As I sit here in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina tonight there are strong rumours in the air that might be very attractive for Canadian Golfers.Officials will neither confirm or deny it but it looks as if there might be a new airline route heading in this direction from Canada. And all indications are that it will be via low-cost carrier Porter Air. It looks as if a press conference may be imminent with the official announcement - and it may take place as early as this Thursday.
The internet air database, which monitors flight plans and filing for airlines shows that as of November 2, 2009 Porter will be restarting routes directly between Toronto and Ottawa to Myrtle Beach. Those routes were intially opened in the Spring of 2008 but were quickly cancelled after just a few weeks. They also look to be kicking off two new routes - Montreal to Myrtle Beach and Quebec City to Myrtle Beach.
If this is the case it will create a huge rival for Direct Air in capturing the Ontario/Quebec crowd - the two largest markets for golfers to this region. Direct Air currently offers low cost direct fights to Myrtle Beach from Niagara Falls International Airport (NY) and Plattsburgh, New York. The combination of two airports has allowed them to garner a strong following from the Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto/Hamilton markets.
With a strong Canadian dollar and a continual flow of Canadian golfers looking to find cheap and direct flights to the Grand Strand there is certainly some clientele available for Porter. The local chamber of commerce in Myrtle Beach says they have been after the carrier for more than a year to consider regular flights to their airport and they are excited about the possibility. According to 2007 numbers from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism nearly 850,000 Canadians visit the state each year.
All indications are that the routes would commence as early as the end of February 2010, just prior to the busy Spring golf season. Tickets would be available in the next few weeks.
Porter Airlines was founded in 2006 and serves eight Canadian cities. They also serve Chicago, Boston, and New York.
We'll update the story as soon as we have official confirmation and details.
