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Air Canada will receive 30 slots and Continental will get 16 at Billy Bishop, where Porter had a monopoly.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail

Porter Airlines Inc. will lose its Toronto Island airport monopoly by the end of 2010 under a proposal that awards new takeoff and landing slots to Air Canada and Continental Airlines Corp.

Since starting operations in October, 2006, Porter has enjoyed the monopoly on commercial flights at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, located on an island off downtown Toronto. But the Toronto Port Authority (TPA), which oversees the airport, said Wednesday that Air Canada will receive 30 daily slots, which will likely be used by regional affiliate Jazz Air LP.

Industry insiders say the decision clears the way for Jazz to operate seven round-trips daily between Toronto and Montreal, and another eight round-trips between Toronto and Ottawa, or a total of 30 slots a day. Continental has been awarded 16 daily slots under the TPA's allocation process overseen by an independent consulting firm, but aviation experts said the Houston-based carrier will likely use no more than eight slots, or four round-trips, for daily service between Toronto and Newark in New Jersey.

TPA chairman Mark McQueen described the new slot schedule as "an important milestone," while Porter chief executive officer Robert Deluce said he's looking forward to expanding the Toronto-based carrier's existing allotment of 112 slots daily.

Under the TPA decision, Porter will have received an extra 44 slots a day, or 156 in total, representing 77 per cent of 202 available airport slots.

Mr. Deluce said Porter already expects to operate an average of 140 daily slots this summer and fall, and plans to expand to 156 slots when construction is completed on the second phase of an expansion project at the Billy Bishop terminal by the end of the year.

"We're supportive of the Toronto Port Authority's slot allocation," he said in an interview. "Any time you have some certainty about the future is a positive thing."

Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick welcomed the progress on slot allocations, coming more than four years after a terminal company controlled by Mr. Deluce ousted Jazz from the island airport.

"We are anxious to resume operating at this facility as soon as possible to better serve our clients who wish to fly to and from the Toronto city centre," Mr. Fitzpatrick said in a statement. "But Air Canada is seeking a total of 74 slots, 15 round-trips a day to both Ottawa and Montreal, and seven a day to Newark, N.J., more than is proposed to be allocated by the TPA."

He noted that Federal Court of Canada hearings are slated for July in Vancouver to determine whether the slot schedule methodology would be implemented fairly.

Air Canada, Jazz and WestJet Airlines Ltd. fly out of Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

Last week, WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky acknowledged that WestJet suffers from a "lower brand awareness" in the Eastern Triangle of Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, compared with Porter's "top-of-mind awareness."

On Wednesday, WestJet said Duncan Bureau, the Calgary-based carrier's vice-president of sales, will be relocating to Toronto in August.

"With WestJet's continued expansion into the business and corporate markets, this move reflects how much WestJet values the travel trade and our corporate relationships in Central Canada. By having Duncan Bureau in Ontario, we will be better able to nurture these relationships for our mutual success," WestJet marketing executive vice-president Bob Cummings said in a statement.

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 4:00pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
AC-T
Air Canada
-0.15%19.61
CAL-N
Caleres Inc
-0.15%41.03

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