Porter Airlines Inc. has won another 16 daily slots at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, beating out Air Canada for the right to introduce new flights at the terminal.
“We look forward to providing service to new destinations for our passengers,” Porter president Robert Deluce said in a statement Thursday. “We will make specific route announcements as plans are finalized for 2012.”
Mr. Deluce said in an interview in July that he’s aiming to expand domestically and also has plans to start service to Washington Dulles International Airport. Another possible U.S. destination is Philadelphia International Airport, while options in Ontario include Timmins, North Bay and London. A slot is defined as a single takeoff or landing.
For Air Canada, the awarding of 16 new slots to Porter comes as a disappointment. The carrier, which launched service between Billy Bishop and Montreal in May, has 30 slots at the island airport, located near Toronto’s downtown core. By contrast, Porter will now have 172 slots, up from 156 currently being operated.
Air Canada and Porter both use Bombardier Q400 turboprops at the island airport.
“The slot allocation process is based on defined criteria set out by the Toronto Port Authority’s internationally accredited, independent slot co-ordinator,” Porter said in a release.
The TPA, which oversees the airport, said it conducted “an extensive analysis that evaluated the key factors affecting airport operations,” with advice provided by Airport Coordination Ltd. and Jacobs Consulting.
“TPA appointed ACL to independently manage the commercial carrier demand and allocate the available slots,” said the port authority, noting that the methodology used to choose Porter and exclude Air Canada in this round “is similar to those used at other North American airports.”
Priorities for allocating new slots included whether the carrier would operate a route year-round and the “ongoing TPA corporate objective to increase and diversify the number and choice of destinations” to meet the demands of business and leisure fliers, said the port authority.
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