Calgary eyed in Porter Airlines expansion
Toronto carrier may fly into Calgary
Toronto-based Porter Airlines announced plans Wednesday to expand across North America, with Calgary as one of the target destinations. The carrier, known for perks such as complimentary inflight wine and beer, could boost competition, analysts said.
Toronto-based regional carrier Porter Airlines announced plans Wednesday to expand across North America starting in 2016, identifying Calgary as one of the destinations it hopes to serve with its new Bombardier CS100 jets.
“We have determined that the CS100 airliner with a 107-seat configuration is the ideal aircraft to operate from our home base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and will make it possible for Porter to open up new destinations, such as Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, Florida and the Caribbean,” Porter president and CEO Robert Deluce said in a release.
“We are tremendously excited at the possibility of opening up these new, longer-range destinations and being able to offer highly competitive fares on these routes.”
Porter Airlines started in 2006 and operates from an island near Toronto’s lakefront. It currently flies to 19 regional destinations in central, eastern, and Atlantic Canada, and the U.S. Midwest and mid-Atlantic.
Deluce said the airline has signed a conditional purchase order for 12 Bombardier CS100 jets, with options for an additional 18. The jets would enable Porter to expand to destinations beyond the reach of the Bombardier Q400 turboprop planes it flies now.
Delivery of Porter’s first CS100 is expected in 2016.
The total purchase could reach US$2.29 billion if all options and purchase rights are exercised. Calgary-based WestJet Airlines, which in June will launch its new regional airline Encore, provided an emailed statement in response to the Porter announcement.
“We are focused on our fundamentals — low cost and people-driven guest experience — while continuing to prudently build out our network, product and channels. We expect competition to increase and are preparing accordingly,” said WestJet spokesperson Robert Palmer.
Chris Myden, founder of Calgary-based travel site Ydeals.com, said if Porter were to come to the West, the increased competition could mean cheaper fares for travellers.
He said while WestJet’s arrival onto the scene in the late ’90s initially drove down prices, the market has since stabilized and there are few deals to be had.
In an interview with the Herald, Myden pointed out that flights from Toronto to Montreal — a route flown by Porter, as well as WestJet and Air Canada — are typically advertised for about $250 round-trip. That is cheaper, he said, than comparable routes in the West.
“If you look at Calgary-Vancouver, where we only have two airlines, you’ll be hard-pressed to find much below $350 on what is an almost identical, large-market to large-market route,” Myden said. “It’s almost a case study for two airlines versus three airlines, and the impact that can have, price-wise.”
Myden said Porter has a good reputation with travellers — offering unique perks like complimentary inflight wine and beer — and consistently receives strong ratings on airline review site Skytrax.
“The love for them from people is really high. They remind me a little bit of WestJet in that way,” Myden said. “Probably only JetBlue in North America gets better reviews overall.”
Still, Porter’s plan to spread its wings is far from a done deal. It must first seek permission from the City of Toronto, Government of Canada and Toronto Port Authority — not only to fly jets out of Billy Bishop Airport, which is currently prohibited, but also to extend the main runway at the airport 168 metres into the water at each end.
Industry analyst Robert Kokonis of AirTrav Inc. said there’s a big risk that Porter’s plans will never happen be- cause of expected opposition to the airport expansion from Toronto residents and environmentalists. Locals have pushed back before on plans to expand the airport, over concerns about noise, as well as the impact on nearby wildlife. Air Canada has also challenged how takeoff and landing slots were awarded at the airport. “That would be a big win if all the chips fall in the right place or it could end up being a disaster,” Kokonis said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
But Deluce told reporters he’s so confident his airline will prevail that he doesn’t have a backup plan. “Our plan is predicated on us being able to get the approvals that we need in order to be able to operate these airplanes,” he said.