By IAN ROSS
In his teens, Robert Deluce was a familiar sight in the skies over Northern Ontario.
As a pilot in his family-run business, White River Air Service, during the late 1960’s and 70s, he was flying in hunters, fishermen and prospectors into remote lakes and outposts.
Today, as the CEO of Porter Airlines, Deluce is on familiar ground at Toronto Island Airport back where he began taking flying lessons in 1966 to earn his private pilot’s licence at 17.
In mid-March, while speaking with Northern Ontario Business by phone, he was watching two of his Bombardier Q-400 turboprops touch down from Ottawa and Montreal and taxi up to the new passenger terminal at the refurbished Toronto City Centre airport.
Now in his mid 50’s and the son of a famous Northern Ontario aviation family, his new regional airline took off last October amid howls of protest and calls for boycotts. A group of local residents with Toronto Mayor David Miller and Trinity-Spadina MP Olivia Chow were fighting Porter over concerns about noise and air pollution in the downtown core.
The fledgling air carrier is marketing itself as a customer-focused and upscale alternative to its bare-bones competitors with complimentary in-flight beverages and light meals, leather seats, more leg room, shuttle bus service and lounge perks for the business traveller.
As of March, Porter was flying 38 return flights daily between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, with ambitious plans to expand their fleet and add new destinations.
Though some industry analysts say it’s not the right time to start a new carrier with high fuel prices, worries over a sagging U.S. economy and the demise of Jetsgo and CanJet Airlines, Deluce argues otherwise saying it’s an “excellent time to launch.”
He’s fully confident Porter can weather the industry’s cyclical turns explaining his company is “extremely well financed,” with a reported $125 million in investor equity and partly because of their choice of fuel-efficient aircraft, the 70-seat Bombardier Q 400’s.
The aircraft burns 30 to 40 per cent less fuel than a comparable regional or narrow-bodied jet. Deluce sys the fuel efficiency allows them to fly into smaller markets with reduced passenger load factors that others wouldn’t even consider.
“The economics are such that quite a low load factor still results in us being profitable.”
Porter has aggressive plans to expand flights into more destinations in Canada and the U.S. over next few years, including the New York area, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit and even Northern Ontario.
Deluce says they are looking forward to serving Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Timmins “in the not-too-distant future.
“We have a strong connection with Northern Ontario and we always felt we could go back and provide a level of service no longer enjoyed, and do it at competitive prices.”
The Chapleau-born Deluce was involved in the family aviation business at an early age, pumping floats, loading freight and later flying Beavers, Otters and Cessnas into bases at White River, Chapleau, Kapuskasing, Wawa, Hornepayne and Sault Ste. Marie.
His father, Stan Deluce, will be inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame this summer in Ottawa, for his contribution as a builder in developing the small bush plane airline into one of the largest regional airlines in Canada, Air Ontario.
Stan and wife Angela founded White River Air Service in 1951, eventually buying Canada’s oldest airline Austin Airways in 1974 and growing their fleet of aircraft to 55 at its peak.
Austin later merged with Air Ontario in 1987 and brought in Air Canada as partners to feed the national carrier.
For almost half a century, the family has owned and operated regional airlines throughout Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec. Robert had part ownership and served as president of Canada 3000 airlines, one of Canada’s leading charter operators and later became president of Regional Airline Holdings Inc.
Deluce has former American Airlines CEO Don Carty as Porter’s chairman and the carrier now has received four planes from their original order of 10 with options taken out on 10 more. “I’d be surprised if that’s where we stopped.”
Part of the rationale behind Porter is reducing the traffic hassle and expensive cab ride from Pearson airport to Toronto’s downtown financial core. By landing at less congested Toronto Island and taking travelers by ferry to the mainland, Deluce says it’s likely to save two hours in actual travel time on return flights between Toronto and their other destinations.
“The convenience factor is a large consideration and the time and dollar savings are important. Passengers are pretty sophisticated today and they recognize the total value goes beyond the price of the ticket.”
Just days before Porter announced plans to offer summer flights to Halifax, Deluce wanted to add one more Canadian destination before moving further into Northern Ontario.
“We are moving quite quickly and we do have a game plan that has us serving a good number of the identified destinations within a three to three-and-half year period, but it could be sooner.”
Much of that is dependent on the delivery of new aircraft and how consumers react to their service which he says has been very encouraging.
“We’re certainly well ahead of where we thought we’d be in our business plan. The reception is being quite good.”
As well, Porter is developing its own customer-oriented philosophy.
“It’s not a mish-mash of companies brought together under trying circumstances, as with other legacy carriers who don’t enjoy much harmony. We have a different culture in place. At Porter, we spend much time elevating customer service and will continue to do so.”
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