They're back at it again.  Porter planes were doing engine run-ups to shatter the calm of a lovely evening.

I shouldn't say they are back at it again.  I suspect that engine run-ups have been going on all summer.  I, fortunately have spent much of the summer away and I haven't heard the bone rattling noise.

How many planes does Porter have now?  Twenty, twenty-one or more?  Who knows?  All we can predict is that it is going to get worse before it gets better.  Porter has another five planes on order from Bombardier.

The question is where will they fly to?  We know that they are adding flights to Ottawa and Montreal because those are the only sure winners.  All of the American routes, with the possible exception of Newark, are pretty well a bust.

I seem to remember that that was exactly the situation when City Express ran a service back in the late '70s and early '80s.  They could make a go of it on the Ottawa and Montreal runs.  Newark was iffy.  Finally they cut back on Newark and then they cut the whole business.  City Express went under.

So where are Porter's new planes going to fly to?  Hamilton's got a big airport that is underutilized.  What about Peterborough?  Or what about following the path of that trail blazer City Express?

Bill Freeman