The Federal Court of Appeal has unanimously denied Air Canada’s appeal against Porter Airlines Inc. and the Toronto Port Authority (TPA), which alleged wrongdoing in the slot allocation at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The court also awarded Porter and TPA payment of their legal costs.
The case stems from a slot auction the TPA initiated in 2010 to expand the number of carriers at the airport, which Air Canada alleged was carried out unfairly.
"As the BBTCA evolves into a world-class city centre airport, it has been our stated objective to diversify the number of destinations offered in an effort to meet the demands of our business and leisure travellers," said Geoff Wilson, president and CEO of the TPA, said of the auction in a statement released in April 2010. "The issuance of the formal RFP [Request For Proposals] is the next major phase of the transparent process that we outlined in December.”
That auction awarded 16 landing slots to Continental Airlines, 44 to Porter and 30 to Air Canada, Canadian Business reports. In July 2010, a Federal Court rejected Air Canada’s arguments, leading to the latest appeal.
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