NEW Biscuits with possible plastic pieces, metal found in ground pork: Here are the recalls for this week
Here are the latest recalls Canadians should watch out for, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Porter Airlines could shake up the Canadian airline industry after announcing plans to launch jet service to destinations in Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean with an order for up to 80 aircraft with a list price of US$5.8 billion.
The regional airline says it has signed a deal to become the North American launch customer for the Embraer E195-E2 jet aircraft and plans to offer flights from Toronto Pearson International Airport along with Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.
Porter has placed a firm order for 30 planes and 50 purchase right options, and likely received a hefty discount from the list price. It also has the option to convert purchase rights to the E190-E2s.
The new aircraft will not operate from Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport on the city's waterfront where Porter currently offers service on turboprop aircraft.
Its entire fleet of 29 Q400 planes has been grounded for more than a year because of the pandemic and isn't scheduled to resume flying until Sept. 8.
Porter will restart operations in phases, with the initial flights between Canadian destinations. Flights to U.S. cities including Boston, Chicago, New York and Washington D.C. will resume Sept. 17.
"Obviously the last 16 months has been a difficult time for the industry, but out of crisis is often the best opportunity for establishing growth in the future," CEO Michael Duluce said in an interview.
He said the pandemic laid the foundation for the substantial growth plan it will enact midway through 2022 as it enters the recovery phase from the pandemic.
A full list of destinations will be announced in due course, but Deluce sees opportunities to service the southern U.S. as well as the Caribbean and Mexico.
Airline analyst Robert Kokonis, president of airline consulting firm AirTrav Inc., called it a "bold move" that will surely elicit a strong response from Canada's two largest airlines especially as it prepares to land "in the jaws of the dragon at Pearson, which is Air Canada's main base of operations and the second-largest base for WestJet Airlines.
"WestJet and Air Canada are not going to take this sitting down. They're going to put a very robust response on the marketplace because everybody's suffered through the pandemic," he said in an interview.
That's good news for passengers who have seen their options expand with the addition of Swoop, Flair and upcoming addition of Enerjet.
But Kokonis doesn't believe Porter will try to become Sunwing, Transat or Air Canada Rouge by appealing mainly to the leisure crowd. Instead, he expects it will continue to cater to business travellers who have taken advantage of the Toronto island airport's quick access to the country's largest city, in addition to leisure travellers.
Porter's growth has always been limited by available slots at the island airport. Its effort to add jet service was quashed in 2015 when jets were barred.
The airline placed a conditional order in 2013 for Bombardier CSeries planes, now known as Airbus A220. It let that order lapse within the past year and switched to Embraer's latest product after reviewing its expansion plans.
Kokonis said the Embraer plane with 120 to 146 seats is a great option for Porter, which has an extremely strong brand presence and customer base in Eastern Canada.
"It's a very, very bold and decisive market action they're taking and again because this carrier has been grounded more than any other carrier in Canada through the pandemic I couldn't wish that upon a longer suffering group of people and employees, executives and shareholders than this group too," he said.
"And I think they might just have a fighting chance to make it all work."
Deluce said Porter is prepared for whatever reaction the competition might have.
"Porter has always competed in a pretty aggressive environment," said Deluce, referring to Air Canada, WestJet and U.S. carriers.
"Porter has the highest customer satisfaction in Canada and a really well-regarded product. And we revolutionized and changed the way people short-haul travel and now with E2 expansion, we'll be able to broaden our route network across North America and really do the same with longer haul flying than we've done in the short-haul market."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2021.
Here are the latest recalls Canadians should watch out for, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians feel their right to freedom of speech is in danger.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Emotional support animal registrations in the United States reached 115,832 last year, by an industry group’s count. But in the eyes of reptile rescuer Joie Henney, there’s only one: 'Wally Gator.'
The federal government will provide Toronto just over $104 million in funding to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Tiger Woods accepted a special exemption for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, the first time the three-time champion has needed an exemption to play.
What do you need to pack for a cruise? When it comes to this upcoming cruise from tour and travel company Bare Necessities, the answer appears to be very little.
Danny DeVito had the opportunity to know way more about Drew Barrymore than the rest of us.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.