YVR Cuts Wait Times for Fliers to USA

Photo credit: iambents | Flickr

Photo credit: iambents | Flickr

Frequent fliers know the drill.  You’re already late for a flight out of YVR to the U.S. when you find yourself stuck in a massive lineup waiting to clear U.S. customs and immigration.  As the minutes tick away, the line crawls forward.

Those days may soon thankfully be a thing of the past.  Self-service kiosks for Canadians traveling to the U.S. are scheduled to be introduced at the Vancouver International Airport by the end of May.  The service is already available for Americans flying to the U.S. out of the airport.

The automated kiosks are similar to those already in place for Canadians returning to Canada, according to an article in the Vancouver Sun.  Those were introduced in 2009, during airport overhauls prior to Vancouver’s Olympic Games, and have succeeded in significantly reducing delays.  Passengers simply scan their passport, then feed their customs declaration into the machine, which spits out a copy for display to a waiting border agent.

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YVR Cuts Wait Times for Fliers to USA

How Fast Can You Eat a Japadog? Japadog Eating Contest at YVR

Japadog’s famous Terimayo. Photo: Remy Scalza

How fast can you down a Terimayo? How about 20 Terimayos?

Japadog, Vancouver’s most famous street food vendor, is hosting a Japadog eating contest to see who can eat the most Japadogs in 10 minutes at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) on August 17, 2012.

(Yes, there is a Japadog at YVR.)

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How Fast Can You Eat a Japadog? Japadog Eating Contest at YVR

A Terimayo Before Your Flight? Japadog lands at YVR

Photo credit: are you gonna eat that | Flickr

There’s been lots of food cart news lately in Vancouver: 12 new vendors; carts in public parks; a food truck block party at the Waldorf.  Amid all the excitement, however, this tasty bit of news slid through the cracks.

Japadog now has a food cart right outside of the International Arrivals Terminal at Vancouver’s YVR airport.   Airport dining may never be the same.

I noticed the brightly colored cart – with its endorsements from the likes of Ice Cube and Steven Seagal – while leaving the airport earlier this week.  The savoury smell of all-beef dogs topped with miso, wasabi, seaweed and daikon made me wish I’d skipped the in-flight meal.

I was disappointed to discover, however, that no one seemed to be patronizing the new YVR Japadog.  Travelers hustled by lugging carry-ons and suitcases, but nobody bothered to pause for some Asian-infused, wiener-based refreshment.  Considering that the downtown Japadogs are usually queued up day and night, this came as a surprise.  Continue reading:
A Terimayo Before Your Flight? Japadog lands at YVR

Wanna Live at YVR Airport for 80 Consecutive Days?

A few weeks ago, I posted a story about how Vancouver’s YVR airport was voted the best in North America at the annual World Airport Awards.  A lot of people commented about how much they loved YVR.  Well . . . now it’s time to put that love to the test.

Are you a big enough fan of YVR to live at the airport (a la Tom Hanks in Terminal) for 80 consecutive days?   YVR announced the Live@YVR contest a few weeks ago in honour of its 80th anniversary, and it’s no joke.  The winner gets put up for 80 straight nights in the Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel and cannot leave the Vancouver Airport Authority’s home base of Sea Island – for any reason – for 80 days.

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Wanna Live at YVR Airport for 80 Consecutive Days?

Who Loves YVR? (Officially, the best airport in North America)

Earlier this spring, while we were all distracted with Royal Wedding fever and playoff hockey, a very special honour was quietly bestowed on our own hometown airport.   At the prestigious (and little known) World Airport Awards in Copenhagen, Vancouver International Airport (YVR, to us regulars) took home the prize for North America’s best airport.

Award organizers collected 11 million questionnaires from travelers around the world.  More than 240 airports were ranked on 39 different criteria, including accessibility, public transportation options, cleanliness, comfort, friendliness of staff, clarity of signage and other amenities.

And when the smoke cleared, YVR was North America’s best.

Now, if you’ve done any amount of flying, you probably know that the award is well deserved.  YVR might not be the biggest or glitziest airport out there.  But it does stand out for a lot of reasons.

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Who Loves YVR? (Officially, the best airport in North America)

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