Travel New England

®n e w e n g l a n d www.travelne.Usboston’s airport and north & soUth station joUrnals jUne 1, 2010

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Porter’s Bombardier Q-400: The 70-seat plane allows for speedy boarding and deplaning, with 34” seat pitch, plenty of legroom and overhead space. (Photo credit: Manuel Mueller)

Prices are per person, based on double occupancy subject to availablility. Includes port charges, gov’t tax additional. Restrictions may apply.

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on the insiDeCape Gears Up for Summer By Nicole DeveauFor beachgoers, a shore thing

On the Job: Carmine LeporeBy Aaron BarreraA hair-raising career at Logan.

The TNE InterviewChristopher Anzuoni,Plymouth & Brockton Bus Co.By Mark CestariThe man who keeps the buses rolling.

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PORTER AIRLINES:

A Spot-on Canadian Alternative

By Mark Cestari

An unusually clear morning and deep blue sky gave the normally grayish Lake On-tario an almost Caribbean-like luster as I glanced out

the window. We banked hard left and headed swiftly downward on fi nal ap-proach to Billy Bishop Toronto City Air-port.

Soon the landing gear were dropping down from the high-wing, turboprop Bombardier Q-400 to ease our smooth landing, which was followed by a loud roar as thrust reversers slowed us for our short roll and shorter still taxi to Porter Airlines newly crafted $43 million hub terminal, a 150,000-square foot facility, which is oozing the fi nely-crafted Porter brand, promising “spotless service which

brings dignity and refi nement back to fl y-ing.”

So, now having completed my fi rst BOS-YTR fl ight, with my well-worn passport stamped by Canadian immigra-tion, I am here to learn about all things Porter.

When I fi rst met Robert J. DeLuce, president and CEO of Porter, at a Bos-ton gathering of Canadian-American business leaders, he outlined the airline’s history, its unique niche at Toronto City Airport, and what he sees as some of the keys to the carrier’s swift and ongoing success. In a subsequent interview last week, we discussed what is on the air-line’s radar.

Established in 2006 with $125 million in private venture capital, and currently serving nine Canadian and three U.S.

destinations, Porter launched Boston/Lo-gan service to Toronto City only last Sep-tember. Travel via Toronto City currently

Now Air Canada is knocking on the door at Toronto City and wants to protect its Toronto market share by providing 15 daily fl ights to Ottawa and montreal.

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Boston Hotels:Business Improving, Optimism Building for Sustained Growth

By Doug aBBey

TNE analysis of recent Boston area hotel occupancy rates and revenue trends bode well for the belea-

guered hospitality industry. During the fi rst four months of 2010, nearly 59 percent of all rooms were fi lled com-pared to just 51 percent during the same four-month pe-riod last year. Considering the number of new properties that have opened since 2008, the results are all the more encouraging for the remainder of 2010 when travel to Boston hits high-gear. (Last year the six-month period between April and October accounted for more than two-thirds of all hub room stays.)

For hoteliers in the city, this news got even better: RevPar (room revenue divided by rooms available) in-creased by nearly 13 percent according to data supplied by Smith Travel Research (STR). While the month of April saw area hotel occupancy rates exceed 71 per-cent overall, the results were markedly better in certain

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Boston’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

|2 travel new england jUne 1, 2010

publisher

Mark Cestari [email protected]

founder

Bob Weiss [email protected]

executive editor

jack Brady [email protected]

editor

nicole Deveau [email protected]

editorial Manager

aaron Barrera [email protected]

regional sales Manager

tony franceschelli [email protected]

Contributing Writers

Doug abbey kate Broughtonkatherine Dudley-hoehn Bill gunlocke

interns

Bryan j. Cardillo gavin frisch

editorial and advertising offi ces

256 Marginal Street, East Boston, MA 02128

Phone: 617-561-4000 Fax: 617-561-2821

[email protected]

travelne.us

Travel New England® is the bi-monthly travel and tourism newspaper of New England serving the audiences of The Boston Airport Journal™ at Logan Airport, the South Station Journal™ and the travel trade community in the region. No article or item can be reproduced from this publication without the consent of the publisher. Published by Travel Engagement Media ©Copyright 2010.

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requires a short ferry ride over a distance that seems almost swimmable, but plans are in the works for an underground walkway to eliminate this step.

“Boston has behaved better and respond-ed quicker than any other US destination to date,” said DeLuce. (Porter also fl ies to Chicago/Midway and NY/Newark Liberty.)

“We have a nice mix of both business and leisure traffi c,” he added, “with a lot of the business traffi c happening in the summer.

We also offer connecting opportunities be-yond

Toronto to our other Canadian destina-tions.”

After launching the service last fall, with three roundtrips, the Boston-Toronto route has grown to fi ve weekdays frequency, which is a huge plus for business travelers for whom time is money and frequent fl ights mean more options and unmissed kids’ soc-cer games.

While Porter has done an impressive job

of carefully creating and executing a high-quality product and fun/engaging brand personality featuring “Mr. Porter,” the cud-dly owl character that animates the airline’s marketing/advertising and promotional messaging, the key to the carrier’s success is linked to the old real estate adage -- loca-tion, location, and location -- in this case, the hub location at Toronto City Airport. While Porter offers advance-purchase, re-stricted “Firm” class leisure travel fares (a

The Porter ConnectionThe upstart Canadian airline means business.

Porter Airlines connects Boston (Logan Airport Terminal E) with Toronto Billy

Bishop Airport fi ve times every weekday, twice on Saturdays and three times on Sun-days. The service began in September 2009 and it has already quickly become one of the carrier’s most successful new routes. Porter currently provides the only scheduled

service at Billy Bishop. The company esti-mates that more than one million passengers will use the airport in 2010.

Schedules initially started with three daily roundtrip fl ights, increased to four after two weeks and recently expanded to fi ve-times daily. Porter operates a fl eet of 20 Canadi-an-built and Canadian-powered Bombardier

Q400 turboprop aircraft confi gured for 70 seats in an all-business class layout. Boston-originating passengers are able to make quick and hassle-free connec-tions to other Canadian cities, including Sud-bury, Thunder Bay, Ot-tawa (in Ontario) plus Quebec City and Mont Tremblant (Quebec.)

Billy Bishop Air-port (formerly known as Toronto City Centre Airport or the Toronto Island Airport) opened to fl ights in 1939. It is located on an island in Toronto Harbor, just offshore the city’s downtown business and tourism districts. The airport is connected to the mainland by modern ferries carrying passengers across

a miniscule 121-meter (400 ft) gap, which has been called the world’s shortest sched-

uled ferry route. Porter offers a free shuttle bus to the airport every 10 minutes, departing from the west end of The Fairmont Royal York Hotel in downtown To-ronto.

The passenger ter-minal was recently up-graded (to the tune of $43 million), tripling previous capacity. The lounge now include

complimentary amenities such as a busi-ness center; lounge-style seating, beverages, snacks and Wi-Fi for all Porter Airlines pas-sengers.

Source: Porter Airlines

|traveler’s aDvisory |

Porter Airlines and the Toronto Connection

Lounge Act: Phase One of Porter’s new $43 million Toronto Hub opened in April 2010.

Ambassador in-fl ight: The design of Porter uniforms is a stylish throwback to the fashionable fl ight look of the 1960’s.

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The lounge now include compli-mentary amenities such as a business center; lounge-style seating, beverages, snacks.

jUne 1, 2010 www.travelne.Us |3

recent one-day sale featured one-way $74 Boston-Toronto flights), “Flexible/Free-dom” class Boston-Toronto flights close-in business travel fares are often priced over $1,000 RT for the 435-mile trip.

“When the previous airline (Air Canada) ended service at Toronto City Airport, the market had declined to under 30,000 pas-sengers per year,” DeLuce continued. “In 2010, we expect to cross the one-million mark as the sole carrier there.”

Porter saw the potential of reviving the “urban” satellite gateway and privately de-veloped and financed its hub facility and headquarters there. Now Air Canada is knocking on the door at Toronto City and wants to protect its Toronto market share by providing 15 daily flights to Ottawa and Montreal as well as seven daily roundtrips to NY/Liberty.

Because Porter owns the facilities, Air Canada will need a sublease/or handling agreement to operate there. The Toronto Port Authority and Canadian Federal Court will have to interpret the facts and hammer out an access agreement that should prove quite interesting. While Porter has proven popular with travelers, there remains strong community/political opposition (including Toronto’s mayor) to growth of the facility.

In any case, DeLuce is confident that the strength of Porter’s franchise will keep cus-tomers loyal to the brand:

Porter’s “urban experience” on both ends of the trip can save travelers up to two hours on congested highways and long check-ins and customs bottlenecks at Toronto Pearson Airport (no rail service is available).

Porter’s 70-seat Bombardier planes, which now number 20 in the fleet, allow for speedy boarding and deplaning. They also offer 34” seat pitch, with plenty of legroom and overhead space.

Porter’s “warm and effortless approach to hospitality” is at every touch point in the air and on the ground. In-flight and termi-nal facilities feature soothing natural tones, modern minimalist style and complimentary snacks and beverages, including wine and a local brew.

Robert DeLuce and his team are currently involved in an IPO process, which will no doubt provide additional capital to fuel on-going service expansion to existing markets and new route development. “We are always looking at new ways to serve Boston from other destinations where we have service---Montreal, Ottawa, potentially Halifax...focus cities for our future growth.”

Of course, in any fast-moving company,

the best branding and best-laid plans are only as strong as the weakest link in the chain. As this former airline executive can attest, there are many chances to fail.

After speaking to numerous line employ-ees at every touch point of my trip, however, it appears that perception is reality amongst the ranks.

“Being part of what is happening at Por-ter is very exciting and very energizing,” said purser (lead flight attendant) Lisa Blunt, who came to Porter last fall from a publishing background, and as ambassador-in-flight, was well versed on new routes, schedules and other details.

“There is a true commitment to people here, which is contagious,” she added.

Mark Cestariis CEO and publisher of Travel New England. His guilty pleasure is travel and he must have a window seat. He can be reached at: [email protected].

The Boston-Toronto route has grown to five weekdays fre-quency, which is a huge plus for busi-ness travelers for whom time is money and frequent flights mean more options and unmissed kids’ soccer games.

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St. John’sArgentia

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Saint John

The warm people, the stunning views, the rich culture. The sea shapes much of what you’ll discover in this extraordinary place. Joined to the continent by a slender stretch of land, youcan easily drive here. Or take a quick fl ight from Boston, MA or Portland, ME. Either way, start making your plans. We can’t wait to show you around.

Far from ordinary.Not so far away.

Visit us online or call 1 800 565 0000 op 202 to order your travel planning kit.

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Skyline Trail, Cape Breton Island

_TOU001-1378 NewEng_skyline.indd 1 5/27/10 9:10:36 AM

Robert J. DeLuce: “Boston has be-haved better and responded quicker than any other U.S. destination to date,” says the Porter CEO and president.

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