Porter Airlines to order 12 Bombardier CSeries aircraft

Bombardier CSeries 100

Courtesy, Bombardier

 

Canadian regional Porter Airlines has signed a conditional purchase order for 12 Bombardier CS100 aircraft, with 18 options. The deal also includes purchase rights for six Bombardier Q400s.
in an order valued at $2.29 billion at list prices. The order will comprise 12 Bombardier CS100s, plus 18 options. The aircraft are expected to enter into service in 2016.
A Porter Airlines statement said it confirms it is the unidentified, Americas-based customer that signed a letter of intent for the CS100 in December 2012. The LOI was recently converted to a conditional purchase agreement.
Porter Airlines president and CEO Robert Deluce said the deal also includes purchase rights for six Bombardier Q400s.
“We have determined that the CS100 airliner with a 107-seat configuration is the ideal aircraft to operate from our home base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and will make it possible for Porter to open up new destinations—such as Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, Florida and the Caribbean,” Deluce said.
Deluce said the plan will require changes to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The airline will seek permission to fly the CS100s out of the island airport, where the runway would need to be extended by 168 meters at each end. “We believe it is time to spread our wings,” Deluce said at the news conference.
Porter Airlines said it will shortly be requesting the tripartite parties consider two amendments that would allow the operation of the CS100 aircraft at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. “The first consideration is permitting use of this model of jet aircraft, while the second consideration is a modest 168 meter extension into water at each end of the existing main runway. This can be accommodated without changes to existing marine boundaries,” it said in a statement.
“Thirty years ago, when the tripartite agreement came into effect, jets were noisy and not particularly environmentally friendly,” said Deluce. “We chose the Bombardier CSeries aircraft because they are the world’s quietest commercial jets in production. The CS100 jetliner is ideal for operation at downtown urban airports, is comparably quiet to our existing Q400 aircraft fleet, uses less fuel per seat than many modern compact cars, and creates up to 50% lower emissions than similar aircraft.”
The Toronto Port Authority (TPA) released a statement saying it is “up to Porter to pursue its own business plan for the benefit of its customers, shareholders and employees. The TPA takes no position on Porter’s business aspirations. For the past 30 years, the TPA has operated the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport based upon the terms of the 1983 tripartite agreement, and will continue to do so. The TPA will not consider any change of use to the airport until a determination is first made by the elected representatives on Toronto City Council regarding Porter’s proposed changes to the 1983 tripartite agreement.”



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