With rumours swirling that owner Robert Deluce
plans to take Porter Airlines public this spring, the
three-year-old regional airline is flying high. Last year, during a generally disastrous year for the airline industry, the company saw its revenue grow by 300%,
Deluce told the Toronto Star in late December. Porter is in the midst of constructing a new $45 million airport terminal at the Toronto Island Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, new airplanes are on order and new flight routes are being added (most recently to Myrtle Beach and Sudbury).
All of that adds up to a lot of job growth. According to Brad Cicero, a Porter spokesperson, last year's growth saw the company double its staff from 400 to 800 employees. And if all goes according to plan, the company will have added an additional 200 staffers by the end of July, before likely seeing employment levels plateau for the rest of the year. Job openings
currently advertised range from mechanics to pilots to call centre staff. Cicero says "the vast majority" of those jobs are located in Toronto.
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Brad Cicero, Porter Airlines