Porter Airlines has exercised existing options by confirming the delivery of a further two Bombardier Aerospace Q400 aircraft in 2009. These will bring the fleet size up to 16 aircraft.
The aircraft order is significant as it demonstrates just how far the airline has come since its inaugural flight in October 2006, nearly two years ago.
Toronto City Centre Airport (TCCA) has long been an integral part of the Toronto waterfront, purpose-built in 1939 on reclaimed property in Lake Ontario and the city”s first commercial airport. It is just a few minutes from Union Station and the centre of the city. A number of carriers used the facility over the years but were constrained in terms of aircraft suitability, and the fact access could only be achieved by a very short ferry ride. None of them lasted. Some local community groups and politicians also opposed the airport, but rather like London City these have become more muted as time has progressed. There is still no bridge.
Porter Airlines was conceived in the early part of the century to operate what was by then a rundown and hardly used facility. Besides standardizing on the fuel efficient 70-seat locally-built turboprop, a new ferry was introduced and the terminal facilities much upgraded. Initially the airline flew ten daily rotations to Ottawa. It now also operates to Montreal, Halifax, Quebec City, and Mt. Tremblant (seasonal), plus Newark New York, its longest, and perhaps most high profile route. Newark Liberty International, close to the New Jersey turnpike, is only 90 minutes flight time away, the same as the jets from the international airport. Time to downtown Manhattan is much the same as Kennedy and La Guardia depending on traffic.
Toronto City is a convenient alternative to Pearson International Airport for destinations within a 500 mile radius or two-hour flight time of the Greater Toronto Area. The airline lists a number of target route cities including Boston, Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Quebec City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It says it reached positive cash flow in March 2007 with ongoing profitability since June 2007. Catering includes premium snack boxes and a selection of beverages, including free beer and local Ontario wine.
For more information, visit www.flyporter.com.
Malcolm Ginsberg
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Porter's new Bombardier Aerospace Q400 pictured in Toronto