A shout out to Porter Airlines

[LiftLockCouple]

I am aware that this thread will only be of interest to a limited number. I have no personal involvement with Porter Airlines and have actually only flown them a total of 2 round trips. The most interested would likely be cruise passengers from the Canadian east provinces or the from the Boston / New York / Chicago areas. Any cruise passengers looking to fly to /from Montreal or Quebec City might find this of interest as well. No Non-Stop between those cities and Boston etc but the connection in Toronto is extremely easy. We recently flew on Porter Airlines from Toronto's Island Airport known as the Billy Bishop Airport ( YTZ ) to Newark return. This small airline and its very small hub terminal airport are a pleasure to use. The airline uses Bombardier Q400 aircraft due in part to the small airport at Billy Bishop. The airport terminal is small making the check-in to gate distance equally small. The longest ( still very short by international airport standards) walk is for connecting in-bound USA passengers. No USA Customs and Immigration pre-clearance at YTZ.

The pleasant part is with the on-board experience, complimentary soft drinks etc as well as Wine and Beer, and friendly service. The departure lounges in Toronto include comfortable seats, WiFi, and complimentary soft drinks, juice, water, coffee, tea, and cappuccino along with almonds and cookies. In Newark there were no snacks but all the drinks were there.

Porter flys very frequently between Newark and YTZ which made it possible to show up early and be rebooked onto an earlier flight. There is no charge for this service at the airport. We departed YTZ 1 hour early and on the return left Newark 2 hours earlier than originally booked.

Porter does have a codeshare agreement with Jet Blue making connections via Boston to the USA convenient.

The last point is a negative and is often mentioned on these boards. That is the lack of an interline agreement with other airlines for rebooking in the event of mechanical or weather delays. They will not rebook ( as far as I know ) onto another airline to complete your journey.

We had a great experience and just wanted to share this with the cruising world. There are lots of options and we are all free to chose the one that meets our needs the best. Just saying that Porter is a good one to consider.

 

Here are some pictures. the first three are from the USA departures lounge at YTZ.

 

 

 

Ready for departure with the terminal and Toronto city skyline in the background.

 

 

Climbing past the downtown skyline.

 

[FlyerTalker]

Porter is one of those niche airlines that are true gems. Limited route network but they make the most of those Q400s. I've never had the opportunity to fly them (only make it to YYZ about every six years) but they should definitely be on the radar for anyone in their markets.

[FawnRiver]

I've been keeping my eyes open for a cruise that fits our needs so we can try Porter. DS & her family have used it to visit relatives in Quebec and have raved about it.

 

Hopefully, they'll manage to get the approval to extend the airport so they can add larger aircraft and increase their distance capabilities.

[waterbug123]

They recently began limited (i.e. not daily) service between Toronto and my home airport in Charleston SC. Haven't flown them yet, as I've had no need to go to Toronto, but you never know.

[socialworker]

We have seen their planes at Chicago's Midway Airport and heard or read that they offer a more pleasant experience. We have tickets from Chicago to Montreal - change in Toronto for this September. We're taking a cruise from Quebec to Bayonne, NJ on Princess, but wanted to stay a few days in Montreal beforehand.

 

I'm aware of the "Oh no, what happens if Porter experiences a problem or ceases operation from Chicago" dilemma we'll face but we're still going with them.

 

One piece of valuable advice: Sign up for their "frequent flier" program. Once I did so, I received an email with a discount code that saved me $25 per ticket. Now what other airline can you fly from Chicago to Montreal for $113 per person?

 

I'll let you know how it works out for us once we're back home.

 

Judy

[goodml]

Porter is fantastic! Have flown them a number of times. Always excellent. A throw back to a different time in air travel.

[RickT]

Another "Thumbs Up" for Porter.

 

Just hope you don't leave anything on their planes. For some unknown reason their lost and found department is based in Toronto (Billy Bishop Airport) and any e-mail/phone call about an item left on a plane usually gets a "Sorry, we don't have that item". In one instance I had left an item and e-mailed/called being very specific about which flight the item was left on. I got the usual, "Sorry" response. A couple days later I was flying (on a different airline) but stopped by the local Porter desk and asked, sure enough they had my item and had never been contacted by Porter in Toronto to ask about. Same thing happend to a friend... Seems the lost and found dept thinks the world revolves around Toronto and doesn't bother to reach out to the other airports.

 

Great airline, questionable lost and found dept :rolleyes:

[LiftLockCouple]

This is a video I took on my cell phone today, while waiting for DW to arrive from Ottawa. Not a great video but it shows the new pedestrian tunnel between the island and the city mainland. The tunnel is accessed via a bank of elevators at the city end and escalators / elevators at the terminal end.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXDxJthG0bg

Edited November 29, 2015 by LiftLockCouple

[DanJ]

 

Hopefully, they'll manage to get the approval to extend the airport so they can add larger aircraft and increase their distance capabilities.

 

Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen now with the new government. However I did read they are going to start weekly service to Melbourne Florida from Toronto. Seats will be limited to around 50 because they are already stretching the range of the aircraft to pull that flight off as it is. I think it's only Saturdays, but I believe the times work out for Port Canaveral cruises should one want to fly the day of.

[skf]

Have not yet had the opportunity to try Porter, but I saw a newspaper or magazine article that really approved of them. If I were going to Toronto I would probably fly them so i could get off the plane in downtown. Last trip to Toronto was via the NY Thruway...a 12-hour drive.

[waterbug123]

I did read they are going to start weekly service to Melbourne Florida from Toronto. Seats will be limited to around 50 because they are already stretching the range of the aircraft to pull that flight off as it is. I think it's only Saturdays, but I believe the times work out for Port Canaveral cruises should one want to fly the day of.

 

I assume they will be running one flight a day if/when they add that? Very risky if you're flying in same day for a cruise; what happens if the flight goes mechanical? There's no later flight to put you on, and even if there was, you'll be fighting with 49 other people for any available seat. :eek:

[DanJ]

I assume they will be running one flight a day if/when they add that? Very risky if you're flying in same day for a cruise; what happens if the flight goes mechanical? There's no later flight to put you on, and even if there was, you'll be fighting with 49 other people for any available seat. :eek:

 

 

It's not something I would do for a Saturday to Saturday cruise, but you know how people love to gamble lol. How else do you explain people using airlines such as Allegiant lol. I would look at it if I had booked, or was considering a shorter cruise out of Port Canaveral though.

[bubbadogmom]

I love love love Porter.

 

Have flown on them many times from Windsor to Toronto, Montreal, etc.

 

Wanted to use them to fly to Florida but they don't fly non stop - they all had stops/layovers.:mad:

 

I'd love a non stop Porter flight!