Air Canada Jazz is continuing its fight to get back into Toronto City Center Airport (TCCA) with a new filing of a law suit against the Toronto Port Authority (TPA). Its suit basically alleges that the TPA and City Centre Aviation (CCA) conspired to eliminate any competition for proposed operator Porter Airlines which is scheduled to launch fledgling service at TCCA this fall.

In a letter to Air Canada Jazz President Joe Randell, TPA refuted the charges and painted a picture of Jazz as trying to reclaim its territory only after a new airline announced plans to serve TCCA. It also recounted a list of grievances against the carrier including the decline in frequencies and routes served and its refusal to participate in the revitalization of the airport, something Porter was willing to do. Of particular interest is TPA's contention that Jazz allowed its facilities contract with CCA to lapse in 2004 and failed to make alternate arrangements when Porter Airlines indirectly purchased CAA in 2005.

The suit continues a battle Jazz has waged since February when CCA terminated its facilities agreement. The airline scrambled to find new facilities, ultimately forging a deal with Stolport Corporation to sublease its facilities.

Jazz indicated the TPA rejection of its pact with Stolport resulted from its refusal to agree to a "secret, commercially restrictive commercial carrier operating agreement (CCOA)." Jazz further charged that the restrictions the TPA is seeking not only violate its legal obligations under the Canada Marine Act (CMA), but are "well outside the norms of the aviation industry." As a federal public authority, the TPA must provide fair and equitable access to all air carriers, contends Jazz. TPA said the CMA gives it authority to control access to TCCA and to determine the terms of its use by carriers.

Randell called the actions of the TPA "inconceivable" when it announced its planned resumption of service in early July. "Here we have the unprecedented situation where a long- term operator is having to battle with the management of an airport simply to resume a long-standing service and remain its customer," he asserted. "It is obvious that by denying Jazz fair and equal access to these public facilities, the TPA has decided to create a virtual monopoly on behalf of a single corporate interest. In fact, by the TPA's own admission in a letter publicly released on July 26, 2006, they stated that under the agreement they signed with Porter, they cannot permit Jazz to operate the schedule it announced on July 6th."

Jazz -- first as Air Ontario and later as Jazz -- has offered a wide range of services and destinations at the airport. The restrictions called for in the CCOA would have dictated the service it could provide at the airport, something that it had not been asked to do over two agreements it forged to operate at the airport since 1990 -- its original agreement cast with the TPA in 1990, or in a renewed agreement in 1995. While that agreement expired in 2000, the airline continued to operate under it until February of this year.

TPA indicated that it offered Jazz a new contract in February which was rejected and challenged in court. It also called Jazz's proposed plan to operate 34 flights daily from the airport unacceptable and cited its agreement with Porter "to ensure the financial viability of TCCA." TPA noted that it had sought such agreements with Jazz for years, but the airline would not commit to the airports makeover. "Our plans are to revitalize the TCCA, to encourage competition and to facilitate improved service to the public, through our arrangement with Porter and, hopefully, through an arrangement with Jazz as well," said the organization in its letter.

Jazz contends a CCOA is not required for service at a Canadian airport. The airline noted that the vast majority of airports it serves do not require a CCOA and none imposes confidential commercial restrictions such as those required by the TPA.

Its initial court filing earlier this spring was converted by the court to a trial owing to the complexity of the issues. Jazz appealed that decision which was, ultimately dismissed. Its current filing has been simplified to focus on the CCOA that TPA wants Jazz to sign as well as some of the more recent actions of TPA including their failure to approve the Stolport sublease unless Jazz signs the CCOA.