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How do airlines plan when to land and take off at Vancouver International Airport (YVR)?
That's where the airport's capacity management team comes in.
Every day, around 700 flights take off and land at YVR, and a team of specialists makes sure each one has a designated time slot and a place to go.
Vivian Chan, one of two managers of airport capacity with the Vancouver Airport Authority, has garnered the nickname "aviation Tetris" master. She and her team build flight schedules with airlines six months in advance, slotting flights into the airport's limited space.
Chan's work is often mistaken for what happens in the control tower. Her job is less about air traffic control and more about strategy.
The Richmond News followed along with Chan to get a better understanding of how important her role is at YVR.
Her work day normally starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m., but she said her hours are flexible depending on what her workload looks like each day. Her job is considered a hybrid role, allowing her to work three times in the office and twice elsewhere each week.
Chan starts her day at her desk answering emails, monitoring airline performances, and attending process improvement meetings within the airport, but sometimes she is required to attend industry calls as early as 4 a.m.
The capacity management team works with multiple departments in the airport, including the operations team, which ensures the management team's schedules and plans are executed.
"It's not super interesting on a day-to-day basis, but the portfolio is what's really the bigger picture," said Chan.
The bigger picture means the overall operation from travellers entering the airport and taking off on their flights, and vice versa.
Her biggest conferences happen twice a year, each taking a few days, where she meets and discusses with more than 50 airlines how the flight schedules with YVR will look.
"We get very little time with the airlines, so it's important for us to do all the pre-work in advance," said Chan.
At the conferences, she gets about 15 minutes each with around 50 airlines to discuss and confirm schedules, often requiring her to go "back and forth" between some to find a compatible time for everyone.
"It's a collaboration and ... this really strengthens the whole working relationship while having the time to make sure the airlines are doing well," said Chan.
Coming out of the conference, Chan will have the most optimal master plan for 4,200 flights travelling through YVR for the next six months.
"The team needs to make sure that the puzzle fits every single day, and for that to work, the puzzle is slightly different every day," she said, adding that some gates can only accommodate certain planes.
"There's no one answer, no right or wrong answer. That's the creativity lens from working in this (team)."
When asked what could happen if there was a tiny margin of error in the schedule, Chan explained there are a "couple layers of safety blankets" with additional checks and "re-optimizing through the entire process to safeguard it."
"When airlines aren't meeting certain performances, we connect with them and see how we can help improve that — the approach is very collaborative."
Requirements of an airport capacity employee
To work as a member of the airport capacity management team, it helps to know about airline networks and operations.
Chan said it is useful to understand how planes turn around between landing and departing, as well as problem-solving skills and good communication.
The Matthew McNair alumna completed a diploma in aviation management at BCIT's Aerospace Technology Campus in Richmond. She later completed bachelor's and master's degrees at an online aviation university while working with the Vancouver Airport Authority.
She has been employed with YVR for 19 years in various roles, from working in customer service in dispatch to being a terminal duty officer.
"For me, the experience is really more critical than the education, in my opinion," said Chan.
Other team members, she added, came from different aviation backgrounds and education, including working for an airline and then transferring to operations.
"I don't think there's a specific requirement, but a good understanding of the industry is definitely an asset."
The capacity management system at any airport is important not only from a flight schedule perspective, but it can also affect how the airport operates at its most efficient state, explained Chan.
This means from when a passenger arrives at the airport for the first time, to flights on the apron and runways to when a passenger leaves the airport.
"The job impacts the economy from Canada Post to political relationships. Current events have a lot of impact on the work you do, but all the work you do can also impact what's happening around the world."
Interesting aviation facts on the job
Chan has an appetite for interesting aviation facts, and they're not limited to just what happens at YVR.
During international meetings and conferences, she has found herself learning about why certain airlines operate in unique ways.
This included learning that fewer daytime international flights are operating out of Dubai due to high temperatures.
"During the day, it gets really hot, and hot air reduces air density, which as a result requires planes to take off with more power or less weight to get enough lift," explained Chan.
"It's through these conferences and meeting airlines in person that I get to learn all these fun facts," she said.
"These things are not super obvious, but once you kind of get into understanding these facts, you can see why that would be an impactful thing or be related to the industry in other ways."
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