PAX Perspective Airline Review: Porter Airlines short-haul
In this PAX Perspective Airline Review, PAX International Managing Editor Jane Hobson evaluates a Porter Airlines one-way flight from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) to Macdonald–Cartier International Airport (YOW) in PorterClassic.
The outbound flight: I flew Porter Airlines flight PD2217 from Toronto’s Billy Bishop to Ottawa on Monday, December 23 at 12:30 p.m. in PorterClassic (Economy) on the De Havilland Dash 8-400.
Check-in: I checked in using Porter Airlines’ iOS mobile app before the flight and was issued my digital boarding pass. Flying within Canada, all I needed was my driver’s license as identification and my boarding pass. I was through security quickly with my carry-on luggage and relaxing in the lounge less than 15 minutes after arriving at the downtown airport. Despite it being two days before Christmas, the terminal was efficient and calm.
Entrance to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
Billy Bishop is a small airport located on Toronto’s Lake Ontario harbour. It has just one terminal but big personality and has established itself as a world-class airport, moving approximately 2.8 million passengers annually. The airport is home to Porter Airlines, Air Canada, regional carriers such as FlyGTA, regional tour operator HeliTours and a flight school. It is also the base for Medevac flights which operate some 4,000 per year to and from YTZ, operated by Air Ornge.
With views of Toronto’s iconic CN Tower and the historic lakefront, the terminal feels more like an airport lounge than a main terminal due to its views, comfortable seating and compact but comfortable layout with just 11 gates.
Festive decor inside the airport
Food, drinks and shopping are available in the terminal, at Toronto-famous Balzac’s Coffee Roasters, Market@416, Bar OBISPO Restaurant and Hudson Travel Essentials. The terminal offers free Wi-Fi, pet relief areas, lots of comfortable seating, several work stations and charging outlets at basically every seat and desk.
Flying out of Billy Bishop for the holidays is truly a treat. It is accessible for downtown city dwellers like me and feels much easier to manage than Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) during this busy time of year.
View of the CN Tower from inside the terminal
Boarding: As usual, the boarding process was easy and efficient: Passengers with disabilities board first, followed by unaccompanied minors, families travelling with young children, VIPorter loyalty members, PorterReserve passengers and then general boarding.
Seating and interior configuration: This flight is operated by the Dash 8 turboprop. Known as the “community-compatible aircraft” for its reduced noise emissions on take-off and landing, the Dash 8 is set up in the two-by-two configuration that Porter is known and loved for. No middle seats!
It has 78 seats (20 rows) and one lavatory, which is very manageable on a regional flight less than one hour. Standard seat pitch (30 inches/76 centimetres) and recline (30 inches/76 centimetres) make for a comfortable flight, and I was in seat 12B, which I prefer as an aisle seat girly.
Inflight entertainment & connectivity: If you haven’t read our Porter Airline’s long-haul PAX Perspective Airline Review, may I suggest that you do so. Porter is well-known for its gate-to-gate connectivity, but for now Porter Airlines President Kevin Jackson says that service will only be available for flights operated by the airline’s Embraer E195-E2 fleet out of YYZ—which operate Porter’s long-haul flights.
Two-by-two configuration with no middle seats
In a conversation with Jackson about a year ago, he told PAX International that Porter may roll out Wi-Fi across the airline’s fleet of Dash 8s in the future, but it all comes back to the passenger experience and ensuring the turboprops can deliver the high-speed, ground-like connectivity that travellers expect.
“We’d like to, but we need to find the right technology. It has got to be fast, free streaming for all passengers. We are very thoughtful about every decision we make,” he explained.
That being said, this flight was less than hour, ringing in at about 56 minutes from gate to gate. If you can’t keep yourself entertained for a flight that long, we need to have a different conversation.
Regional flights are perfect for reading a book, watching a pre-downloaded show or movie, meditating, or just getting back to basics and watching the landscape below you as you glide through the clouds jamming to your favourite playlist. I did a little of all these things, and before I knew it, Captain was asking everyone to prepare for landing.
Inflight drinks and snacks
Food and beverage: Porter Airlines is renowned for its elevated inflight experience, offering all passengers complimentary premium snacks alongside free beer, wine, and soft drinks served in elegant glassware. Due to turbulence, I enjoyed a glass of white wine in a paper cup, with a bottle of water and Hardbite Chips.
The PAX Perspective: Flying home for Christmas on Porter Airline’s short-haul flight was a very purposeful choice. I knew I wouldn’t regret kicking off my holidays with an Economy experience that feels like Business Class. From the ease of check-in and security and the lounge-like feel of the terminal at Billy Bishop to the free drinks and snacks, it was a relaxing and efficient experience.
Porter Airlines truly understands what passengers value, especially at this magical time of year. PAX recommends Porter for its seamless combination of ease, comfort and reliability. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Porter stands out as one of the best Economy products on the market.
Window view arriving in Ottawa, Canada
