So, where's Porter?

[dagger]

You would think they would want to be flying in October, which is a good month for business travel, but not a peep. I know they have been doing some flight training at TCCA because I have seen the Q400 taking off and landing. But otherwise, silence. Not always golden.

[Kip Powick]

Not positive but I think I saw them doing traffic patterns in YTR.

edited by DKP

Yup.... my source says they were in YTR the other day.

[Specs]

What I find even more curious is their billboard facing the westbound 401 traffic around Keele St. It took 2 drive bys to associate it with Porter and another two to figure out the whole thing. (Stylized shadow racoon atop the rear upper fuse and tail of a -400 with very faint or non contrasting text stating something about toronto and and a airline and something else.)

I really hope that's not indicative of their best marketing effort. I thought maybe it was intended to catch the eye of of YYZ drivers but I don't see how. It really is obscure.

Maybe dehavilland just put it up there in it's neighborhood for promo purposes?

[Super 80]

Porter has received their opperating certificate, another Q400 delivery is imminent and their ready to go.

[Super 80]

File Number:  015266  Company Region:  ONTARIO 

Legal Name:  PORTER AIRLINES INC.

Trade Name(s): 

Address: TORONTO CITY CENTRE AIRPORT

TORONTO , ONTARIO (CANADA)

M5V 1A1

Phone: 416-203-8100 

Fax: 416-445-4626 

Telex: 

Cellular: RICHARD WELLS: 289-221-0500 

Internet: 

Float Operator: NO Dangerous Goods: YES

Air Operator Certificate Status: APPROVED

Preferred Language: ENGLISH

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aircraft Type  Max. Weight

(Lbs.)  Registration

Mark  Rule  Status  Work

In Progress VFR

OTT NIGHT

VFR IFR Passenger Cargo

DHC8-100/200/300/400  34,500    705  APPROVED             

[Guest rattler]

Porter has been granted their Domestic scheduled licence and their International C harter licence so despite those who thought the contrary, they are "for real"

I wish them and their new employees good fortune in this new venture.

Canadian Transportation Agency Issues Licences to Porter Airlines

OTTAWA - September 26, 2006 - The Canadian Transportation Agency today issued licences to Porter Airlines to operate domestic and non-scheduled international services using medium aircraft.

Following a thorough examination of all information and documentation provided by Porter in support of its licence applications, the Canadian Transportation Agency is satisfied that Porter has met all of the market entry requirements, which include being Canadian owned and controlled. Further information on decisions issued by the Agency can be found at www.cta.gc.ca under the heading "Rulings".

The Canadian Transportation Agency is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal that regulates various modes of transportation under Government of Canada jurisdiction, including air, marine and rail. Among other responsibilities, the Agency oversees the Canadian ownership and control requirements set out in the Canada Transportation Act. It is also the licensing authority for publicly available air services in Canada.

-30-

For further information, please contact:

Jadrino Huot

Senior Communications Adviser

(819) 953-9957

To keep up-to-date with our latest news releases and other information, subscribe to our electronic mail service.

[Thebean]

You would think they would want to be flying in October, which is a good month for business travel, but not a peep. I know they have been doing some flight training at TCCA because I have seen the Q400 taking off and landing. But otherwise, silence. Not always golden.

What a time to start an airline. October. Heading into the worst 6 months of the year. Oops, I forgot. Porter is so special, they'll make Q4 and Q1 the best six months of the year.

The next mistake will be to immediately launch flights. In order to fill them, they'll discount the fertilizer out of the fares, with the discount having no bearing or relationship to on-going fare levels.

Then, they'll do an Ornstein and claim "overwhelming" demand for their $59 fares to their destinations, quietly ignoring their "overwhelming" losses operating at those sorts of fares.

If they knew what they were doing, they'd announce a launch 30 days out, and slowly build momentum. Unfortunately, 30 days out takes them to just about Nov 1. There's a swell time to launch an airline.....

In any event, it must be exciting for the lads at Porter to be launching Canada's next failed airline venture.

[Rockyc]

Perhaps Porter is going to use the "Mesa/Ryan Air" Business Model noted below!!

Hawaiian Airlines is charging that startup carrier go!, a Mesa Air Group subsidiary, is trying to drive competitors out of business in the Hawaii market. Mesa counters that go!'s smaller share of the overall market in Hawaii means that its impact cannot be as consequential as Hawaiian claims. "If it wasn't clear to everyone before, it should be now that Mesa is trying to eliminate competition in Hawaii," wrote Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Mark Dunkerley in a statement issued Sept. 22. "Evidence of Mesa's true motives was revealed in court last week, and while Mesa has done much in the news media to obscure that evidence, they didn't refute it in court."

Hawaiian and Mesa are locked in a legal battle that began last February when Hawaiian filed suit claiming Mesa used proprietary information to bolster its startup proposal for go! (ATWOnline, Feb.15). Mesa filed a countersuit charging Hawaiian with violating antitrust laws. Mesa had access to confidential information when it expressed an interest in acquiring Hawaiian more than two years ago at a time when that carrier was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Last week, go! inflamed matters by offering $19 fares for some of its inter-island travel, but other fares are priced as high as $79. The Mesa subsidiary operates four 50-seat CRJ200s.

"How do you put someone out of business with less capacity? We can't put them out of business with only 8% of the market," Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein told ATWOnline. "We are trying to carve a niche. They added more capacity than we have." Ornstein said he intends to add five or six larger aircraft, either Embraer 195s or CRJ900s, to the market next year. He said the go! subsidiary is modeled after highly successful LCC Ryanair. "There is a business model that says you can give away tickets and still make money," he said.

by Sandra Arnoult

[CAT3DUAL]

Funny enough Bean, thats what alot of people were saying about WJ back in 96, myself included. They come and they go, but some do stick. GOOD LUCK!! PORTER

[Maverick]

Funny enough Bean, thats what alot of people were saying about WJ back in 96, myself included. They come and they go, but some do stick. GOOD LUCK!! PORTER

I agree with you as well. But the difference is WJ started in March (Feb 29th but who's counting?) There was an initial blitz that I remember and they had all spring and summer to make money. Porter has to have either very deep pockets or an unrealistic assessment of their present situation. They basically have two weeks of potential solid revenue around Christmas to fend off the next 5-6 mo's of skinny revenue.

Not an auspicious beginning no matter how you look at it.

[zipped]

Except who is there competition?

[Maverick]

Jazz??

[CanadaEH]

Then, they'll do an Ornstein and claim "overwhelming" demand for their $59 fares to their destinations, quietly ignoring their "overwhelming" losses operating at those sorts of fares.

And continue their "highly successful" seat sale by extending it for another week.. two weeks.. month.. WAIT! HOLD ON JUST A MINUTE!! <insert predatory accusation here>

[Thebean]

Funny enough Bean, thats what alot of people were saying about WJ back in 96, myself included. They come and they go, but some do stick. GOOD LUCK!! PORTER

Ah...yes, but WJA was using aircraft and fuel that resulted in a casm of 10.6 cents over about 350 miles, and that casm was about half of the other airlines, which allowed for sustainable low fares that stimulated new demand. Nevermind the fact that it started up in markets that weren't exactly core to the dominant carrier's network. That wasn't a fluke, it was targeted.

Porter is using a high cost turboprop, at the centre of the dominant carriers universe, ostensibly going after premium passengers, without a meaningful loyalty plan. High costs will result in fares that will not stimulate new traffic, but simply steal from others. As a result, they should not be particulalry surprised at the brutal competitive response once launched.

If you haven't twigged, its a completely different business plan. I wouldn't invest a plug nickel in Porter, and I've done reasonably well investing in startups.

Show me the last stand alone Dash 8 / Q400 start up in North America that survived more than 12 months.

[Guest prob30]

Lots of fancy marketing, and splashy launch parties for the society pages to cover. Too much focus on building a brand, not enough on actually flying to and from actual destinations with actual paying passengers.