Air Canada to fly out of Toronto Island on May 1

Starting today (March 7), Air Canada customers can start buying tickets for their first flights out of Billy Bishop Airport on downtown Toronto Island.

Since 2006, Porter Airlines has had a monopoly on flights to and from Billy Bishop, but now, Air Canada will fly up to 15 daily direct return flights between Toronto and Montreal effective May 1.

"Air Canada is extremely pleased to return to Toronto Island and expand the range of travel options for our customers," said Ben Smith, executive vice-president.

For now, the least expensive flights for May 1 are available from Porter Airlines at $129, while Air Canada is priced at $159. Additional fees and taxes are not included in these prices. Once all the fees are added, the total price for the cheapest Toronto-Montreal round-trip is $410.70 from Porter Airlines, while Air Canada is $444.60.

Toronto-based Porter is Canada’s third-largest airline and has the majority of landing slots at Billy Bishop. Porter and Air Canada continue their rivalry for frequent flyers in the highly lucrative business travel segment.

"We’re already used to competing directly with Air Canada and other carriers," said Porter president and CEO, Robert Deluce.