Re the Globe story today “Jazz Air Income Fund chief executive officer Joseph Randell is vowing to break Porter Airlines Inc.'s monopoly on commercial flights at Toronto City Centre Airport.”

Not so fast!

There is nothing in the information we have that suggests that Porter’s cosy exclusive deal with the Port Authority has an end date. That would be totally surprising, given Porter’s aggressive expansion, purchase of new planes, and spending of millions on its new terminal.

The reason? If the Island airport is operated in accordance with the constraints set out in the tripartite agreement, there is a fixed limit on the number of flights in and out of the airport – “slots”, as they are called – based on the total noise created, considering both the noise intensity (loudness) and frequency (how often noise happens). That limit – the Noise Exposure Forecast 28 contour – is shown in a map attached to the agreement. If Jazz gets rights to use the Island Airport,  the number of slots available to Porter for its expansion must necessarily decrease, forcing any further expansion of its business elsewhere.

We’ve seen figures of 120 maximum permitted slots per day, up to 167. A new study, supposedly to start soon, will determine the precise number permitted. So whether it is Porter, or Jazz, or both, the maximum number will be the same.

Since helicopter noise is now required to be included (as the result of two requests for that from the City), and helicopter noise is very loud, the available permitted noise for commercial operations, whether Porter or Jazz, must be reduced. This may well mean that the levels of noise now being emitted by Porter planes is over the limit, and Porter’s current level of operations must be curtailed.

We do know that Porter’s investors had a study done in 2005 to assure them that Porter could operate their planned number of flights. We have that study, and it did not include helicopter noise. Surprisingly, investors put their $100 million into Porter in reliance on a study that did not give them the whole picture.

Transport Canada was obligated to conduct a new noise study last December, that included helicopter noise. It has dawdled outrageously - the study has yet to begin –because, in our view, its bureaucrats are far more friendly to Porter than they are to the communities affected by Porter’s noise emissions.