While most teenagers dream of learning to drive a car, Robert Deluce spent his youth flying planes around Northern Ontario.
The Chapleau-born, White River trained-pilot didn't get his official licence from Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport until late in high school, but he was flying long before that. Deluce got plenty of practice, as one of nine children of a family with an air service company that flew summer tourists up to Lake Superior in the 1950s.
Now the president and CEO of Porter Airlines flies people around Ontario, and into neighbouring states and provinces, but in a much larger capacity.
Deluce visited Sudbury, May 19, to address Porter's history and future plans, as part of a Sudbury Chamber of Commerce speaker series.
“I spent half my life in Northern Ontario and it's nice to fly back into these locations,” said Deluce. “These four to five cities are quite important to us, and they've all grown.”
Deluce said that more than 12,000 flights have come out of Sudbury since Porter arrived in the city in 2010, carrying more than 400,000 passengers. They started with one return flight a day, and now, most days of the year there are four return flights available.
Greater Sudbury Airport CEO Bob Johnston that the Porter service to Sudbury has helped the city, the airport especially, by increasing air traffic 75 per cent.
“It had a very significant on our airport, once competition comes into a market, it improves airfares, lowers them, and provides options for citizens,” said Johnston.
Deluce said there are exciting plans for Porter's development in the near future, but said the announcements won't be made until the end of the year.
Established in 2006, Porter runs on the hub-and-spoke model based at Toronto’s Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and flying out to 23 Canadian and U.S. destinations, including the five major Northern Ontario cities.
He said that more flights to “spokes” in the West are definitely a possibility, citing destinations ranging from Winnipeg to San Francisco.
For those Sudburians looking for cheaper flights to Thunder Bay, flights between Northern Ontario cities is not on the immediate agenda, due to what Deluce said is a lack of “critical mass” to fill the seats in their larger planes. However, he said it was not out of the question and would be included in future studies.
