Toronto Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport | ?m | ?s | Ports Toronto | Arup

That's right, I'd forgotten than Viking took the Q400 as well. Perhaps they'll rename it the Dash-8. But it is an over forty year old design targeted at low cost commuter airlines, so I wonder if volume production can be justified by orders.

There may be sales to be had in Europe (but that's ATR territory), but in the USA none of the ten largest scheduled passengers carriers in the U.S. nor any of their regional subsidiaries operate turboprops in scheduled passenger service. Turboprops are dead in the major carrier U.S. market.

If I was Viking I'd stay away from the scheduled passengers carrier business. Stick with your niche of specialized and novel aircraft types. A big Q400 order from a major airline might look good on the books, until the airline goes bankrupt before payment.
There are still 58 unfulfilled orders of the Q400. They are somewhat popular in Asia.
58 is not a huge number but considering only 600 q400's have ever been built its not peanuts..
 
The island residents argument is a red herring. The point of the article is that Billy Bishop serves an extremely small segment of the population, is sitting on prime land that would give a better return on investment if it were parkland, and that Pearson is now very accessible from downtown.

Toronto Bishop Airport is literally the ninth busiest airport in Canada and it’s passenger numbers (minus the COVID years) have shown growth every year. The 2023 numbers for the airport haven’t even been published but its expected to overtake Ottawa in move into 8th.


It’s also overwhelmingly supported by city residents.


According to the 2024 survey, conducted among more than 2,000 Toronto residents aged 18 years and older with an oversample of those living along Toronto’s Waterfront, 78% of respondents characterise their opinion of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport as favourable. Further, satisfaction by those who use the airport has reached an all-time high of 98%.

Key findings of the 2024 survey include:

• 77% of respondents agree that Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a valuable asset for Toronto and is an important gateway that supports business and tourism;

• 78% of respondents agree that it makes sense for Toronto to have an airport downtown;

• 72% of respondents agree that Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a good use of land;
 
Toronto Bishop Airport is literally the ninth busiest airport in Canada and it’s passenger numbers (minus the COVID years) have shown growth every year. The 2023 numbers for the airport haven’t even been published but its expected to overtake Ottawa in move into 8th.


It’s also overwhelmingly supported by city residents.


According to the 2024 survey, conducted among more than 2,000 Toronto residents aged 18 years and older with an oversample of those living along Toronto’s Waterfront, 78% of respondents characterise their opinion of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport as favourable. Further, satisfaction by those who use the airport has reached an all-time high of 98%.

Key findings of the 2024 survey include:

• 77% of respondents agree that Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a valuable asset for Toronto and is an important gateway that supports business and tourism;

• 78% of respondents agree that it makes sense for Toronto to have an airport downtown;

• 72% of respondents agree that Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a good use of land;
Any pollster worth their salt can craft questions that skew results in the direction the entity paying for the survey wants them to be skewed.
 
Any pollster worth their salt can craft questions that skew results in the direction the entity paying for the survey wants them to be skewed.

Sure ok, but the passenger volumes speak for themselves. Let’s stop lying and pretending the island folks are angry about an airport, when they’ve been actively protesting against a footbridge to the islands for decades.
 
Sure ok, but the passenger volumes speak for themselves. Let’s stop lying and pretending the island folks are angry about an airport, when they’ve been actively protesting against a footbridge to the islands for decades.
Who cares about the island residents? Not me.

I'm just pointing out that a survey commissioned and released by PortsToronto is very unlikely to provide results that show the public doesn't support their whole reason for existing.
 
Toronto Bishop Airport is literally the ninth busiest airport in Canada and it’s passenger numbers (minus the COVID years) have shown growth every year. The 2023 numbers for the airport haven’t even been published but its expected to overtake Ottawa in move into 8th.


It’s also overwhelmingly supported by city residents.


According to the 2024 survey, conducted among more than 2,000 Toronto residents aged 18 years and older with an oversample of those living along Toronto’s Waterfront, 78% of respondents characterise their opinion of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport as favourable. Further, satisfaction by those who use the airport has reached an all-time high of 98%.

Key findings of the 2024 survey include:

• 77% of respondents agree that Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a valuable asset for Toronto and is an important gateway that supports business and tourism;

• 78% of respondents agree that it makes sense for Toronto to have an airport downtown;

• 72% of respondents agree that Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a good use of land;

@afransen is on point above. Whatever one's position on the Island airport, and its a fair thing to consider/debate........(either way)

A survey of 2,000, or so in a region of 10M......that would be 0.02% of the population.........with a vague question......."do you have a favourable impression of the airport".........

As opposed to "Given a choice, would prefer to see 200 acres of centrally located land near downtown devoted to an airport whose traffic is a tiny fraction of Pearson, or would prefer 200 acres more parkland?"

There's room to consider the result something less than definitive, in terms of public perception.
 
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@afransen is on point above. Whatever one's position on the Island airport, and its a fair thing to consider/debate........(either way)

A survey of 2,000, or so in a region of 10M......that would be 0.02% of the population.........with a vague question......."do you have a favourable impression of the airport".........

As opposed to "Given a choice, would prefer to see 200 acres of centrally located land near downtown devoted to an airport whose traffic is a tiny fraction of Pearson, or would prefer 200 acres more parkland?"

There's room to consider the result something less than definitive, in terms of public perception.
Even that question is loaded, but immensely better than the other.
 
I use Billy Bishop airport whenever I can. Far better experience than Pearson! Most of the islands are already parkland, leave this airport alone.
One thing that's worse than Pearson, at least for US departures, is the absence of a lounge. I have I think half a dozen free lounge visits per year with my credit card, which I try to take full advantage of, but couldn't at Billy Bishop.

My flight was over an hour delayed so a lounge would have have been great.

In general, the food and drinks options in the US departures waiting area are awful. It's just this place which has a 1.6/5 rating on Google Maps and the some of the worst reviews for a restaurant I have ever read:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/dqfT2aLma45ujYGd6

Apparently the lounge in domestic departures is really nice though.
 
@afransen is on point above. Whatever one's position on the Island airport, and its a fair thing to consider/debate........(either way)

A survey of 2,000, or so in a region of 10M......that would be 0.02% of the population.........with a vague question......."do you have a favourable impression of the airport".........

As opposed to "Given a choice, would prefer to see 200 acres of centrally located land near downtown devoted to an airport whose traffic is a tiny fraction of Pearson, or would prefer 200 acres more parkland?"

I feel that question would be somewhat loaded; it highlights the benefit of closing the airport (200 acres of parkland) but omits the benefits of retaining the airport (more choices and more competition).

While some of the questions in the published poll are pretty specific:
78% of respondents agree that it makes sense for Toronto to have an airport downtown
72% of respondents agree that Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a good use of land
It is easy to say "no, let's move the operations to Pearson", and "no, the land can be reporposed for a better use" if the respondents want that.
 
Ok so I moved to Toronto after the Billy Bishop jet airplane debate in the early 2010s - are jets completely dead in the water here? Or is it possible that gets brought back to the table with opening up the tripartite agreement again?
 
Ok so I moved to Toronto after the Billy Bishop jet airplane debate in the early 2010s - are jets completely dead in the water here? Or is it possible that gets brought back to the table with opening up the tripartite agreement again?
This will give you background. In Star today.

 
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Responding to a couple of comments about my piece: The key points here are accsss and proximity.

Access to the Island Park via the airport site is vastly more convenient and pleasant than the Ward’s Island alternative.

The western gap, where the airport ferry lands, is a mile from the CN Tower, tourism hub of the city, and less than a mile from the new King-Bathurst subway station. Union is 2.1km. It is totally plausible for people to walk there in large numbers. The Bathurst streetcar already exists.

The eastern gap is roughly 4.5 km from the centre. If a bridge was built there, it would land on Unwin Avenue, an industrial district. Even when the waterfront East LRT is eventually finished, it would be far less convenient, pleasant, and intuitive to reach the islands via this route.

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