I think the island airport is awesome. Porter Airlines runs all the slots right now, which means, yes, they have a monopoly. Air Canada is looking to wipe that out:
Montreal-based Air Canada
launched legal proceedings Wednesday, accusing Porter of having an “improper anti-competitive advantage” at Toronto’s downtown island airport.
I’m sure there are lots of weird details that the public don’t know anything about (why the monopoly in the first place? Why didn’t Air Canada look to develop this airport years earlier? etc), but one thing that irritates me is that people seem to confuse Porter Airlines with the Island Airport. Very different things.
Yes, Porter serves beer on its short haul flights and yes, the lines are shorter at the island airport. But I’d say that most of the sustainably great things about the Porter experience fall under the heading of “Great Things about the Island Airport” and those that are left are possibly unsustainable loss leading marketing gimmicks designed to secure share.
If it’s the airport that gives Porter its edge, then Air Canada should be able to deliver just as great an experience. Right?
Not Unreasonable 