Beware Porter Airlines Direct to FLL from Ottawa - Always late

[SoloAlaska]

On 2/7/2024 at 5:46 PM, CDNPolar said:

I thought Porter were the Bees Knees when they first came on the scene but now I have not flown them in probably a decade.  They just seemed to continue to decline in my eyes.

The clients on porter have changed over the last 10 years. It use to be people flying for business meetings and things went smoothly. Now porter is becoming a destination for budget travellers and it can be a hot mess.

[d9704011]

46 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

The clients on porter have changed over the last 10 years. It use to be people flying for business meetings and things went smoothly. Now porter is becoming a destination for budget travellers and it can be a hot mess.

What you say may have some truth to it but I don't see how the shift in clientele has anything to do with Porter's on time performance.  Additionally, I've used Porter on four round trip flights over the last year (two to EWR, two to FLL) and have not experienced substantial delays or lost luggage.

[SoloAlaska]

5 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

What you say may have some truth to it but I don't see how the shift in clientele has anything to do with Porter's on time performance.  Additionally, I've used Porter on four round trip flights over the last year (two to EWR, two to FLL) and have not experienced substantial delays or lost luggage.

There are benefits for porter my favorite being gate check. Less of a chance of delayed carry ons that way compared to how Air Canada does it. I still search flights but what gives me the best deal so I’ll still fly porter occasionally but Air Canada has been my sweet spot for booking in 2024. In 2023 I flew all sorts of airlines.

[cmaleblanc]

Just a follow-up to my post. We came back from our amazing trip on the Apex last week. 

 

We fly from Newfoundland -> Toronto -> FLL. It's just the easiest way. 

 

We flew down using Porter Ultimate Reserve. It was a great experience, and considering the savings compared to AC, and not having the option to fly WJ out of Newfoundland. It was a good experience. I'm a big boy, about 240 lbs, and made the mistake of sitting in the first row of seats on the E195. Don't do this if you're big, if you're skinny and tall it would be fine. The footroom was great. But the tray table is in the armrest and has no extension, so using it made me feel like I was trapped in a high chair. We'll try the next row back next time. I also wish the seats had been a bit wider, but over for the price I found them comfortable. (except for the tray table, we used our lap instead for the meals). 

 

Food was also....interesting. It's all cold on the E195, although this aircraft can be equipped with a galley for cooking food. Porter decided not to go this route, so all food was served cold. Admittedly I'm a very picky eater, but the food served on Porter now is way too pretentious for me, the cheese and fruit try was probably the best option for me. Compared to flying WestJet and AC with meals, even cold. I find both those other companies offer both better taste and selection. 

 

We left Newfoundland without much issue, Pearson we did get delayed by 30 minutes or so for some crew changes, but left quickly once they figured that out. Our bags also made it, I still never fly without my tile trackers in our bags, but happy to say we made it all together. 

 

I'll fly Porter again, the Ultimate Reserve option for us at least is a good price, and as long as AC continues to price the East the way they have, and WJ continues to lack flights back East, it will be our only option. But I'm not disappointed in what we received, I'd just change my seat and expectations for the next flight, maybe pack a few of my own snacks. 

[starvenger]

Thanks for the review.

 

Try and use seatguru if you can to get an idea of any limitations on seats and such, like the armrest trays in the bulkhead seats.

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, starvenger said:

Thanks for the review.

 

Try and use seatguru if you can to get an idea of any limitations on seats and such, like the armrest trays in the bulkhead seats.

Unfortunately, Seatguru has no listing for Porter's E195.

[*Miss G*]

Seat Guru has been abandoned and left to die.  These are the new go-to’s:

 

Seat Maps: Porter E195

 

Aero LOPA : Porter E195

[starvenger]

Thanks for the links!

[MamatoJack]

We flew Porter for March break to MCO from YOW, well it was the Monday of March break to the Monday after March break. Flight leaving was delayed but that seemed to be because another flight was delayed and we couldn't leave the gate until they did. Flight home was also slightly delayed but they made up time in the air and it wasn't too bad, except that the luggage took an hour to get after we landed. Remind me to only use carry on from now on. The meals were interesting, cold, but I didn't mind the food, we flew Reserve so it was included, my son doesn't eat on flights so didn't have anything. I'd have to issue flying them again, it was certainly cheaper than Air Canada or Westjet for that time of year, I was lucky to book pretty soon after they announced they were flying direct from Ottawa, so I did get a good deal. Terminal C in MCO is quite nice, though a bit of a walk.