The Island Airport will expand
Dear Joe
You take me to task by saying "It gets more than a little frustrating when informed people like you are completely ignoring a very basic constraint on Porter that keeps a limit on their daily flight total." Then again you say, "Porter would need over 200 slots per day to double their operation."
Joe, I have to ask you, then, what is Porter going to do with all of the planes that it is buying? We learned not very long ago that Porter has just ordered another two Q400s. When all of the orders for planes are fulfilled that will bring Porter's fleet to 21 aircraft. Where are they going to fly, if not out the Island Airport?
Porter's hub is the Island Airport. That is where the company has all of their maintenance and administration staff. All of their flights originate or return to the Island Airport. I have seen no announcement that they are moving to Pearson or they are going to develop a hub out of Montreal, or Thunder Bay or anywhere else.
Joe, you more than anyone, should know that the airline industry is highly politicized. It is the federal Department of Transport that makes the decision as to how many slots an airport can have, and you know that they can change the number of slots by simply changing the regulations. It is merely an administrative order. It does not have to be approved by Parliament. You also know that Porter has very close ties with Transport and the Conservative government in Ottawa. Remember those two Conservative cabinet ministers at a recent Porter announcement? That is a sure sign of the support that Porter has in Ottawa.
And in case you haven't noticed, Joe, Porter is building a new terminal at the Island Airport to increase the number of bays where the planes can be serviced and the number of passengers that they can handle.
Now you can call me paranoid, but I think, if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it is a duck. All this adds up to one thing. The federal government will increase the number of slots at the Island Airport and all of those new airplanes that Porter is buying will find a home at the Island Airport. Yes, I believe that we have just begun to see a massive increase in the amount of traffic at the Island Airport, and I believe that you have your head in the sand for believing that the number of slots that the airport is allotted today will somehow protect us from expansion in the future.
Oh, and one thing else. You are probably right that a child playing in Little Norway Park has a greater likelihood of being hit by a car than an airplane. I suspect that you have not been down to the Bathurst Quay neighbourhood very much since you left your job at the Island Airport and began to work at Pearson, but the community has changed fundamentally since Porter began operating. Not only has the noise and air pollution increased but the number of cars -- particularly taxis -- have increased enormously. I have seen taxis speeding along the streets taking one sole passenger to the terminal. This more than anything is increasing the safety concerns of residents, and particularly parents with young children. Again, the source of the problem is the expanded airport.
Have some sympathy and understanding, Joe. This neighbourhood is going through a major transformation because of the expansion of the Island Airport and it will only get worse in the future. That is not alarmist. It is reality.
Bill Freeman
You take me to task by saying "It gets more than a little frustrating when informed people like you are completely ignoring a very basic constraint on Porter that keeps a limit on their daily flight total." Then again you say, "Porter would need over 200 slots per day to double their operation."
Joe, I have to ask you, then, what is Porter going to do with all of the planes that it is buying? We learned not very long ago that Porter has just ordered another two Q400s. When all of the orders for planes are fulfilled that will bring Porter's fleet to 21 aircraft. Where are they going to fly, if not out the Island Airport?
Porter's hub is the Island Airport. That is where the company has all of their maintenance and administration staff. All of their flights originate or return to the Island Airport. I have seen no announcement that they are moving to Pearson or they are going to develop a hub out of Montreal, or Thunder Bay or anywhere else.
Joe, you more than anyone, should know that the airline industry is highly politicized. It is the federal Department of Transport that makes the decision as to how many slots an airport can have, and you know that they can change the number of slots by simply changing the regulations. It is merely an administrative order. It does not have to be approved by Parliament. You also know that Porter has very close ties with Transport and the Conservative government in Ottawa. Remember those two Conservative cabinet ministers at a recent Porter announcement? That is a sure sign of the support that Porter has in Ottawa.
And in case you haven't noticed, Joe, Porter is building a new terminal at the Island Airport to increase the number of bays where the planes can be serviced and the number of passengers that they can handle.
Now you can call me paranoid, but I think, if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it is a duck. All this adds up to one thing. The federal government will increase the number of slots at the Island Airport and all of those new airplanes that Porter is buying will find a home at the Island Airport. Yes, I believe that we have just begun to see a massive increase in the amount of traffic at the Island Airport, and I believe that you have your head in the sand for believing that the number of slots that the airport is allotted today will somehow protect us from expansion in the future.
Oh, and one thing else. You are probably right that a child playing in Little Norway Park has a greater likelihood of being hit by a car than an airplane. I suspect that you have not been down to the Bathurst Quay neighbourhood very much since you left your job at the Island Airport and began to work at Pearson, but the community has changed fundamentally since Porter began operating. Not only has the noise and air pollution increased but the number of cars -- particularly taxis -- have increased enormously. I have seen taxis speeding along the streets taking one sole passenger to the terminal. This more than anything is increasing the safety concerns of residents, and particularly parents with young children. Again, the source of the problem is the expanded airport.
Have some sympathy and understanding, Joe. This neighbourhood is going through a major transformation because of the expansion of the Island Airport and it will only get worse in the future. That is not alarmist. It is reality.
Bill Freeman
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