Mr. Iler,

Even CAIR should be impressed, or simply acknowledge,the significance of over 1 million customers using the Island Airport.Especially when that number has emerged from the ashes of "a fewbusloads" of customers per day not so many years ago.

AlthoughI've worked in the aviation and airline industry for almost 19 years,I'm not an accountant or an airline economist. To that end, whilePorter's numbers do indeed look daunting, you have never acknowledgedthe reality that the company has been in a constant growth phase fromits inception. In my opinion, Porter has expanded too quickly - in anattempt to take advantage of the best before date on their exclusivityat the airport. This has added to the already high start-up costs thatairlines are usually hindered by to create a challenging financialpicture. However, when their capacity finally stabilizes and theirpassenger count continues to rise, we will begin to see the REAL loadfactor and how close to or beyond the break even level it will settle.
Porterhas one of the lowest break even requirements in the industry and even amodest increase in load factor would leave them with one of the largestprofit margins in the airline industry.

In my view, I agree withthe CAIR assessment that the harsher reality facing Porter is thecompetition waiting to join the fray. Their ability to maintain somecustomer loyalty will be the ultimate litmus test as they search forstability and ultimately, long term profitability.

Regardless ofthe outcome, Porter has proven - millions of times- that the IslandAirport can be a useful and viable alternative to Pearson for theshort-haul markets they serve.

Therefore, I believe it isshortsighted to assume that Air Canada and soon Continental will justfold up their tents and leave if Porter does not survive. This may bewhat the anti-airport community wants to hear to help them through thisperiod of the airport finally operating to it's full potential, but itblatantly ignores the reality that this airport is more likely tocontinue on its present course and entrench its rightful place on amulti-use waterfront.

Also keep in mind that with the eventualclosure of Buttonville Airport, there may be other smaller commercialoperators (Flight- Exec etc...) that will be searching for a new home.Furthermore, when the Air Ambulance base moves to Hamilton airport nextyear, this MAY impact the noise exposure calculations and permit morecommercial activity to use the facility.

With the David Millerroadblock out of the equation, and despite the weak financial numbersthat Porter has generated to date, the future of the airport looks verypromising. I may have to consider moving back down there from Pearsonto keep an eye on those noise sensitive areas for everyone.

Take Care!
Joe