In early 2023, Canada’s Porter Airlines totally transformed its business model. The airline has historically flown De Havilland Dash 8-400 turboprops out of Toronto Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ), but is now competing head-on with Air Canada and WestJet, flying Embraer E195-E2s, primarily out of Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ).
The airline has just revealed its latest expansion, which will see the airline serving five Florida airports.
In this post:
Porter Airlines reveals huge Florida expansion
Porter Airlines has announced plans to add a lot of service to Florida, which will see the airline operating seven routes to five destinations in Florida. All these routes will be daily and nonstop, and launch in late 2023.
Specifically, the airline will fly between Toronto (YYZ) and:
- Tampa (TPA), daily as of November 1, 2023
- Fort Myers (RSW), daily as of November 10, 2023
- Orlando (MCO), daily as of November 21, 2023
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL), daily as of November 30, 2023
- Miami (MIA), daily as of December 12, 2023
On top of that, the airline will fly between Ottawa (YOW) and:
- Orlando (MCO), as of November 21, 2023
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL), as of November 30, 2023
These new flights are already bookable on flyporter.com.
Porter Airlines offers a great passenger experience
I’ve been wanting to try Porter’s new Embraer E195-E2s ever since they entered service, though I haven’t had a need to travel on a route that Porter operates. Now that the airline is expanding to Miami, you can bet that I’ll give the airline a try.
Porter’s E195-E2s offer a superior passenger experience for those in economy. The planes are in a 2-2 configuration, so there are no middle seats, which is always nice. On top of that, the airline offers fast and free Wi-Fi for all passengers, free beer and wine served in glassware, and complimentary premium snacks.
It’s a much more civilized experience than you’ll find in economy on most airlines flying between Florida and Canada. The only real “catch” is that Porter doesn’t have business class, but rather has PorterReserve. These are the same seats as in economy, except they come with extra legroom, and offer meals.
So, what are Porter’s fares to and from Florida like? Looking at the Tampa to Toronto route, I’m seeing fares starting at $85 one-way for PorterClassic, and fares starting at $254 one-way for PorterReserve.
Bottom line
Porter Airlines has been adding a bunch of service as it has taken delivery of Embraer E195-E2s, and today the airline has revealed a significant Florida expansion. As of late 2023, the airline will operate seven daily routes between Canada and Florida, connecting Toronto to five destinations in Florida, and connecting Ottawa to two destinations in Florida.
What do you make of Porter’s expansion to Florida?
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...
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
Why isn’t any nonstop to/from JAX ??
Southern Georgia and St Augustine is not far.
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!
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...
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
This is great news. Our experiences with Porter have been excellent.
Shocked they chose Ottawa over YUL. Generally more demand from MTL
No doubt, once Porter's terminal at YHU is completed, they'll provide good southbound competition to both YUL and PLB services
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!
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.
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!
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.
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...
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.
RSW ahead of JAX? Meh.
JAX is not as much of a snowbird destination compared to other Florida cities.
RSW absolutely has more traffic and demand than JAX. Why is this a surprise to you?
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!
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...
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).
@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’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 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...
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.