Re: Downtown Bulletin: Can Porker Air Really Fly?
Jazz has every intention of recommencing services at the TCCA on August 28, 2006 as announced.
Jazz forced to delay island air relaunch
Takeoff was Aug. 28: Port Authority will not approve terminal deal
Chris Sorensen
National Post
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
People who booked flights on Jazz out of the island airport can fly out of Pearson airport or get a full refund, the airline said yesterday.
Torontonians hoping to take advantage of Jazz's beefed-up service to Ottawa and Montreal from the island airport this month will have to wait a little longer.
The regional airline, a subsidiary of Air Canada, said yesterday it has been forced to delay the reinstatement of flights from the Toronto City Centre Airport, planned for Aug. 28, because the airfield's operator, the Toronto Port Authority (TPA), has refused to approve a sublease needed for Jazz to move into a new terminal.
While that may be good news for condo owners along the city's waterfront, some of whom are opposed to the further development of the airport, it will no doubt create headaches for passengers who had already booked tickets for the flights. Jazz said yesterday that passengers holding tickets for the affected flights will have the option of flying out of Pearson International Airport or receiving a full refund.
The cancellations come barely a month after Jazz held a news conference at a downtown hotel to announce it was returning to the island airport after being evicted from its old terminal in February by a company controlled by Toronto businessman Robert Deluce. He is attempting to launch Porter Airlines from the island airport this fall.
That led some observers to wonder whether Jazz may be losing the public's sympathy for its side in the dispute just as Porter begins to roll out its marketing campaign.
"This is clumsy handling on Jazz's part," said Joseph D'Cruz, a business professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, who has been following the dispute closely. "They shouldn't have made the decision to start selling tickets while this thing was still unresolved."
Jazz blamed the TPA, which it dubbed "intransigent" for its failure to approve the sublease agreement. "The actions of the TPA breach its obligations under federal law, and are so contrary to industry practice that they were virtually inconceivable when we announced the recommencement of services on July 6," said Joseph Randell, the CEO of Jazz, in a statement.
Mr. Randell also accused the port authority of playing favourites by requiring Jazz to sign a "secret" operating agreement that is designed to benefit "a single corporate interest" -- a reference to Mr. Deluce's Porter Airlines, which is planning to launch from the airport with 10 weekday flights to Ottawa. Jazz has refused to sign the agreement and is challenging the TPA's conduct in a federal court.
Lisa Raitt, the CEO of the port authority, said yesterday the review of Jazz's sublease arrangement is normal procedure. As for the operating agreement, she said the deal the TPA signed with Porter -- which presumably covers such things as take-off and landing times and access to airport facilities -- does not permit the current schedule that Jazz is proposing.
In a letter to Mr. Randell last month, the TPA blamed Jazz for the airport's financial troubles, saying the airline had repeatedly cut back on operations and failed to invest in its facilities over its 16 years of service -- a situation that forced it to look for another long-term airline partner.
"We've told Jazz that we're happy to have them come and operate [a schedule] at the Toronto City Centre Airport like the one they've operated for the past two or three years," she said, adding that the port authority is obligated to take steps to ensure the financial viability of the airport. "But that's something not acceptable to them, obviously, because they've been rejecting it."
Mayor David Miller, whose 2003 election campaign included a pledge to stop the TPA from building a bridge to connect the airport to the mainland, has previously expressed concern with the TPA's efforts to expand the airport over the cries of some local residents and community groups.
The federal government recently ordered an investigation of the way the TPA operates.
csorensen@nationalpost.com
IN THE AIR
FEB. 8, 2002 Robert Deluce, who once owned Air Ontario and served as president of Canada 3000, unveils a plan for a turboprop airline that will fly out of the island airport.
NOV. 28, 2002 City council votes in favour of building a bridge to Toronto island that paves the way for a massive expansion of its airport.
OCTOBER, 2003 Community Airport Impact Review (Community AIR), a local group opposed to the airport's expansion, requests a judicial review of the Toronto Port Authority's (TPA) environmental assessment of a proposed bridge to the island.
NOV. 10, 2003 David Miller rides promises to clean up City Hall and stop the expansion of the island airport to victory and wins the Toronto mayoral race. David Collenette, the federal Transport Minister, suggests the following day he is willing to let the bridge plan die.
NOV. 27, 2003 Mr. Deluce's Regional Airlines Holdings Inc. threatens to sue the city for $500-million if officials reverse a decision to permit the bridge.
DEC. 3, 2003 City councillors vote to scrap the bridge.
JAN. 7, 2004 Mr. Deluce and his backers launch a $500-million lawsuit against the city.
MAY 3, 2005 The federal government announces a $35-million settlement with the TPA.
FEB. 1, 2006 Mr. Deluce reveals he has revived his controversial plan to launch an airline out of the island airport. The move comes after the TPA says it will purchase a new ferry and renovate its terminal facilities.
FEB. 15, 2006 Air Canada Jazz says it will temporarily suspend all flights to and from the island airport after failing to renegotiate a lease agreement with a company controlled by Mr. Deluce. Jazz's subsequent legal challenge is thrown out of court.
JULY 6, 2006 Air Canada Jazz announces it will resume operations at the Toronto City Centre Airport on Aug. 28, after securing a new terminal.
AUG. 8, 2006 Jazz says it is forced to temporarily delay plans to return to the island airport, citing the TPA's failure to approve its new sublease arrangement with one of the airport's other fixed-base operators.
Ran with fact box "In the Air" which has been appended to the story.
© National Post 2006
Things will be interesting at Toronto Island for the next 18 months