### 7th Floor, 150 John Street, Toronto M5V 3E3 http://www.communityair.org/ 

## CommunityAIR
- working towards a clean, green waterfront

September 25, 2013

Office o f The Secretary Department Of Transportation Washington, D.C. Re Application of PORTER AIRLINES INC. Docket DOT

- OST

-2007

-27402
In the matter of Porter Airlines, CommunityAIR believes a current initiative under way by Porter Airlines should have material effect on the current outstanding applicat ion of the airline for a Foreign Carrier Permit based on the Air Transport Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Canada (Open Skies). On April 22, 2013, Porter Airlines President and CEO Robert Deluce wrote the mayor of Toronto requesting the city’s agreement to an amendment to the Tripartite Agreement, a three

-party covenant that governs the Billy Bishop Toronto Centre Airport (BBTCA). A copy of the letter is attached. As you can see from Page 2 of Mr. Deluce’s letter, Porter Airlines is asking for the current jet prohibition at BBTCA, Porter’s Fixed Operations Base, to be lifted for only one aircraft: Bombardier’s CS100 jet. You are no doubt aware that under Article 5, Fair Competition, Paragraph 2, neither Canada nor the U.S. shall unilaterally limit the aircraft type or types operated by the designated airlines of the other Party. We believe that Porter Airline’s request does exactly that. Clearly, it attempts to limit the aircraft type or types operated by any airlines of the U.S. wishing to fly into BBTCA.

### 7th Floor, 150 John Street, Toronto M5V 3E3 http://www.communityair.org/ We urge the Department of Transport to consider this matter, particularly should the City of Toronto accede to Porter’s request, in this outstanding applicat ion. Yours truly,

Brian Iler, Chair 416

- 835

-4384 (cell) 416

- 598

-0544 (work direct)April 22, 2013
Mayor Rob Ford Office of the Mayor Toronto City Hall 100 Queen SI. West, 2nd Floor , Toronto Ontario M5H 2N2

Your Worship:
11 was with great excitement on April 10, 2013, Porter unveiled plans to expand our list of destinations. These plans will bring significant economic benefits to the City of Toronto and also to the travelling public with increased competition and lower airfares. As part of these plans, Porter announced a conditional purchase agreement with Bombardier for 12 firm CS 1 00 aircraft and purchase rights for six Q400 aircraft

. Seven years ago, we launched Porter with a goal to make air travel a pleasure again

. Since then, we've grown to 19 destinations, operating 26 Toronto-manufactured Q400 aircraft , and carried 2

. 5 million passengers last year. We ha ve flown over 8 million passengers since our first flight and are the driving force for over $2 billion of annual economic value to the city of Toronto we are proud to call home

. Porter has created 1,400 direct jobs , with approximately 80 per cent of these at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Another 1,000 direct jobs will be added if these new growth plans proceed

. Our plans for the future will allow Porter to operate from our home base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to destinations across North America, including Vancouver , Calgary , Edmonton, Winnipeg, California , Florida and the Caribbean

. We believe opening up these new , longer-range destinations will have a positive effect on Toronto ' s economy and competiveness, stimulating new business and tourism interest in our city

. We have selected the Canadian-made Bombardier CS 100 to support our plan. This state-of-art whisper jet is the ideal aircraft to 

# r rt r porter porter porter porter

Porter A i rli ne s Inc
. Billy B is hop T o ront o C ity A i rp o rt T o ront o, Onta ri o Canad a MSV t Al Tel : (416) 203 · 8100 Fax : (41 6)203 -8 150 www. lIypo n er.c omoperate from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport

. It is the quietest commercial jet in production, has the best performance capabilities and a peerless environmental scorecard.
To realize our plans, we are reques tin g each of th e parties to th e Tripartite Ag reement gove rn ing Bill y Bi s h op To ro nto City Airport's operatio n to consider th e following two amendmen ts: 1. An exemption from the commercial jet ban in place at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, on ly for th e CS 1 00

. Providing an exemption only for this whisper jet will ensure noisier jet aircraft will not operate from the airport and also allow it to continue to maintain its track record as a responsible neighbour.
2

. App rova l fo r a 168 m etre extension into the wa te r at each end of the main runway 08/26

. The runway extension would not require any change to the existing marine exclusion zone in place today. The 168 metre extension will also be inclusive of and accommodate any potential future requirement to implement a 150 metre enhanced Runway End Safety Area at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The RESA initiative is currently being evaluated by Transport Canada for Canadian airports, and would require a modification to the current runway once it is implemented

. Any RESA modification is independent of Porter's proposal to add the CS100 to the li st of approved aircraft at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport

. Our request is driven by strong demand from our customers to provide more affordable access to more destinations. It is made possible by this remarkable new technology from Bombardier

. The CS 100 is the only jet that is comparable to the sound profile of our current Q400 planes and is quieter than the Dash 8-100, which flew from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport for over 20 years. Jet aircraft also operate from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport today

. Since 1983 , the Tripartite has provided an exemption for jet aircraft to use Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport for medevac purposes

. The performance capabilities of the CS 100 also minimize the required runway extension to provide service across North America and ensure that it can be accomplished without affecting the boating community ' s existing use of the lake , while also accommodating the implementation of anticipated Runway End Safety Area requirements

. Our order with Bombardier i s conditional on receiving full support from all three parties to the Tripartite Agreement. We will also require a commitment from the Toronto Port Authority to proceed with the n ecessary airport improvements

. To ensure the parties have sufficient time to finalize the amendment to the Tripartite


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# ""te r porter porter porter porterAgreement , we require the City of Toronto ' s approval in July 2013

. This would allow for the infrastructure requirements to be designed and completed ahead of our first delivery in early 2016

. Our track record is proven as a responsible and responsive airline operator , and a good neighbour. It's time to take the ne xt step

. Providing service across North America will influence the economies and competitiveness of all our current destinations , stimulating new business and tourism interest. This is especially true for Toronto and our home base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Thank you for your consideration,



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# rt porter porter porter porter