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Two-thirds of Torontonians support Porter Airlines’ plans to fly Bombardier CS100 aircraft from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. This result is based on an unprecedented public opinion survey of 19,500 people, which is the largest-ever sample size for a publicly-released poll in Toronto.
A summary of the results are as follows:
¢ When asked, “Do you support allowing jets to fly out of the airport if they make a comparable amount of noise to the turboprops currently being flown from the Island Airport?”, 66.2 per cent supported these plans, 22.3 per cent were opposed and 11.5 per cent undecided or unsure.
¢ When asked, “Do you support lengthening the runway if the area currently used by boats will not be changed?”, 62.5 per cent supported these plans, 22.3 per cent were opposed and 15.2 per cent undecided or unsure.
¢ When asked, “Should Toronto City Council allow jets to fly out of the Toronto Island Airport?”, 51.3 per cent supported these plans, 28.7 per cent were opposed and 20.0 per cent undecided or unsure.
“These results show strong public support for the introduction of CS100 jet aircraft at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, and also the required runway extension to support the use of these aircraft,” said Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines.
On April 10, 2013, Porter unveiled plans to expand its list of destinations across North America, including Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, Miami and Orlando. These plans will bring significant economic benefits to the City of Toronto and also to the travelling public with increased economic activity and tourism, and more competition and lower airfares. As part of these plans, Porter announced a conditional purchase agreement with Bombardier for 12 firm CS100 aircraft and purchase rights for six Q400 aircraft.
Porter Airlines is requesting that each of the parties to the Tripartite Agreement governing Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport’s operation (City ofToronto, Federal Government, and Toronto Port Authority) consider an exemption from the commercial jet ban in place at Billy Bishop TorontoCity Airport only for the CS100, and a 168 metre extension into the water at each end of the main runway, provided such extension would not require any change to the existing marine exclusion zone in place today.
Deluce also said, “We look forward to the public having a full and open discussion on the issues in coming months.”
iFusion Research completed the largest poll ever publically released in the city of Toronto from April 17-19, 2013. The sample size of 19,500 respondents has a margin of error of 0.7 per cent, 19 out of 20 times.
