Deluce launches new airline at Toronto's island airport

Robert Deluce, the man who created a huge political controversy in Toronto two years ago with his plans for a new airline at Toronto City Centre Airport, re-appeared Thursday morning with a new airline and new friends.

The new carrier will be named Porter Airlines Inc.

The friends include Don Carty, the new chairman of Porter Airlines and the former head of both American Airlines and Canadian Pacific Airlines.

Also on the podium were Steven Ridolfi, president of Bombardier Regional Aircraft, who hopes to build between 10 and 20 aircraft at the company's Downsview plant, and CAW official Roland Kiehne, who hopes to preserve jobs at the plant.

There was no immediate word from Toronto Mayor David Miller, who won the mayor's seat partly on a wave of support after he quashed Deluce's last bid for an Toronto-based airline.

New Democrat MP-elect and former Toronto councillor Olivia Chow called on prime minister-designate Stephen Harper to take control of the airport out of federal hands and turn it over to Toronto.

Deluce, a long-time airline veteran who ran Air Ontario before it was taken over by Air Canada, announced Thursday that he plans to launch his first flight from Toronto's island airport later this year.

The airline will offer consumers a downtown alternative to Lester B. Pearson International Airport and serve Canadian and U.S. destinations within an 800-kilometre radius of Toronto.

Its destinations could include Montreal, New York and Chicago, as well as a variety of suburban airports near those cities.

Deluce said he has placed a firm order for 10 Dash-8 turboprop aircraft with 70 seats, with options for 10 more. The order could be worth as much as $500 million US if he picks up all the planes.

• FROM JULY 6, 2004: City facing $505-million lawsuit over island airport

He said the airline and its related businesses could create 500 new direct and indirect jobs at Toronto's island airport, in addition to the 150 existing jobs and 20 businesses there.

The Port Authority says it will spend $15 million on a new ferry, terminals and related infrastructure.