Porter Airlines Expands To Florida With Seven Routes

I’m surprised they didn’t go back to MLB (Melbourne, FL) … from 2015-2018 they had a gate and ran seasonal service to/from YTZ, YOW, YQW (and maybe 1 or 2 more) on weight restricted Q400’s. A lot of Canadians used the service to get to nearby Port Canaveral for cruises and the beach. They pulled out by surprise, all their signage was left there for years!

I'm excited! Can't wait to finally try them out. I went to Billy Bishop airport last summer to rent a car from there, and I was itching the entire time to try Porter.

If I recall correctly, I believe Porter flew between Orlando (MCO) and Toronto Billy-Bishop airport in the past on their Dash-8 (prior to COVID).

The pricing is an absolute bargain! Finding a three-hour journey on a full service carrier in Europe will set you back at least double the amount Porter is charging. Would fly them in a heartbeat!

RSW ahead of JAX? Meh.

In the Toronto-Pearson to Orlando International route, we will now have 8 airlines flying the route: Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, AirTransat, Canada Jetways, Lynx Air, Sunwing, WestJet and now Porter. To Orlando Sanford International, add Flair. I think Swoop was in there for awhile but dropped out. I'm guessing fares are going to get even lower!

JAX is not as much of a snowbird destination compared to other Florida cities.

I know...I wasn't into points/miles travel until 2019, and was confused as to why some of their ghost signage in the terminal and Google Flights searches still indicated that they flew out of MLB when I got into travel hacking. Thanks for the history! I recently flew the Q400 on AC from YUL-YTZ, and although that was fine, it's cringe IMO to fly that particular airframe 1073 nm from Toronto to Central Florida. Buzzzzzzzzing along for 3-4 hours.....lol

This is still good news for we Space Coast folks, as MCO/TPA/FLL are relatively local. I only fly out of MIA if it's a deal, or as a last resort. Most grimy airport in Florida, drivers down there are the worst in the country.

RSW absolutely has more traffic and demand than JAX. Why is this a surprise to you?

All economy
All cash
All fine until IRROPS

Ben himself reviewed a flight between Toronto and Florida on an AC Dreamliner. I'm not distracted from that, by this.

Billy Bishop is to Toronto is what Love Field was to Dallas for decades. SWA never has or will fly from DFW. After decades of legal battles, most of the flight restrictions were lifted and SWA outmaneuvered legacy carriers to control 18 of 20 gates.

I believe Porter leaving their safe haven to be a player at YYZ will not be a profitable move.

Having endured hundreds of thousands of miles in Air Canada economy seats in North America, biz across oceans…

Their eco seats leave my seat sore.
Their biz seats deplete my wallet.

Any alternative is very very welcome!

Shocked they chose Ottawa over YUL. Generally more demand from MTL

I mean, that is clearly not true.
I can easily see OSL-ATH on Aegean, a 3h45 minute flight available for 73 EUR or 79 USD. And Aegean serves free alcohol and full hot meals in economy, while Porter only serves snacks.
Business class for 220 EUR or 240 USD, which is much better than the 'Porter Reserve' option.

So sure, you can call it a good deal, but to say you can not get similar in Europe is bizarre and a lie...

This is great news. Our experiences with Porter have been excellent.

Their expanded operation will be exciting (for some) for a while. But plenty of airlines have gone broke flying Torontonians to Florida. Porter refuses to operate a premium cabin, join an alliance or develop a serious loyalty program. For travellers that don't care about any of these things and who are happy to travel multi-hour flights on small planes in economy, paying the same fares as on other carriers and earning orphan points in an isolated loyalty program, this is awesome.

@JB, they are flying to Florida from YYZ, not YTZ. They did fly to Melbourne FL years ago, not to MCO. I fly YYZ-FLL regularly (Florida resident with family in Toronto), so I'm excited to finally see them fly the route!

I fly FLL-YYZ regularly (Florida / NY resident with family in Toronto), so I'm excited to finally see them fly FLL/MIA to YYZ! I fly Porter EWR-YTZ regularly and like Porter a lot. FAs tend to be nicer, not the long tenured snarky AC cabin crew. Porter is a cut above AC in coach. And for a ~3 hour flight, flying coach is totally fine. I've been on 3+ hour Amtrak rides and I'd never think I need to have a flat bed seat on Amtrak from NYP to DC LOL...

AC does fly A330 to FLL to FLL and B787 on to MIA, but their biz class pricing on these planes is kinda outrageous for a ~3 hour flight. But hey, if you got tons of dough, then go for it! If there is demand then you bet AC will charge $600+ for these flat bed seats!

and oh... AC will fly Rouge A321s to FLL this winter season on 2 departures, and A330 on the other 2 departures. So comparing Porter coach to AC Rouge coach is laughable. Unless you like to self-torture in AC Rouge, flying Porter is a no-brainer if price is similar. LOL

I love Porter. Great little airline! I'm based in the US, but would always make them my preferred if given the option on a route, even above my standard loyalty to another airline.

I also love the ERJs, both the 2-2 config, but the seats actually seem wider than any other aircraft I usually fly in economy.

Now we'll see how Air Canada and WestJet try to push around Porter on these routes!

Why isn’t any nonstop to/from JAX ??

Southern Georgia and St Augustine is not far.

No doubt, once Porter's terminal at YHU is completed, they'll provide good southbound competition to both YUL and PLB services

There are still a lot of growing pains with the product on Porter's E2s. Each flight I've had on the aircraft there was one senior crewmember leading a team of all new hires. All of the soft product is very good, but service flows and passenger experience elements are still lacking. My latest flight with them the in-charge flight attendant was using a handheld recorder held up to the PA interphone to play the announcements (which were basically inaudible...), not sure why the built-in system isn't doing that for them.
Glad to see Porter being bold with their expansion but hopefully they can tighten up their service as crews get more experience