Originally Posted by
Shareholder
I think the bulk of those low fares can be attributed more to WS than PORTER. The majority of travelers do not originate from downtown Toronto, so the city centre airport is not really a convenience to 80% of the potential market and they'd rather fly from YYZ to collect their AIR MILES on WS, or AE miles on AC. The price cutting is to try and get non-business travelers to fly it because the core model has a limited market that tends to slump in the summer months.
Really now... IIRC, WS and AC were offering O/W Montreal and Ottawa from Toronto at $99-$119 before PORTER launched. Since then, $49-$79 seems to be the 'norm" O/W fare on both AC and WS.
Actually I remember AC having a fire sale at $11 fares (FREE actually when you deduct no luggage, changes and miles) and WS yesterday offering a one day sale of $17. Never had that happen before PORTER and the AC apologists were worried we were gonna have another JetsGo... I guess AC and WS learned something from JetsGo after-all
Now, take note of the O/W fares YYZ to Newark on AC is $129 and Chicago is $152. Let's revisit this question say 4-5 months when PORTER starts service and see what happens.