Jaunted

Tags: Airport News / Airline News / Porter Airlines / Toronto Travel / YTZ / → All Tags

The New Year Brings A New Name And Maybe New Flights To Toronto City Airport

We're barely a couple weeks in and already 2010 looks like a slow year for the travel industry, and airports around the globe are more likely to see reduced service rather than an increase in new routes. However, the Toronto City Centre Airport has been a hit with travelers on Porter Airlines lately, and the Toronto Port Authority is thinking about expanding things a bit.

The airport’s first big change is a new name. As of November it became known as the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in honor of the Canadian flying ace from the First World War. The old name will still be around for the next month or so, but just remember the name change the next time you and your friends are playing airport Trivial Pursuit.

more ›

Tags: Porter Airlines / Airline News / Airlines / Pilots / → All Tags

Porter Pilot Has A Medical Situation In The Air...His Own

There was a little scare in the air over the weekend for passengers and crew aboard a Porter Airlines flight from Halifax, Nova Scotia to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The pilot of the plane apparently passed out and lost consciousness shortly after the plane took off. The plane made an in-flight U-turn and headed back to Halifax with the copilot at the controls.

It isn’t known what exactly caused the pilot’s medical situation, but he was able to leave the plane and walk into an ambulance upon landing. He was of course taken to the hospital to check things out. All of the passengers remained on the plane until a replacement crew reported for duty—hopefully they gave out lots of their complimentary wine—and the plane later made it to its final destination.

more ›

Tags: Porter Airlines / Airlines / Airline News / New Routes / → All Tags

Porter Airlines Is Looking To Expand...To Myrtle Beach?

We kind of knew that Porter Airlines would be eyeing new routes, but we expected that they’d be looking somewhere in the northern part of the US or elsewhere in Canada. Well we were wrong and the airline is looking to head south in search of warmer weather and Waffle House. Their shortlist for new routes now includes Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, among other destinations in the US.

Apparently there hasn’t been an official decision or announcement, but according to the head honcho at Porter, Robert Deluce, his company is in “serious discussions” with some places in the US. Besides the tourist traps of Myrtle Beach, the little airline that could also has its eyes on Washington, DC and Philadelphia. It looks like they want to expand before Air Canada Jazz restarts service on their home turf.

more ›

Tags: Porter Airlines / Airline News / Lounges / Airport Lounges / → All Tags

Porter Airlines Expands The Free Lounge Party To Ottawa

Things are continuing to go well for Porter Airlines. Their new route to Boston seems like a hit, and they’ve begun to spread their signature service beyond their home base of Toronto City Centre Airport. Earlier this month they cut the ribbon on a new lounge for passengers traveling to and from Ottawa International Airport. The lounge is open to all passengers holding a ticket—there’s no annual fee or other sneaky membership requirements.

They got things right in Toronto, so the airline didn't stray from its modern and comfortable design when moving to Ottawa. There’s computer workstations, a conference room, and obviously complimentary WiFi access. If you build up a slight appetite by doing too much work there’s also free snacks and espresso in heated cups—perfect for those cold Canadian winters. Just remember to save your appetite for your flight, because the snacks, wine, and beer are free up in the sky.

more ›

Tags: Porter Airlines / Airline News / New Routes / Toronto Travel / Air Canada Jazz / → All Tags

Porter Airlines Preparing To Battle It Out With Air Canada Jazz

Throughout the economic downturn, Porter Airlines has been doing everything right. They’ve impressed travelers with their service, expanded to new routes, and have served Toronto City Centre Airport without too much competition. Well that’s about to end as another airline wants to get a chunk of the air traffic from the city’s smaller airport. After all, the airport is a little more convenient to all that downtown business.

Air Canada Jazz is looking to return to end Porter’s dominance over the airport’s commercial traffic. Jazz used to come and go from the downtown airport until early in 2006 when they suspended their service, claiming they had been evicted by a firm that was in cahoots with the CEO at Porter Airlines. However, the exclusivity agreement between Porter Airlines and the airport ends early next year, and Jazz is ready to once again roll down the runway.

more ›

Tags: Prime-Plane-Spotting-Map / Plane Spotting / Toronto / Toronto Travel / Air Canada / Restaurants / Porter Airlines / YYZ / → All Tags

Drive-Thru For A Fast Food Lunch And A 747 Landing

We love airplanes, you love airplanes, so let's go look at airplanes! In our Prime Plane Spotting series, we'll let you in on all the best spots to whip out your cameras and binoculars for a piece of the aviation action.

On the Pacific coast of Canada, in Vancouver, there is a jetty ideally situated for watching landing planes. On almost the other side of the North American continent in Toronto, it's a Wendy's fast food restaurant that makes for the perfect lookout.

more ›

Tags: New Routes / Airline News / BOS / Porter Airlines / → All Tags

Porter, The Little Airline That Could, Adds Boston Route

This is the story of a little airline that could; Porter Airlines has expanded service against all odds. Their original route, from Toronto City Airport to Newark, has sprouted into a full few destinations from Toronto including Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax and more. They even made the jump across the border last fall with the addition of service to Chicago-Midway.

This month brings some new meat for Porter fans to chew: they'll begin flights to Boston-Logan from Toronto three times daily on September 14.

Long a favorite airline of Monocle magazine, Porter seems to favor slow and steady expansion. We've been dying to try them out, but we're going to need a better reason to head to Toronto than "just cause" if we're paying $99+ each way without taxes and fees ($306 total).

Related Stories:
· Porter Airlines Announces Service To Boston [Porter Airlines]
· Porter Airlines Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Eric Begin]

Tags: Adventures of Link / Churches / Porter Airlines / → All Tags

News From All Over

It's a frenetic week in the US as cube drones and tourists alike gear up for a busy travel week, so forgive us if today's afternoon linkage is a bit scattershot. (Also: We're still recovering from hearing about the Speidi wedding.)

In Australia, the tourism officials are making preparations for movie-loving tourists. In Minnesota, Northwest flight attendants are getting their new (Delta) uniforms. Meanwhile an old Jaunted hand took a trip with Porter Airlines while the TSA compared airport troublemakers to sharks. And we're always game for an interesting church!

Related Stories:
· Australia.com Relaunches in Time for Kidman Flick [BT]
· Northwest Attendants Preview Delta Look [Saint Paul Pi-Press]
· Porter Airlines: In a League of Its Own [Spendthrift Shoestring]
· TSA: Family Lanes Calm Checkpoints, Make Sharks Apparent [CNN]
· Dutch City Turns Church into Experience [CNN]

[Photo of Maastricht's cool church: FaceMePLS]

Tags: Porter Airlines / Flight Reviews / Airline Reviews / → All Tags

First-Person Flight Reviews: Porter Continues to Please

Throughout all the bankruptcies, fuel cost woes and airline travel nightmares this year, the only noise out of Porter Airlines has been the addition of flights to Chicago. But it seems that no news is good news, as the carrier stacks up positive reviews.

Several Flyertalk users continue to praise the airline, including this one:

I just flew Porter for the first time down to EWR for a business meeting in NYC.... Check in and the departure lounge are great. The departure lounge is as good as the AC Maple Leaf Club in Pearson or one of the new UA Red Carpet Clubs in the US. The flight was about half full. We were the only flight at US Customs in EWR.

I do a lot of business-related traveling between Toronto and BOS so I'll be buying Porter passes as soon as Porter starts BOS service.

more ›

Tags: New Routes / New Airlines / Porter Airlines / YTZ / MDW / → All Tags

New Routes: Porter Airlines Headed to Chicago

After Porter Airlines vaguely announced earlier this month that it would start service to an unnamed airport in Chicago, TheAirDB reports that the Candian airline will start service to Midway soon.

It'll be the second destination in the US for Porter, which flies seven times a day between Toronto City Centre Airport and Newark. There's still no official word on when trips to Chicago might start.

Porter has also recently added service to Quebec City, and in the past it's made seasonal trips to Mont Tremblant--something to keep in mind as winter creeps up on Canada.

Related Stories:
· Porter Airlines [Official Site]
· Porter Airlines: MDW to YTZ [TheAirDB]
· Porter Airlines coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: New Airlines / Porter Airlines / Flight Reviews / Airline Reviews / YTZ / Matt Gross / → All Tags

First-Person Flight Reviews: Porter Gets It Right

Airplanes without jet engines aren't for everyone, but great service is--and that's apparently what Porter Airlines is all about. We've shed light onto their unique business model before, and now the New York Post has done the same.

Best part of all is that the Porter "experience" is far better than anything currently available on this route [Toronto City Centre to Newark]. Come to think of it, I don't know of any commuter service (Porter uses sleek, but still turbo-prop, Bombardier Q400's) that has a sense of style and offers free sandwiches, free quality booze (Niagara wine! Belgian beer!) and its own-brand bottled water from some no-doubt-verdant valley in Quebec.

The real joy, though, is arriving in and departing from Toronto, where they've kitted out their very own terminal. The departures lounge is just like a business class lounge anywhere else--espresso machine, free internet, snacks, a help-yourself cooler of soft drinks.

Frugal Traveler Matt Gross also enjoyed his recent trip with Porter.

Here's hoping they stick around. But if not, we pray that someone else buys the swanky lounge so we can still get buzzed on triple lattes and use the free WiFi.

Related Stories:
· Porter Airlines [Official Site]
· First Look: Porter Airlines [NYP]
· Porter Airlines coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: veggiefrog]

Tags: Airlines / Porter Airlines / WestJet / Canada / → All Tags

Adventures of Link: New Route Round-Up...

...in which we gently remind you (and ourselves) what airlines are taking you where these days.

Some of the most interesting new services popping up are between the U.S. East Coast and Canada. Interesting because they involve airlines that could be quite unfamiliar to travelers. WestJet is already established in the States, but mostly in the West and Florida. Porter Airlines, on the other hand, is just now adding its first U.S. destination.

Both WestJet and Porter are about to invade Newark--WestJet to/from Calgary, and Porter to/from Toronto-YTZ (City Centre Airport). Porter is especially welcome for the extra competition between NYC and Toronto--those fares have a history of getting pretty crazy.

So what can you Americans expect from Porter Airlines? For one, sexy snack boxes (see above), sexy service, and a free, sexy-ass lounge at the Toronto airport. The reviews for Porter on Airline Quality are glowing. We love it already!

Related Stories:
· Eos to fly from Newark Liberty [NJ.com]
· More destinations for Oneworld members [Dallas Morning News]
· Canada's Porter Airlines to launch Toronto-Newark service [AP]
· WestJet unveils Big Apple flight plan [Calgary Herald]
· Air Canada offers New York weekender pass to Calgary [Calgary Herald]
· Japan's ANA to launch budget Asia airline [Reuters]