Porter Airlines

Porter Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
  • PORTER AIR
  • DASH PORT[4]
FoundedFebruary 2, 2006;
18 years ago (2006-02-02)
Commenced operationsOctober 23, 2006;
18 years ago (2006-10-23)
AOC #
  • Canada: 15266,[5] 19543[6]
  • United States: P54F185F[7]
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programVIPorter
Fleet size71[9]
Destinations32[10]
Parent companyPorter Aviation Holdings Inc.
HeadquartersBilly Bishop Toronto City Airport, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people
Websitewww.flyporter.com

Porter Airlines (stylized in all lowercase as porter) is a Canadian airline headquartered at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario.[11] Owned by Porter Aviation Holdings, formerly known as REGCO Holdings Inc., Porter operates regularly scheduled flights between Toronto and locations in Canada and the United States using a fleet of Canadian-built De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400 turboprop aircraft and Embraer E195-E2 jet aircraft.

Porter's operation at the Toronto Island airport was launched in 2006 with some controversy. Robert Deluce, who is now the Executive Chairman of Porter Airlines, proposed creating a regional airline using Bombardier turboprop aircraft to service major cities of Canada within the range of Toronto. A planned bridge to the airport was cancelled in 2003, leading to lawsuits between Deluce and the City of Toronto. The airline lost the case in court but the idea for the airline remained. With the compensation received from the Toronto Port Authority for the lawsuit, REGCO bought the island airport terminal used by Air Canada Jazz and terminated Air Canada's access. Porter has expanded its operations since 2006, adding more destinations and planes. Porter opened a new, larger passenger terminal at the island airport in March 2010, connected to the mainland by a pedestrian tunnel opened in 2015.

In 2013, Porter made a proposal to expand Toronto Island airport to allow jets. Toronto City Council reserved its support, requiring the controversial proposal to be the focus of Ports Toronto studies. In November 2015, the federal government announced it would not support the proposal.[12] In July 2021, Porter announced that it would begin flying out of Toronto Pearson International Airport and expand its destinations throughout Canada, the United States, and Caribbean, starting in mid-2022.[13]

On March 18, 2020, Porter announced that they would suspend all flights, initially from March 20 through to June 1 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[14] The suspension of service was then extended several times, until it was announced that Porter would be returning to service starting September 8, 2021, nearly 18 months since all flights were suspended.[15] Porter Airlines reached an agreement with the Government of Canada for loans valued up to CA$270.5 million, which were used as a capital reserve during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery period.[16]

  1. ^ a b "Airline and Location Code Search". iata.org. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "ICAO Designators for Canadian Aircraft Operating Agencies, Aeronautical Authorities and Services" (PDF). Nav Canada. May 4, 2023. p. 6. Retrieved August 21, 2023. Porter Airlines: POE, PORTER AIR
  3. ^ "Porter Airlines Inc. full details". avcodes.co.uk. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  4. ^ https://www.navcanada.ca/en/canadian-icao-designators---indicatifs-oaci-canadien.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ Transport Canada (2019-09-03), Civil Aviation Services (CAS) AOC. wwwapps.tc.gc.ca.
  6. ^ Transport Canada (2023-08-21), Civil Aviation Services (CAS) AOC. wwwapps.tc.gc.ca.
  7. ^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  8. ^ "Our Hub Airports". Porter Airlines. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference tcfleet was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Porter Airlines Canada on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "Contact Us." Porter Airlines. Retrieved on September 13, 2011. "Address: Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Toronto, Ontario Canada M5V 1A1"
  12. ^ "ANALYSIS: Porter Airlines Future is Uncertain Without Toronto City Runway Extension". Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  13. ^ The Canadian Press (July 12, 2021). "Porter Airlines orders up to 80 new planes, will start flying out of Toronto's Pearson airport". CBC News. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  14. ^ "Porter Airlines temporarily suspending flights to support COVID-19 relief efforts". Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  15. ^ "Porter: Relaunch". Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  16. ^ "Porter Airlines gets $270.5M loan from feds, including $20.5M for refunds - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved July 14, 2021.