Porter Airlines gets 1st plane for proposed Toronto-Ottawa run

Porter Airlines,the fledgling carrier with a controversial plan to run flights between Toronto's island airport and Ottawa, took delivery of its first aircraft on Tuesday.

The privately owned company is still waiting for clearance from Transport Canada and the Canadian Transportation Agency to commence operations at Toronto's City Centre Airport, which it hopes to do by fall.

The company said in a statement Tuesday that it had received the first of 10 70-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft.

It initially plans to run 10 roundtrip weekday flights and weekend service between the island airport and Ottawa.

The airline has yet to announce its flight schedule and its fares.

The formation of Porter Airlines was announced in February by a group led by Robert Deluce, who ran Air Ontario before it was taken over by Air Canada.

The long-time airline veteran had created a huge political controversy in Toronto two years earlier with plans for a new airline at the downtown airport.

Similar criticisms surfaced after news broke of Porter's formation and plans.

Olivia Chow, the federal member of parliament for the area that includes the island airport, said a few days ago that the airline should not be allowed to operate until a federal review of the Toronto Port Authority finishes.

The review, which started in May and has been extended to Oct. 15, examines the mandate of the port authority, which oversees the airport.

When he announced the new airline, Deluce said it 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.

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.

Earlier in the summer, Air Canada announced plans to fly between Ottawa and Toronto island airport.

The airline quickly delayed those plans after a dispute arose with the port authority.