Hello from Canada, as I’ve just kicked off my review trip to Bangkok! For the first segment of my trip, I flew Porter Airlines’ Embraer E195-E2 on the 3hr15min flight from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Montreal (YUL). I flew the carrier’s most premium product, which is PorterReserve. The airline markets this as its “all-inclusive economy experience,” but I don’t think that actually does justice to what it is.
Canada’s Porter has been growing at an incredibly fast pace with beautiful new Embraer jets, and I’ve been meaning to check out this experience for a long time. I booked my ticket for just 10,000 Alaska Atmos Rewards points, which is an unbelievable bargain, so of course it was worth it (since for that many points, I’d take the most basic type of economy experience).
In this post, I’d like to share my initial thoughts, and then I’ll have a full review upon returning home.
In this post:
Porter’s Embraer E195-E2s are a pleasure to fly in general
Broadly speaking, the Embraer E195-E2 is a lovely plane to fly. For those not familiar, this is the newest and biggest Embraer jet. From a passenger experience standpoint, it’s tough to beat the plane’s 2-2 layout, as there are no middle seats. It’s amazing how long and narrow this plane is, with 132 seats.
Despite being a stretched regional jet, the plane has large overhead bins, and just generally has “big jet energy.” The lavatories are really small, but then again, airlines have managed to shrink those on mainline aircraft as well, so that’s not necessarily that noticeable.
Porter also has free Viasat Wi-Fi for members of its free VIPorter program, so it’s lovely to get free inflight connectivity on as many devices as you’d like (you don’t actually have to credit the flight to the program, but you do have to be a member).
While there’s no seat back or streaming entertainment, there are AC power ports at all seats, so it’s easy to stay charged and enjoy your own devices.
Porter’s PorterReserve has a unique market position
You’ll find PorterReserve in the first four rows of the Embraer E195-E2 cabin. As you can see, the seats are still in a 2-2 configuration, and it’s not a separate cabin, in the sense that there’s no divider between cabins, no separate lavatory, etc.
The seats have very generous legroom, and at 36” of pitch, you should have no issues stretching out. Now, I lucked out on this flight, because I had an empty seat next to me, and obviously that makes a massive difference in terms of the perception you’ll have of a product (for that matter, I had the entire row to myself).
The airline markets PorterReserve as being an “all-inclusive economy experience,” though really, it offers a lot more than that. On the ground, it includes everything from two checked bags, to priority check-in, to priority security at select airports, to priority boarding.
What about once onboard? The soft product is differentiated quite a bit. Upon boarding, you’re given a bottle of water and a menu for the flight. 
The food selection consists of a modified version of the buy on board options in economy, along with a starter of sorts. For example, on this flight, the starter was a “fiesta dip,” and then the main course was the choice between a mango chicken bowl, a “buddha bowl,” and a cheese plate.
There’s then a full choice of drinks, with soft drinks, coffee, beer, wine, and cocktails, all served in proper glassware (keep in mind that everything except cocktails are free in economy as well). It’s not just a one-time service, but you can request as many refills as you’d like.
Additional packaged snacks are also offered.
In terms of service, I’d say it’s a little more attentive in PorterReserve than in the main cabin, as they proactively come around once or twice to offer refills. And you can always ask for more by pushing the call button or going to the galley. But it definitely still feels more like economy than anything.
At the right price, I think PorterReserve is great
For a reasonable premium, I’d absolutely fly PorterReserve again. Obviously for 10,000 Alaska Atmos Rewards points, it was a complete steal, but otherwise, I’d probably pay an extra $100 or so for this over economy for a flight of this length (factoring in the extra legroom, priority services, and improved soft product).
That assumes I wasn’t checking bags, because if I was checking bags, I’d potentially pay more of a premium, since I’d otherwise have to pay for those.
For those curious, if I had paid cash for this flight, the cost (in USD) would’ve been $182 for PorterClassic, and $300 for PorterReserve (there are fare bundles within each of those options. So I’d consider the incremental pricing there to be reasonable fair).
I think Porter is missing an opportunity by not going upmarket
I can’t help but feel like Porter is missing out on revenue based on how it’s selling and marketing this premium product. It’s interesting how the airline explicitly calls this an “all-inclusive economy experience,” when in reality, it’s more than that.
Purely from an armchair CEO standpoint, I can’t help but wish that Porter had chosen to install a “proper” business class cabin on these planes, in a 1-2 configuration. It can be done in such an efficient way, since you could do it with a similar pitch, and you just lose 25% of seats in terms of having just three seats per row.
If they improved the soft product a bit (a properly plated meal, even if it’s cold) and made it a dedicated cabin with a curtain, I think the airline could charge a lot more for this product. Even if the airline didn’t want to install different seats, still upgrade the catering a bit and add a curtain, and then market it as something better. The way this is marketed actually undersells the product, which is rare.
What’s interesting about Canadian aviation is that Air Canada’s business class fares are incredibly high. While US carriers often sell domestic and transborder premium cabins at a reasonable fare, the same isn’t true on Air Canada, where tickets are typically quite expensive. So you’d think Porter could try to find a happy medium there, and introduce something a little more affordable, but still significantly more expensive than economy.
I just think PorterReserve has a confusing position in the market, and the airline is leaving money on the table by not making this a “real” business class, or premium economy, or whatever. But hey, that’s just my take…
Bottom line
I’m happy I finally had the chance to fly Porter Airlines’ Embraer E195-E2, in the PorterReserve cabin. Given what I paid, of course this was an incredible value, and I’d gladly fly the product again. Porter’s Embraer aircraft are nice planes in general, given the 2-2 layout, modern cabin, and free Wi-Fi.
PorterReserve offers a lot of extra legroom and an improved soft product, so it’s a comfortable ride, especially if traveling with someone. With the current Alaska Atmos Rewards pricing, it has to be among the best award redemption values out there.
What do you make of Porter’s PorterReserve product?
That 10K award from AS would cost 130K Porter points plus about C$60! Even the basic economy award using PD points runs 15K+ and cash.
My understanding is that if one wishes to credit a PD flight to AS that flight must be booked on the AS site. That may have changed recently. Nor IIRC do PD flights count towards AS status credits. Unsure if AA will become an award partner as that marketing agreement is new.
It's a shame Porter was not able to buy the A220s it had on order at one time. However maybe with the engine issues they got lucky they cancelled.
Without question Canadians are loving Porter, but that's because Air Canada is so bad.
Newer planes and less people to board should have them destroy Air Canadas dismal on time performance.
Clearly the FAs on Porter are superior.
But the comfort of...
It's a shame Porter was not able to buy the A220s it had on order at one time. However maybe with the engine issues they got lucky they cancelled.
Without question Canadians are loving Porter, but that's because Air Canada is so bad.
Newer planes and less people to board should have them destroy Air Canadas dismal on time performance.
Clearly the FAs on Porter are superior.
But the comfort of the seat on the Porter flight limits me to a maximum of 4 hours, it's just NOT a comfortable seat.
Either way they have terrified Air Canada into some positive changes.
Definitely, Porter Airlines is a very interesting alternative to domestic travel within Canada. Clearly Air Canada has already started to feel the pinch. But totally agree, the soft product on board at best is tolerable for about 3 hours. As the seats do become increasingly uncomfortable on that Montreal to Vancouver, or Ottawa to Vancouver. Service currently is amazing, but boarding processes for their top tier clients is always hit and miss and in general...
Definitely, Porter Airlines is a very interesting alternative to domestic travel within Canada. Clearly Air Canada has already started to feel the pinch. But totally agree, the soft product on board at best is tolerable for about 3 hours. As the seats do become increasingly uncomfortable on that Montreal to Vancouver, or Ottawa to Vancouver. Service currently is amazing, but boarding processes for their top tier clients is always hit and miss and in general baggage handling in Ottawa is horrible. As there's not enough frequency within the country, they are currently a house of cards when there is a mechanical or delay. Porter is great as long as you don't need to be somewhere immediately, And have options.
Thanks for sharing!
It looks Porter Airlines has "downgraded" its PorterReserve catering a bit. The meal used to come in a slightly larger box. Plus they cut out the carb side, which is usually a slice of savory pastry, as well as a piece of chocolate. It is no big deal but the meal is already pretty underwhelming to being with.
Sadly the variety is a bit lacking too and there is not...
Thanks for sharing!
It looks Porter Airlines has "downgraded" its PorterReserve catering a bit. The meal used to come in a slightly larger box. Plus they cut out the carb side, which is usually a slice of savory pastry, as well as a piece of chocolate. It is no big deal but the meal is already pretty underwhelming to being with.
Sadly the variety is a bit lacking too and there is not much update since they launch the EMB-195-E2 product.
You will not notice it on your flight, since it is 3 hours, but on longer flights especially from YYZ/YUL/YOW to YVR, the lavatory queue is a big issue especially they only have two bathrooms, which are unacceptable if you decide to use the planes on coast to coast flight, unlike other carriers, who tend to use these E2s on much shorter flights. It is really out of control, which is sad, because the E195-E2 is a nice plane. The smaller galley also means that they don't have spaces for trash especially on their YUL-YVR flight. They piled up in the galley after the meal service wrapped up. The F/As basically locked all the trash in the lavatory during final prep.
Porter Airlines was originally shooting for a more premium product, but did a 360 after they got the planes. Maybe they decided that they can't even compete with Air Canada and even WestJet in terms of lounges and a world class mileage program. Of course their plan to use A220s on YTZ also fell through, so they can't really command a real premium price on these trunk routes.
As of this point, I like Porter and will continue to use it especially its tie with Alaska Airlines, but at the same time, I hope they will update the planes with larger galley and an additional bathroom, or at least have a small sub-fleet even though they need to sacrifice some seats.
The Canadian market is very price sensitive (now more than ever with the increasing US-Canada pay gap). Look at all the upmarket retailers that have tried and failed in the Canadian market. The management at Porter is a bunch of smart guys, so if they could make a profit out of investing in a more time consumming service flow using proper plates and utensils, I'm sure they would.
I'm just not convinced the room for extra profit there actually exist.
It's good to know that Porter offers wi-fi to all VIPorter members. Air Canada loudly advertises "Free Wi-Fi for Aeroplan Members" but it is really only free for people who actually have their Aeroplan number in the reservation. It is frustrating for me as my Aeroplan number will never be there as I have lifetime UA*G status.
Porter is the largest carrier from my city (YOW) in terms of the number of non-stop destinations served, so I end up flying them regularly.
None of the revenue flights I have booked and added my Atmos number to have properly credited to Atmos. Every time I email Alaska about it, they say "give us your boarding pass and receipt and then wait 6-8 weeks." But 8 weeks later, the same thing happens. I will...
Porter is the largest carrier from my city (YOW) in terms of the number of non-stop destinations served, so I end up flying them regularly.
None of the revenue flights I have booked and added my Atmos number to have properly credited to Atmos. Every time I email Alaska about it, they say "give us your boarding pass and receipt and then wait 6-8 weeks." But 8 weeks later, the same thing happens. I will tell them that the flights still havent been credited to Atmos, and they tell me to wait an additional 8 weeks while they look into it. I am yet to see a single Atmos point from a revenue ticket on Porter properly credited to my Atmos account.
We actually had a worse experience on PorterReserve than in the regular Porter seats so will actively be avoiding it. The aisle seat (which if you're travelling with someone one of you will have to sit on) is awful as for most of the flight there were passengers hovering over us waiting in line to use the bathroom. Even though the bathroom in the back had almost no line and was fully functional the front...
We actually had a worse experience on PorterReserve than in the regular Porter seats so will actively be avoiding it. The aisle seat (which if you're travelling with someone one of you will have to sit on) is awful as for most of the flight there were passengers hovering over us waiting in line to use the bathroom. Even though the bathroom in the back had almost no line and was fully functional the front bathroom had 8 people lined up, the flight attendants said they couldn't stop people from lining up (which probably also broke the FAA's rule on not permitting gathering in the aircraft which somehow none of the staff were aware of). We did pass that feedback and photos to customer service, but they denied it was a problem and didn't even offer a coupon.
PorterReserve is only worth it if the fare difference is low.
For me, it’s essentially a Flex fare class ticket with a bit more legroom, a second checked bag and a meal.
If there’s a promo, Reserve can be about the same price, making it a no brainer. Otherwise I don’t see Reserve being worth much more than $50. I find the service to be pretty indifferent in Reserve, no extra snacks and sometimes drinks...
PorterReserve is only worth it if the fare difference is low.
For me, it’s essentially a Flex fare class ticket with a bit more legroom, a second checked bag and a meal.
If there’s a promo, Reserve can be about the same price, making it a no brainer. Otherwise I don’t see Reserve being worth much more than $50. I find the service to be pretty indifferent in Reserve, no extra snacks and sometimes drinks are still served in paper cups.
Heck, on the shortest routes (sub 2 hours), there’s no meal or improved snack selection. So it’s really paying for the extra bag and the extra 4”.
I've taken YTZ-EWR (Billy Bishop is a cool airport, great views of Toronto) on their tiny propeller Dash 8-400, and booked PorterReserve (seat in-front), priority check-in, boarding, etc. Was it worth the extra charges? Meh.
Oh, and I must say: Mr. Porter (the racoon, and his buddies) is the cutest airline mascot around.
If you receive their emails, which often feature the mascot doing neat things, they do regularly include coupon codes for discounts.
Randomly was on a 5th anniversary flight with them and got a small raccoon button with a 5 on it. An enjoyable possession.
Niccce!
Anytime you can walk from your hotel to the airport is a good time. Enjoy that about YTZ. Likewise London City.
That tunnel is pretty cool. And Porter offers those buses into the city, too. They got a good thing going on there.
Kind of miss the pre-tunnel ferry only days. But, eh, kind of not.
The ferry still runs, too; in case you wanna take it for a joy ride!
I missed my 1 am AC flight form Calgary to Montreal this past October. I managed to find a flight in the morning with Porter. I was sitting in A1 seat, ..lot of legroom,..so...in the PorterReserve section I guess, ....Being my first time and not acquainted with the transporter; the ticket was $834 cad... One way. I could NOT afford not taking it; as I had no carry-ons but only a small personal item. I...
I missed my 1 am AC flight form Calgary to Montreal this past October. I managed to find a flight in the morning with Porter. I was sitting in A1 seat, ..lot of legroom,..so...in the PorterReserve section I guess, ....Being my first time and not acquainted with the transporter; the ticket was $834 cad... One way. I could NOT afford not taking it; as I had no carry-ons but only a small personal item. I loved the ride,the meal,the free drinks, the staff, and the conversation I had with the window seat occupant. I'll see what their rates are the next time I fly westward, with the proper booking timeline.
Does Porter release more than one seat on Porter Reserve on Alaskan. I have only ever seen one seat on Porter Reserve and four economy on flights I have looked at in the past.
We booked 4 seats fll-yyz for 7500 points per seat all on the same plane in Dec. Seems to be amazing availability.
Nice review and well worth it to check them out. Porter is one of those airlines that is, more often than not, a pleasure to fly. Upfront, in the back, it's all pretty good. Now that they fly from LGA as well (albeit to Pearson not Billy Bishop), even less reason to go to EWR.
Yeah, LGA on their E195-E2 is probably better than EWR on Dash-8, but YTZ is such a cool airport! And, for those who don't like preclearance, unlike Pearson, there isn't any at Billy Bishop.
Pre-check opens at Billy Bishop in January.
LM0913, you're right! I saw the construction earlier this year. Should be a lot easier than Pearson, which can have super-long lines, depending on the time of day.
Canadians just settle for so much less. Air Canada has had a monopoly forever. WestJet can’t decide what it is. While Porter is making efforts it’s still a very small plane for the routes it flies.
This is the case for the vast majority of countries around the world
FNT Delta Diamond, what are you talking about? Are you just doing anti-Canada stuff on here?
The USA is 9x larger population (340 million people vs 40 million in Canada); our airlines in the USA handle about 1 billion annual passengers; meanwhile, the Canadian market is like 100 million.
Canada has at least 6 airlines Air Canada, Westjet, Porter, Air Transat, Flair, Canada North; the USA has 9 notable carriers AA, DL, UA, WN,...
FNT Delta Diamond, what are you talking about? Are you just doing anti-Canada stuff on here?
The USA is 9x larger population (340 million people vs 40 million in Canada); our airlines in the USA handle about 1 billion annual passengers; meanwhile, the Canadian market is like 100 million.
Canada has at least 6 airlines Air Canada, Westjet, Porter, Air Transat, Flair, Canada North; the USA has 9 notable carriers AA, DL, UA, WN, AS, NK, B6, F9, G4.
There's plenty going on in both places, and things can and should be better, but let's compare apples to apples, please.
And Canadians do demand better; they actually have air passenger rights legislation (APPR), unlike the US. We should be demanding something similar for the USA.
Air Canada and WestJet are the only two national airlines of note and even then they've largely retreated with Air Canada having a near-monoply east of Winnipeg and WestJet have a near-monoply west of Winnipeg. Air Canada and WestJet both fly awful small planes in markets where U.S. airlines would be flying CRJ-550s or 700s with an actual first-class cabin. Porter flies these small planes for Toronto to Los Angeles, for example. That would be...
Air Canada and WestJet are the only two national airlines of note and even then they've largely retreated with Air Canada having a near-monoply east of Winnipeg and WestJet have a near-monoply west of Winnipeg. Air Canada and WestJet both fly awful small planes in markets where U.S. airlines would be flying CRJ-550s or 700s with an actual first-class cabin. Porter flies these small planes for Toronto to Los Angeles, for example. That would be like Delta flying a CRJ-900 on a nearly transcontinental flight.
That said, yeah, I'm no fan of AC's CRJs (super old, very tiny bins), but, let's be honest, their a220 and E170/175 are good. Likewise, I'm well-aware of the distance between Toronto and Los Angeles; however, that's less an indictment of Porter, and more a compliment to the range of these new E195-E2. Air Canada uses widebodies (a330, 787, 777) on many transcontinental flights, like YUL/YYZ-YVR, each of which is quite comfortable (lie-flat in business);...
That said, yeah, I'm no fan of AC's CRJs (super old, very tiny bins), but, let's be honest, their a220 and E170/175 are good. Likewise, I'm well-aware of the distance between Toronto and Los Angeles; however, that's less an indictment of Porter, and more a compliment to the range of these new E195-E2. Air Canada uses widebodies (a330, 787, 777) on many transcontinental flights, like YUL/YYZ-YVR, each of which is quite comfortable (lie-flat in business); meanwhile, many US carriers are just using 737, a321, etc. with recliners for 5-6 hour flights, other than the specific NYC-LAX/SFO market (where most have lie-flat). So, generally, I still think Canada's doing just fine, in aviation and otherwise. Nothing will ever be perfect or 'good enough' for some people, and that's fine, too. Keep demanding better.
Are you really complaining that it's not expensive enough?
Porter's brand value is something that's affordable, but good quality.
If you aren't checking bags and you already have Pre-Check, I don't really see what this experience is offering. Early boarding, sure. But besides a meal that's worth about $8 and unlimited cocktails, there is no difference. Especially if you can drink non-cocktails for free in economy.
This review is lacking because you booked with points.... the main benefit of the Reserve fare is its flexibility... if your plans change you can cancel up to one hour before flight and rebook those $ flight credit within one year. For those of us that are tall the extra legroom is a significant factor as all airlines continue to shrink their sat pitch and even eliminate seat recline
I mean, extra leg room is something that all of the major airlines charge extra for (Economy Plus, Comfort+, etc.).
This was modeled on SAS plus intra Europe concept.
Even SAS is going business class route now.
I think Porter needs a proper J class cabin.
SAS Plus didn't have a blocked seat.
Neither does Porter reserve
They need another lavatory onboard. Two lavatories for 132 people is painful about forty-five minutes prior arrival on a transcontinental flight.
100%. Add in three flight attendants plus cockpit and that's too many people for two tiny toilets. On one of my recent Porter flights the entire Hamilton Tiger Cats (CFL team) were on board. Not only were there line-ups there was a human traffic jam. It was like the clown car at a circus.
You should have gone before you got on the plane.
I fly porter reserve quite a bit. I always book two seats, which is great. It’s an upgraded euro business experience. I’m not worried about airplane food or curtains.
Looks like a low end Euro business product.
Just priced a future trip $250basic vs $716. No thanks!
But nice review and thanks as always!
I fly FLL-YYZ quite a bit, and I think Porter Reserve is very similar to intra-Europe Business Class on BA/LH/LX etc. So to Ben's point, Porter is missing an opporunity to not brand it as such.
Seems like a pretty solid Eurobusiness product.