Air Canada loses Toronto Island battle

Two federal court applications by Air Canada challenging the slot allocation at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport have been dismissed, Porter Airlines Inc. said Thursday.

Porter said the court found that agreements between Porter and the Toronto Port Authority "were entirely appropriate and found no evidence of unfair treatment toward Air Canada."

"This decision reinforces that the allegations were an attempt to distract and derail Porter," said Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines.

In June, Air Canada and U.S. carrier Continental Airlines were granted initial approval to fly into and out of the downtown Toronto airport.

Airport Co-ordination Ltd., a British consulting firm hired to help with the assessment, recommended giving 30 slots to Air Canada and 16 to Continental, a major U.S. carrier based in Houston.

The firm recommended Porter receive 44 of the 90 available dailyslots for flights; Air Canada had wanted more.

Jazz, Air Canada's regional partner, had operated out of the island airport until 2006, when it was evicted from its terminal by a company owned by Deluce.