Porter Airlines will begin service to Washington Dulles International Airport beginning in April.
The regional airline, which operates out of the downtown Toronto Island airport, said it will offer three round-trip flights on weekdays starting April 16 to Dulles, which is in suburban Virginia.
Porter will also have one round-trip flight on Saturdays and two on Sundays.
"Greater Washington is a region that our passengers have told us is their number one priority for new Porter service," said Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines.
"We expect great interest for both business and leisure trips and look forward to bringing competition to the route."
Air Canada serves Washington from Toronto's Pearson airport, with flights to Reagan National airport, which is five kilometres from downtown D.C., and to Dulles, which is about 50 kilometres away from the U.S. capital.
Since it began service from Toronto to Ottawa and Montreal in 2006, Porter Airlines has gradually expanded to other Canadian cities on the East Coast as well as Northern Ontario, and U.S. destinations including Newark, Boston and Chicago.
It also offers winter service to Mont Tremblant, Que., and Burlington, Vt.
Last year, the Toronto Port Authority, which allocates the 202 available daily takeoff and landing slots at the Toronto Island airport, gave 16 more slots to Porter that had originally been awarded to Continental Airlines, leaving Air Canada with only 30 slots there.
Air Canada had been evicted from that airport in 2006 by the terminal company controlled by Deluce, and only returned last April with 15 daily round-trip flights to Montreal.
Copyright 2012 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited
