Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. is betting it can pull off a renaissance at Montreal’s sleepy Saint-Hubert airport just like it did at Toronto’s Billy Bishop nearly two decades ago.
The Toronto-based carrier, known for its stylish raccoon-faced logo and complimentary beer and snacks, said Monday it struck a partnership agreement with Montreal Saint-Hubert Airport to develop a new nine-gate terminal at the South Shore airfield with capacity for more than four million passengers annually.
Construction will start later this year with a targeted completion date of late 2024, the company said. Cost estimates are in the range of $200-million, including development of a nearby 130-room hotel by Holiday Inn. Porter is investing in the terminal but not disclosing how much, company spokesman Brad Cicero said.
Located in Saint-Hubert, a borough of Longueuil, Que., the airport is one of three major airfields in the Montreal area. It used to be the region’s only airport but is perhaps best known these days as a centre for flight-school training. The main commercial carrier there at the moment is Pascan Aviation, a regional airline serving Quebec.
Porter isn’t switching over from Montreal’s main Trudeau International Airport but rather expanding its existing operations in the region, the airline said. It said it has identified more than 10 potential routes from Saint-Hubert going both east and west within Canada, and will fly from the new site to both Toronto Pearson and Billy Bishop airports.
“Saint-Hubert has incredible potential as a complementary secondary airport for Montreal, with a convenient location for a significant portion of the local market and also easy access to downtown,” Porter chief executive officer Michael Deluce said in a statement. “We have proven this concept at Billy Bishop.”
Mr. Deluce is leading an aggressive shift in strategy at Porter in which it will take dozens of bigger aircraft into new markets in a major jet-powered push beyond its historical base at Billy Bishop. The company has ordered 100 Embraer E195 jets, which sit 132 people, a purchase worth US$7-billion at list prices. It has five of the new jets already and expects another 25 by the end of 2023, building on its roster of 78-seat De Havilland Dash 8 turboprop planes.
Porter is widely credited for helping transform Billy Bishop, also known as Toronto Island Airport, into a modern facility with new infrastructure funded by both public and private sources. Porter launched from the airport in 2006 and passenger volumes grew to the point that airport operations became self-sufficient by 2010. That year, the carrier opened a new terminal it later sold. In 2015, PortsToronto, which owns and operates the airport, opened a pedestrian tunnel connecting it to the mainland.
In 2013, Porter proposed a further expansion of the airport and changing certain regulations to allow the company to use Bombardier C Series jets on the site, which would require an extension of the runways. It later dropped the request after the Canadian government said it would not sign any agreement to allow jets.
“The question for Porter was always: How do I grow?” said Chris Murray, an equity analyst at ATB Capital Markets in Toronto. “There might be some initial skepticism for this latest plan. But you know, it’s an interesting way for them to be able to expand their network and their reach, and try to do it in a way to differentiate themselves from other carriers.”
While its arrival into the Canadian aviation scene has been celebrated by many, Porter has also courted its share of opposition in Toronto from people concerned about unbridled expansion on the lakeshore – an area that has become a highly densified urban neighbourhood. Public opinion swung against a proposed bridge the airline wanted built to the airport and there was also a wave of opposition against the jet plan.
A similar dynamic could play out at Saint-Hubert. A group called Coalition Halte-Air Saint-Hubert wants a moratorium on any development project at the airport until a proper analysis is done on the environmental consequences and economic impact. “There is no social acceptability without this,” the group says on its Facebook page.
Yanic Roy, managing director of Saint-Hubert Airport, said Porter’s ambitious fleet plan, latest-generation aircraft and established airport management track record make it the ideal match for the airport. He said the partnership will “ease air travel” between the province and the rest of the country while bolstering development of the aerospace cluster around the airfield, which includes aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney Canada.
Nicolas Van Praet