Winning the same award three years on the bounce might become a little routine for some.
But after a hat-trick of being named North America's best airport, the people down at YVR are just as thrilled as they were when winning the accolade in 2010.
The 2012 Skytrax World Airport Awards, announced in Vienna, recognize product and service quality across the world's airport industry and are based on an independent survey of 12 million passengers from 108 countries.
Airports were ranked based on 39 criteria, including design and layout, retail facilities, cleanliness and clarity of flight information.
"It's a credit to the 23,600 people who work here, because we all interact with the passengers in some way," Vancouver Airport Authority's (VAA) vice president of community and environmental affairs, Anne Murray, told the News. The morale boost from winning such lavish praise can be felt reverberating through every terminal, restaurant and retail outlet, Murray said.
The fact that the votes are cast by the passengers who use the airports lends the title more credibility and depth, said Murray.
Much has been made in recent months of the increasing amount of Canadians, especially in the Lower Mainland, border-hopping to jump on flights markedly cheaper than flying from YVR.
"I think we provide really good value to the passengers. Price is one thing, sometimes it is cheaper to fly from the U.S.," she said.
"But when you think of the choice you have in terms of where you can fly to YVR and the choice of services we have, we hope that passengers see that."
Awards aside, YVR was criticized recently for deciding to up its Airport Improvement Fee (AIF) - a 19-year-old fee levied at every passenger - from $15 to $20, starting next month. But, judging by the manner in which the airport is received by people who voted it the best on the continent once more, it's going to be money well spent, insists Murray.
"That fee goes into all the facilities and we think we've done a good job using that money appropriately for the airport," she said, pointing out the fee is still lower than the likes of Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal.
"The fee will be used to speed up the baggage systems and ensure passengers and their bags are connected."
