Porter Airlines Offers More Selection For Thunder Bay
by Scott A. Sumner
Thunder Bay Business
When the shiny new $25 million Bombardier Q400 aircraft landed at the Thunder Bay International Airport it marked the beginning of a new option for air travelers in the region. The third major carrier that will provide direct flights to Toronto is unique in that it lands at the Toronto City Centre Airport located on Toronto Island just a few minute ferry ride to downtown Toronto. The advantage is you can avoid the large Pearson Airport and save time and money in getting to the Toronto downtown.
“ We are here to mark the first day of flights between Toronto City Centre Airport and Thunder Bay Airport. We believe our service is quite unique and will strengthen the two communities. This is our first Northern Ontario destination- Thunder Bay. I have many relatives here
in Thunder Bay and Schreiber and it feels like to home,” said Robert Deluce, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porter Airlines. “ Our announcement of flights here created a strong response which has resulted in Porter Airlines committing to year round flights to Thunder
Bay. We will have three daily flights now and hope to go to 4 in the future. Arriving at Toronto City Centre Airport will be a new experience. It is one of the best airports in Canada just minutes from the downtown. We emphasize speed convenience and service. I feel Porter will be a refreshing alternative for your short haul air travel requirements.”
“ It was a wonderful flight up this morning and we had a good load. It is something we have always wanted to do and has been in our business plan. Our aircraft is environmentally friendly. Our block time will be about 10 minutes more that what you might experience on another carrier. You will save 45 minutes to 1 hour getting to the downtown. You can get in and out of the Toronto City Centre airport easily and it takes 7 or 8 minutes to get to the Toronto downtown,” said Deluce. “ We hope to serve Timmins, Sudbury and SS Marie cities as well as other places we feel we can service well. We don’t tend to be price leaders but we have found that in every market we go into it is uncanny how prices suddenly dip and generally stay lower. We make sure we have a competitive fare and we also save taxi fees and have on board amenities such as drinks.”
The Q 400 aircraft is a 70 seat configuration with all leather seats with 34 inches of pitch, a little closer to business class.“ We did place an order for 20 aircraft with Bombardier and have taken delivery of 12 of those aircraft now and starting in September we take 6 more. In the spring we take 2 more and may even have a second -order in with Bombardier,” said Deluce. “ We undertook construction of a new terminal a $45 million project with 150,000 square feet of space. It will house some retail, check in for customers and even US pre clearances. We will move in sometime late October of this year with the final completion in April 2010. We have all the approvals and you can see all the steel up.”
“ There are 4000 jobs associated with the Thunder Bay airport and $500 million in annual activity. Our parking lots are full. We want to expand our parking lots and the length of the runway. Last year we left behind 9000 passengers to Thunder Bay and we equate that to $11 million in expenditures lost here,” said Don Wing Chair of Thunder Bay Airport Authority. “ We are moving to extend our run way by 275 meters and that is our commitment. The tender is out for that. For Porter to come we had good support from many organizations- community partners- to provide the information to Porter to help them make their decision to come here.”
“ I was very exciting to be on that inaugural Porter flight to
Thunder Bay. As a former pilot I was itching to get my hands on that beautiful Q 400 airplane. It gives up absolutely nothing to the jets that come in here. The Deluce family have a long history of service in the industry. I see this as a great partnership. We are going places together.” said Bruce Hyer, MP Thunder Bay. Also on hand for the ceremonies were Michael Gravelle, MPP Minister of Northern Development and Mines. “ We are all excited when you made the announcements to begin flight. Your reputation proceed you and is excellent.”Bill Mauro, MPP Thunder Bay Atikokan said “ We are well served from this airport, the third busiest in Ontario. It will build on our many travel options available.”
There are 700 employees at Porter Airlines.
