by Jim Byers
Last updated: 11:05 PM ET, Thu May 9, 2019
This is the second of five stories highlighting the careers of the travel industry pioneers who will be inducted into the Canadian Travel Hall of Fame at the TravelPulse Canada Readers' Choice Awards on May 16. Today's story is about Robert Deluce, who founded Porter Airlines.
TravelPulse Canada will be live streaming the event from the Steam Whistle Brewery in Toronto on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/travelpulseCA/). We'll also have plenty of social media posts that evening on our Twitter (@TravelPulseCA) and Instagram pages (@TravelPulseCA).
"It's wonderful to have The Canadian Travel Hall of Fame so we can honour individuals who have played such major roles in the Canadian travel industry," said TravelPulse Canada Editor in Chief John Kirk. "All five of our inductees have helped shape Canada's travel business in significant ways, and we're honoured to have Robert Deluce inducted in the class of 2019."
We chatted recently with Deluce about travel agents, the importance of grooming a successor and his successful managing of a mid-air problem when he was piloting a plane at the ripe age of 12.
Who was your biggest mentor and what did they do to help your career?
My parents always provided a certain inspiration. They were strong examples when they were alive. They started White River Air services together. They led by example in creating a certain foundation for myself and other family members to really get into the industry and enjoy some pretty satisfying and lifelong careers. My eight siblings also have been a pretty good support system over the years. We all pushed each other to do things a little better.
What's the best advice you ever received?
Do unto others; treating others the way you'd like to be treated. That's a pretty good measure of how to handle almost any customer service issue. If you apply that with some common sense it allows everyone to use a certain element of discretion to and handle irregularities as they arise. Sometimes I have to take bit of a firm position. But you can't go wrong if you have the fundamentals, and the golden rule is certainly one of our core values at Porter.
How has the role of travel agents evolved over the years, and how has that impacted the business?
Everyone's affected by how the industry is changing. Technology gives customers a pretty hands-on ability to be their own trip planner or advisor, but agents are still the experts. Agents have to be careful how they position themselves and how they build a brand that showcases value. The day of waiting for the phone to ring are definitely over. It's the same for airlines. Customers have choices and we have to convince them Porter is the right one by providing great overall travel experience and, ,of course, competitive prices to go with it.
What are the biggest obstacles you encountered in your career?
We've had our fair share of big obstacles, or speed bumps as we like to call them. The cancelled bridge to Billy Bishop Airport set us back a number of years ago, but we responded. I think we came back even stronger. There's always uncertainty when you talk about what 's happening in the marketplace and you have to respond to issues on an every day basis. The general economic conditions are always changing. Fuel prices are spiking. There's politics and competitors. It's always in flux. In the case of Porter we've responded to all types of influences for more than a decade now, and I actually believe we're in a really good place.
What's happening on the jets front for Porter?
We're not focussed right on jets right now. We have some other growth plans that aren't dependent on jets. But it's always been my view that jets aren't a question of if, they're a question about when. New technology today is environmentally friendly, and the airplanes that we pick when we eventually have added growth and expansion are really ideally suited to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. It's something that will come in due course. It's just a question of when.
How important is it for a business person to groom a leader?
I think succession planning is something any prudent airline or travel agency needs to do. Your question is timely because you know we're going through that process right now in Porter. I've been involved since the early 2000's in mapping out a vision for Porter. I was the founding president and CEO since the business was formed back in 2005. Fourteen years is a long time for any organization to have the same CEO in place, and it's my belief that a change will be healthy and reinvigorating and that it will bring fresh ideas and some new energy. The structure I proposed will allow me to maintain my involvement in a number of key areas while at same time facilitating a transition with our executive team that keeps us focussed on long term goals. A company is never been about any one person. I don't have any ego about thinking I'm in the only person who can do the job. Quite frankly, I welcome the continued development of our team. With the transition that's underway I think it's a very positive thing. And, I believed it was best to leave on my own terms.
Looking back, is there anything you would do differently? Do have any regrets?
You can always s find something you could've done differently. But nothing's going to change now so there's not much point in looking back. Better to learn and use that to build success in the future. I'm not a "woulda coulda shoulda" person. I look forward. And, quite frankly, the future is pretty encouraging for Porter. I think we definitely have our fair share of growth ahead of us and I see Porter serving destinations across North America. The course we take is still playing out but having things like US Customs pre-clearance at Billy Bishop and the possibility of introducing another aircraft for our fleet are just a couple of the variables that will help determine what Porter looks like, say, ten years from now.
If you had to pick just one memory from your career, preferably something comical, what would it be?
I've told this to friends and family and others. But my first unofficial flying lesson came when I was six or seven years old. Initially I was allowed to do some steering, then navigating, climbing, descending and eventually taking off and landing. On one occasion (he was about 12) a pilot had enough confidence in me to take a nap while on about a four and-a-half hour flight while we were on level flight on our way up to Holly Lake, up near Hudson Bay. The rear fuel tank ended up running dry on the single-engine Otter we were flying. That certainly woke up the pilot but by then I had already changed the tanks and given the wobble pump a few strokes, as he had instructed me to do in such an event. It's always struck me as being one of those learning lessons you can apply going forward. And it had a good ending, and amusing, because the pilot had the confidence in me to fly and had instructed me what to do, never expecting it would actually happen. It was a good shock when I did exactly what I had been told. I'd been flying with family and friends and pilots involved in my parent's business for some time. I wasn't new to flying but I was certainly young. It burped a few times but I changed it over pretty quickly and moved the wobble pump at a pretty good rate and everything worked out fine.
Topics From This Article to Explore
