of State for Transport announced the Government of Canada’s intention to require Canadian carriers to advertise the full price of airfares.