“All the competitors are relatively stretched — their balance sheets are stressed, their fleets are contracting.
Demand remains the big caveat, though airlines say they are confident it will continue to rise next year, particularly among recreational travellers.
Bound for sun destinations and Canadian cities, they will fly from Montreal, Ottawa and Halifax as well as Toronto’s Pearson airport — rather than Porter’s current downtown base at Billy Bishop airport — allowing for head-to-head competition with Air Canada, WestJet, Transat AT Inc.
“Air Canada and WestJet won’t take the new incursion by Porter lying down.
However, history has shown that success in this market is far from guaranteed.