Porter's first day...

C-GPFG · Post by **C-GPFG** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 12:00 pm

From The Sun...

Anti-airport group will picket flight
Community Air not ready to give up Island fight

Porter Airlines passengers will be met with protests first thing Monday morning when the new carrier takes off.

Community Air -- the group that battled to stop the bridge to the Island airport, won the fight and still didn't stop Porter -- is launching a "Boycott the Island airport" campaign.

Monday morning and afternoon, information pickets will be set up at the foot of Bathurst Quay, near the airport.

"We're terrifically frustrated," Community Air spokesman Bill Freeman said yesterday.

"We believed the airport would stop after the cancellation of the bridge.

Safety concerns

"A boycott is all we can do," Freeman said. "It's just going to have to be a struggle in the marketplace."

Community Air has serious safety concerns about the airline -- especially after the plane crash in New York City in which New York Yankee Cory Lidle slammed into a Manhattan apartment building -- but it can't afford an independent safety audit to prove its case.

Ane Christensen of the Harbourfront Community Association said since she's moved to the waterfront, five planes have crashed and she's worried a plane could hit a ferry in the harbour or crash on land.

"The waterfront's a very busy place for people," she said. "You don't have that around Pearson."

Robert Deluce, president of Porter Airlines, said the carrier's Q400 aircraft are very quiet and safe and there's no legitimate concern about aircraft flying over neighbourhoods.

"The approaches and departures are all over water," Deluce said.

Transport Canada has found Porter, its plane and its flight plans to be acceptable and granted its licence to fly. Porter starts its 10 flights a day to Ottawa on Monday.

Community Air is also worried about increased traffic at Harbourfront as extra passengers go through the Island airport. The airport has taken over a couple of parking lots to deal with the traffic.

Study kept secret

Community Air did not protest when Air Canada Jazz flew from the island. It peaked at 400,000 passengers a year in 1987. Deluce would be happy meeting that mark.

Freeman said this is an issue for the federal government but the Conservatives have ignored it.

A report on the Toronto Port Authority has been delivered to Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon but has not been made public.

Smitty · Post by **Smitty** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:26 pm

I really wish Porter well. Mostly because I want them to stick it to Miller and Community air.

GO PORTER

Freighter · Post by **Freighter** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 5:25 pm

C-GPFG wrote: "The waterfront's a very busy place for people," she said. "You don't have that around Pearson."

Guess the only people who matter are members of her association, I'm pretty sure that the last time I drove past Pearson, I saw a person or 2...maybe they don't count because they don't live/squat on the island.

Good luck to the guys/gals at Porter.

squawk 7600 · Post by **squawk 7600** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 6:05 am

"The waterfront's a very busy place for people," she said. "You don't have that around Pearson."

Pearson doesn't have people around the airport??? Is that woman on crack??? What about the 10,000 people that commute past the airport on the 401, 427, Airport, etc. on a daily basis??? And how about the 10 or 20 corporate office buildings that stand on the approach paths of 23 and 24??? Last I checked the island airport didn't have any buildings on either approach...unless ofcourse, you're doing a circling approach

Lakelad · Post by **Lakelad** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 10:06 am

Worked in the upper flrs of one of those buildings under 24 and thought on more than one occasion 'Hope this guy is having a better day in his office than I am in mine.'

bcflyer · Post by **bcflyer** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 10:07 am

Not to mention the hotels, restaurants, pubs and other more "intimate"

businesses that are all within several blocks of the airport. Hopefully the general public will think the same thing and ignore these idiots. I'm sure Porter is watching this closely and hopefully will respond with some sort of legal action against these wingnuts if they interfere with his business!!

C-GPFG · Post by **C-GPFG** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 11:00 am

squawk 7600 wrote:Last I checked the island airport didn't have any buildings on either approach...unless ofcourse, you're doing a circling approach

Actually...circling is not allowed north of the shoreline. So, unless you count the sqwatters on the Island, you only circle over water.

MyWave · Post by **MyWave** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 2:25 pm

Smitty wrote:I really wish Porter well. Mostly because I want them to stick it to Miller and Community air.

GO PORTER

Right on!

The Raven · Post by **The Raven** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:37 pm

It appears bookings are soft right off the bat.

They begin with a fairly rich fare grid, then watered it down with less rigid change fees, then brought in deep discounts. Now this. Free flights October 23-27!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=615803

Nightflight · Post by **Nightflight** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:31 pm

The Raven wrote:It appears bookings are soft right off the bat.

They begin with a fairly rich fare grid, then watered it down with less rigid change fees, then brought in deep discounts. Now this. Free flights October 23-27!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=615803

Absolutely no free flights! Looks like an internal company code that was reserved for company use only got out and that is what this is all about. No doubt its all been fixed now.

C-GPFG · Post by **C-GPFG** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:43 am

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_4642.aspx

EI-EIO · Post by **EI-EIO** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:28 am

So did any avcanadians pass the picket this morning? I see AC's YYZ-YOW is down to $99 (-$12 if you don't check bags). If I use my TTC pass to Bathurst/Queens Quay as opposed to $90 roundtrip taxi fare to YYZ Porter is still in the ballpark

Hightower · Post by **Hightower** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:33 pm

Ok people that live on the harbour front, you dont like when an airport that has been there well before any of you. What about all the farmers of Markham and Pickering that were there well before an airport still have no choice about one being built, except they had everything taking away; there jobs, there lively hood, there homes and even better they grow the food you eat. How about the goverment just take away your high end condos because you dont like the airport. Dont think they can, then how come they exporperated most of the land between markham and pickering 35 years ago for an airport that hasnt been built yet. Who votes that if someone doesnt like the island airport that the gov. just take there fancy condo away an say there are doing it for the airport

Clint23 · Post by **Clint23** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:54 pm

Hightower wrote:Ok people that live on the harbour front, you dont like when an airport that has been there well before any of you. What about all the farmers of Markham and Pickering that were there well before an airport still have no choice about one being built, except they had everything taking away; there jobs, there lively hood, there homes and even better they grow the food you eat. How about the goverment just take away your high end condos because you dont like the airport. Dont think they can, then how come they exporperated most of the land between markham and pickering 35 years ago for an airport that hasnt been built yet. Who votes that if someone doesnt like the island airport that the gov. just take there fancy condo away an say there are doing it for the airport

short bus · Post by **short bus** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 4:03 pm

i see your

and raise you a WTF?

wooden spoon · Post by **wooden spoon** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 6:40 pm

soo you buy a piece of land next to an airport then you proceed to try and shut it down so you can live a happy,quiet life on your own little island.things that make you go hum.

Edelweiss air · Post by **Edelweiss air** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 7:29 pm

I also say GO PORTER

Stick it to Miller and community air

twotter · Post by **twotter** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:51 am

wooden spoon wrote:soo you buy a piece of land next to an airport then you proceed to try and shut it down so you can live a happy,quiet life on your own little island.things that make you go hum.

So, if you want to check out the best example of this, see Victoria harbour. The whiners here have made this the most regulated aerodrome in North America. They even have camera's watching every take-off and landing to make sure nobody is 1 foot over the line. If you are, you will get a nice phone call from enforcement in the near future.

To think that when I started flying into Victoria harbour, the area that has all the bitchers was all industrial.. I guess all the realestate agents only showed the places at night when there were no airplanes flying..

Then there was the "EXPERT" who told me that we should put the water rudders back on the Twin Otter (as they were designed originally

) so we wouldn't have to make so much noise while we were taxiing in beta... Of course just his humble opinion.

C-GPFG · Post by **C-GPFG** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 7:48 am

Apparently the drumming and chanting of the protesters was louder than the airplane taking off.

http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoA ... 3-sun.html

teacher · Post by **teacher** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:01 am

Someone should call the police and make a noise complaint about the protest.

Porter's first day...

Porter's first day...

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