Porter orders four more Bombardier turboprops

Porter Airlines Inc. has ordered four more Bombardier Q400 turboprops, aiming to expand even as Air Canada makes plans to compete. Porter, which currently has a monopoly on commercial flights at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, said Friday that it has options to buy a further six Q400s. If the firm orders and options are filled, Porter's fleet will grow to 30 of the turboprops. The latest orders are valued at more than $30-million (U.S.) each. Porter chief executive officer Robert Deluce said in an interview that the first new plane is slated for delivery next spring, though redeploying the existing fleet could mean a new destination or two before mid-2011. Porter had previously planned to order up to seven Q400s by mid-2011. The privately owned company, which has raised an extra $15-million (Canadian) from its shareholders, will pay for the new planes largely through debt financing. But Mr. Deluce said Porter, which suspended plans in June for an initial public offering, will examine whether to relaunch an IPO for 2011.