After veiled hints at spreading its wings through northeastern Ontario, Porter Airlines has officially announced its expansion into the Sudbury market.
As of March 31, the company will begin with one daily non-stop round-trip flight between the Greater Sudbury Airport and the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, formerly known as the Toronto Island Airport, located minutes from the downtown business and entertainment districts. Other carriers connecting the two cities instead travel to the Pearson International Airport.
Greater Sudbury Airport CEO Robert Johnston says he firmly believes the benefit to the Greater Sudbury community and the airport itself will be "enormous," as traffic between the two cities already makes up 40 per cent of the airport's business.
Available year-round, one-way fares from Sudbury will start at $99 plus taxes. Johnson says this may create lower pricing among carriers already connecting Sudbury and Toronto, such as Bearskin Airlines and Air Canada Jazz.
"The biggest impact it's going to have is to bring competition into our market, and that's going to result in more choice, more frequency, and most importantly, lower fares on domestic, trans-border and international routes," says Johnston.
"Porter's a fairly new, upstart airline, and they've aggressively expanded into a number of markets like Boston, Chicago, Halifax, St. John's, Ottawa and Montreal. Their experience in all those cities is that they've brought competition into those areas, and fares have gone down as much as 50 per cent."
Sudbury is the second city in the North to host Porter. The company moved into the Thunder Bay market in the summer of 2009, and is now up to three flights a day.
Should Porter similarly grow its Sudbury offerings beyond its initial single daily flight, something Porter officials say is likely to happen, Johnston predicts the airport may have to add more staff to accommodate demand for services.
Outfitted with a 70-seat configuration, Porter's Bombardier Q400 aircraft caters strongly to business travellers. Like other aircraft in its fleet, it will come complete with leather seats, extra leg room as well as complimentary snacks, small meals, beer and wine.
However, airport officials hope the low-cost alternative and its immediate connection to Toronto's downtown will appeal to a broad range of people, whether they're travelling for a business meeting or a hockey game.
"The location Porter flies into is very, very critical," says Johnston, adding that it may well open an entirely new tourism market for the Sudbury Airport.
Expectations are that, by offering a niche appeal, Porter may attract an infusion of travellers, creating a net growth of passengers, rather than simply just siphoning business from existing carriers.
In turn, additional revenue from Porter will open up new avenues for the airport to diversify, including the sale of additional commercial lands, the resurfacing or extension of runways, and the upgrade of instrumentation systems.
"There are lots of things this could open up."
By creating new financial avenues for the airport to pursue, Porter's announcement represents the realization of the Greater Sudbury Airport's "number one strategic goal," which is to bring more carriers to the city, says Johnston.
While discussions are ongoing to attract other carriers such as WestJet, Porter's arrival is the culmination of more than two years of talks, ridership surveys and proposals on behalf of the airport to bring the fledgling airline to Sudbury.
The company's business plan has long included intentions to push into other areas of the North, making the move to Sudbury an obvious one, says Porter spokesperson Brad Cicero.
"Northern Ontario is definitely a key region for Porter, so it's a bit of a natural next step for us when we look to increase our presence there," says Cicero.
While there are no solid timelines for future expansion, Porter is also considering Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie as additional destinations.
www.flyporter.com
www.city.greatersudbury.on.ca
