I finally flew on Harbour Air! Based in Richmond, British Columbia, Harbour Air Seaplanes is perhaps one of the
most well-known seaplane operators in Canada. They’re actually the largest
seaplane airline in North America, and operate a fleet of De Havilland Beavers,
Turbo Otters, Twin Otters, and Cessna Caravans. Founded in 1982, they now have over 40
aircraft in the fleet, serving a number of British Columbia’s coastal communities,
and even an international service to Seattle. Given the varied landscape along the B.C.
coast, seaplanes are a natural fit in this part of the country, and Harbour Air alone
flies an average of 500,000 passengers a year. Now, in the past… far too many years of
making aviation-related YouTube videos, Harbour Air is by far the most requested
airline I get. Being relatively close to home, they are an airline I should’ve flown on a long
time ago, but I just hadn’t found the right time. In August of last year though, I
finally fixed that and was able to give one of Canada’s most
unique airlines a proper try! So, I made my way here to Vancouver
Harbour Flight Centre on this gorgeous summer morning to grab a flight over to Victoria. Located right here in downtown Vancouver, the
Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre seaplane terminal opened in 2011, though the area in Coal Harbour
has been used for seaplane operations for decades. Prior to its opening, Vancouver’s seaplane
operators had been using various temporary docks around Coal Harbour, and this new
terminal was proposed as a permanent solution. It’s used today by Seair Seaplanes and
the Harbour Air Group, which includes Harbour Air, Whistler Air, and Saltspring Air. Vancouver Harbour itself is the
busiest water aerodrome in Canada, with just shy of 50,000 takeoffs
and landings here in 2022. Because of that, it is also the only
controlled water aerodrome in the country, which also happens to be home to the tallest
air traffic control tower in the world. Located on top of the Granville Square building,
the tower cab sits at a height of 142 metres or 465 feet above the ground, taller than
any other control tower in existence. Some might disqualify it from really
holding that distinction because it isn’t a free-standing structure of
its own, but I still think it counts. Now, admittedly, part of the novelty here for me is that I’m far more familiar
with airplanes that have wheels, but this entire operation here for both
pilots and air traffic control is fascinating. That, plus the famous floating Chevron
station in the distance for boats and the gorgeous scenery around makes this by far
one of the coolest airports in the country. After admiring the view for
a bit in the morning sun, it was time I headed inside
to check in for the flight. Harbour Air’s part of the terminal
here has a nice large waiting area and their check-in desks along the western wall. There, it was a short lineup to get checked in, which went alongside plenty
of Harbour Air merchandise. I showed my ID, my bag was weighed, and I
got my boarding pass for today’s flight. Interestingly, Harbour Air uses
these reusable boarding passes, which get collected as you walk down
to the plane! What a cool touch! While checking in, I also asked which
plane we were flying on specifically, and found out our plane for today would
be this nearly 64-year-old De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Turbo Otter registered
as Charlie Golf Oscar Papa Papa. As you can imagine, this plane, serial number
355, is full of history, and started out with the U.S. Army in early 1960. It was then
bought by the Government of Ontario in 1976, and flown by the Ontario Provincial
Police, hence the registration. It bounced around a few more operators from 1985
onwards, flying in both Canada and Australia, and was later sold to Ketchikan Air
Services in 1993. That same year, it was converted to a turbine,
and flew in Alaska until 1997, when it was purchased by Harbour Air and the
registration reverted to its original Canadian one. 27 years later and serial number 355 is
still with Harbour Air doing what it does best. Back in the terminal, Harbour Air also
offers complimentary coffee and tea if you’re flying with them, and there
is also some food for purchase here. The waiting area is very nice too, and
with these proper chairs it’s pretty comfy! I also like the collection of Harbour
Air umbrellas just in front of the door, should the weather take a turn for the worse. Eventually, boarding for flight 2019 was
called, and we made our way down to the docks! Now, the Otter is actually a single-pilot
plane, and as we were walking out there, I asked our pilot if there was any chance
of sitting up front in the copilot seat. Fortunately, they said yes, and
so I made a beeline right away for the best seat in the house! Or, plane I guess. Harbour Air’s Otters seat up to 14 passengers,
including this seat, which obviously does not have any accessible controls on this side. There
is still lots of room for this short flight! There’s a pair of David Clarks on the
wall behind you, plus a literature pocket on the door, and of course, a
perfect panoramic view out the front! It’s also super cool to see the older
De Havilland branding alongside the screens. Just sitting here, you’d have
no idea this plane was 64 years old! With everyone on board, the safety video
started played on the pilot’s iPad, on the wall behind me, with one point
that I could certainly appreciate. With that single Pratt and Whitney PT6 started up, here’s the departure from Vancouver Harbour,
off of run- *ahem* taking off to the northwest! Well, passing over the Lion’s Gate Bridge like that was unlike anything I’ve
experienced on an airline flight! As far as the weather goes, it could
not have been a better day for this, and we got a great view of the shoreline
flying past West Vancouver’s high-rises. Our routing today took us westbound at
first towards the mouth of Burrard Inlet, staying away from the busier airspace over YVR. On our way out, we passed a few of the many
ships waiting to get into Vancouver Harbour, and as we approached the Strait of Georgia, the views of Howe Sound and the mountains
in the distance were just gorgeous. Keep in mind, I’ve flown this route
a bunch of times on airliners only, so these were brand new views I was seeing. We continued westbound a little bit more,
passing over Bowen Island and getting some more great views of the trees below, before
making a southbound turn towards Victoria. That other Otter that took off just
before us was still visible too, but heading to Nanaimo instead,
further north on Vancouver Island. After leaving the busy-ness of Vancouver though, having the whole Strait of Georgia in front
of you at 1500 feet is quite the sight. With nothing but water for a few minutes, here’s
a look at the contents of that literature pocket. In here, Harbour Air had the
safety card for the Otter, This pamphlet showing their route map, and a
bit more about the company and its programs. They also had this “reserved” card
here for this seat, which I’m sure is occasionally occupied for operational
reasons, as well as an air sickness bag. Other than that, the real treat
of sitting up here is getting to watch everything happen first hand, and
also hear it all through the headset. Of course, in what seems like
much busier airspace than at home, I knew better than to say
much while we were flying. There are not that many airline operations
where you can get this kind of view though, so you can imagine I was just
having the time of my life. After maybe 10 minutes or so, the coastline
of Vancouver Island itself was just visible in the distance. That also meant we were
approaching the Southern Gulf Islands, a collection of hundreds of islands,
with about a dozen major ones. These are always some of my favourite
sights when I’m flying this route, so I think I’ll shut up for a bit and
let the views speak for themselves. After reaching Vancouver Island itself, we
actually flew right over top of Victoria International Airport, and got a
great view of YYJ and its runways! What felt like all too soon, the
city of Victoria was visible in the distance on the southeasternmost
corner of Vancouver Island, as were the Olympic Mountains across
the border in Washington State. We passed just west of the city before turning over the water to approach
the harbour from the south. Victoria’s Inner Harbour Airport
is arguably even more exciting than Vancouver Harbour since their
harbour is quite a bit narrower. That makes for, again, a beautiful approach, and here’s the arrival into Victoria
Harbour, landing to the east. So that was Harbour Air, and having flown
between Vancouver and Victoria plenty of times the “usual” way, I can pretty confidently
say this is a much better way to do it! This was a fantastic experience, not just for
the aviation geek element of riding up front, but also for the convenience
that Harbour Air offers. Being able to go from downtown to downtown is
a huge time saver compared to going through YVR and YYJ. Plus, it is one of the best
ways to see some of the natural beauty of this part of the world, and again, today
could not have been a better day for it. My only regret is that it took me this
long to see what a cool operation this is! I will absolutely be back to fly on
more of Harbour Air’s fleet in the future. Thanks so much for watching this short trip
with Harbour Air, and I will see you next time.
