Air Canada keeps up anti-jet stance for island
Airline looks for more slots at Billy Bishop as profit jumps to $734M thanks to lower fuel prices and cost-cutting efforts
Air Canada’s chief executive is reiterating the airline’s view that jets should not be permitted at Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport.
“We think jets are a bad idea for the island,” Calin Rovinescu said during a conference call with analysts on Thursday, after the carrier released strong third-quarter earnings.
“We think it’s a bad idea based on the fact it contravenes the tripartite agreement that was negotiated years ago. We think it’s a bad idea for all of the environmental reasons that folks around the Toronto waterfront have been saying.”
The new federal government has not formally moved on Porter Airlines’ proposal to fly Bombardier’s CSeries jets from the island airport, but area Liberal MP Adam Vaughan has been clear, saying the party does not support the expansion plan.
In a June 4 letter from local Liberal MPs to Mayor John Tory and city councillors about the future of the Gardiner Expressway, the MPs mentioned the party’s commitment to reforming the port authority, now known as PortsToronto.
They also said they have pledged not to reopen the tripartite agreement, signed by the city, Transport Canada and PortsToronto, which operates the airport.
Porter Airlines has been pushing for the approval of jets, but council deferred any decision on the eve of the 2014 municipal election. Instead, PortsToronto has embarked on a series of studies, including a runway design and environmental assessment, and says it still plans to complete the work.
Air Canada’s Rovinescu also said the airline will push for more access at island airport, since it only has 30 daily takeoff and landing slots, with Porter controlling the remaining172. Air Canada flies between the island and Montreal but wants to offer service to Ottawa and New York.
“We haven’t been able to get the adequate slots,” he said. PortsToronto, which declined to weigh in on Rovinescu’s comments, has made it clear that it does not expect to have any additional slots. Air Canada lost out previously because it was flying routes already offered and not creating new routes to different destinations.
However, if jets were permitted, early studies have suggested the number of could grow to 242.
Air Canada has been a vocal opponent of jets at the airport since April. When Porter announced its plan in 2013, Rovinescu told the Star that if jets were allowed, Air Canada would want to fly jets too.
Porter spokesman Brad Cicero said the airline intends to contact Transport Minister Marc Garneau about the proposal. Cicero said Porter isn’t surprised by Air Canada’s “self-serving, contradictory positions” on jets over the years. He added if any addi- tional slots become available Porter would also apply for them. A PortsToronto spokeswoman, Deborah Wilson, said officials have not had any communications yet with Garneau’s office.
Air Canada reported strong thirdquarter profits that beat analyst estimates, thanks to lower fuel prices and cost-cutting efforts. Its adjusted profit was $734 million or $2.50 per share. That was up 60 per cent from $457 million last year, and 29 cents per share above analyst estimates.