Just over a year after launching its inaugural route between Vancouver and Toronto, Porter Airlines, with its jaunty raccoon mascot, debuted yet another domestic route out of YVR, with direct daily service to Montreal (YUL).
Frequent Toronto travellers often sing the praises of Porter, which began in 2006 as a regional operator with the downtown-adjacent Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ) as its hub, thanks to its proximity to the city's core and the airline's customer-focused amenities and seat configuration.
The YVR-YUL route is operated with Porter’s 132-seat Embraer E195-E2 aircraft. The two-by-two configuration means there are no middle seats on any flight.
Perks for flying Porter with any ticket
All passengers on Porter enjoy a line-up of perks that are not typical of Canada's other major airlines. Every passenger has the option to enjoy a selection of made-in-Canada snacks during the flight and beverages, including wine and beer, at no charge.
Porter also offers free WiFi in-flight from gate to gate and a platform that has a selection of popular films and TV shows for entertainment on board. Every seat comes with a plug, in case your devices need charging.
“It’s a level of service that is unheard of for North American airlines. It will appeal to business and leisure travellers who appreciate an elevated level of service at a reasonable price," said Michael Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines, in 2023 when the airline debuted in Vancouver.
While there is no "first class" or "business class" on Porter, tickets are offered in two tiers: PorterReserve and PorterClassic. When you purchase your ticket you will also have additional fare level options within each tier that provide different amenities and flexibilities regarding changes or cancellations.
I recently was granted the opportunity to fly Porter Airlines for the first time on a round-trip flight between YVR and YUL. On the trip to Montreal, I flew on the PorterReserve tier and on the way home the PorterClassic tier. Here's what it was like as a passenger.
What is it like to fly Porter Airlines to and from Vancouver?
Checking in online is quite easy, as is making changes to a reservation (i.e. seat changes or adding checked baggage) using Porter's app. If you are checking a bag or bags you will need to find the bag drop-off line at the Porter counters at YVR; I only waited a couple of minutes to do this.
For carry-on bags, be sure to check the measurements for size allowance online against your bags. You can also check at the airport using the slots in the ticketing area; some suitcases may be too large to count as carry-ons due to the size of the overhead compartments on the aircraft.
Porter Airlines flies once daily to Montreal from Vancouver, departing YVR from the Domestic Terminal (B Gates) first thing in the morning. You can make your YVR visit a little more streamlined if you book a spot in security in advance using YVR Express, which I always recommend to anyone with a flight that qualifies for the free service. My flight departed at 8:55 a.m. so I booked a spot for 6:30 a.m. which gave me plenty of time.
For those looking to get a coffee or grab a bite before departure, Porter's gates are usually at the very end, so be sure to stop on your way between security and the gate. The early flight means fewer options, but there is a Dirty Apron cafe - a local business - on the way where you can get coffee and pricey pastries and breakfast sandwiches.
Porter boards back to front, though PorterReserve ticket holders have the option to pre-board.
PorterReserve: What perks come with this ticket?
I was on a PorterReserve ticket from YVR to YUL, which is the closest Porter, with its "actually enjoy economy" slogan, offers to first or business class. That said, while on board, there is no curtain to separate the rows; anyone seated closer to the washroom in the front can just walk up and use it.
Here's what you get with PorterReserve:
- Change flights with no fees
- Two checked bags
- Expedited airport experience
- Front-of-cabin seating with extra legroom
Within the fare class, you can choose to purchase an enhanced ticket that allows for a full refund, for a surcharge.
The legroom is probably one of the best features; the seats are quite comfortable and having the extra legroom was fantastic, particularly on a flight as long as one from Vancouver to Montreal (about 5.5 hours).
All the seats on the aircraft are set up so that there is no centre foot on the ground, meaning if you are travelling with someone you know next to you, you can let your feet wander a bit when you stick your legs straight out and under the seats in front of you. The passenger in front of me reclined her seat almost immediately, but I still felt like I had plenty of room to open and use my tray table and not feel cramped without reclining my seat.
In PorterReserve, your meal is included in the flight. It comes with sides (for breakfast it was cold poached fruit and a pastry) in a cute box with spots to put your beverage and main course. All of Porter's food is served cold. For breakfast, they have items like a yogurt parfait (looked sloppy, tasted great) and mini croissants with ham and cheese.
As it was an a.m. flight I did not partake in the free beer or wine, but did appreciate that cold drinks and wine come in real glasses. The snacks came around twice and included banana bread, cookies, almonds, and cheese-dusted crunchy fava beans.
After the meal, those in PorterReserve seats were given complimentary ginger shots (they sell for $4.99 according to the PorterClassic menu). Passengers could request an additional one if they wanted at no charge.
On the flight to Montreal, our WiFi onboard did not kick in until at least 45 minutes into the flight, and it was spotty for the duration.
Flying PorterClassic: What's the difference?
Flying home from Montreal to Vancouver, I was on a PorterClassic fare, and I would say the differences were noticeable but not drastic.
I had a question about my checked bag at YUL airport and wound up speaking to the agent at the PorterReserve counter, who was very kind and helpful and took my bag (even though I wasn't a "Reserve" customer). At YUL, passengers can print out their baggage tags themselves at kiosks, but if they are flying Porter they must drop bags off at the Porter counter.
Travellers can also opt to pre-book security screening at YUL for Porter flights to Vancouver. With my flight scheduled to depart at 5 p.m., I booked a 3:30 p.m. YUL Express security slot.
Our flight from YUL did not board until about five minutes ahead of our scheduled departure time, however, at no point did the airline announce that the flight was delayed, either in person or via the app or email/text notifications. Ultimately, we took off about 30 minutes late, with a crew member announcing that the delay had been due to a necessary "full electrical reset" for the aircraft which took some extra time to complete.
On board and in PorterClassic, the rows are closer together but not cramped. Comparatively, I flew WestJet the month before in economy and felt much more jammed into my seat and row.
The snacks are the same and offered as often (and the wine comes in a real glass, I had some for research), though I did notice that the bag size for one of the savoury snacks was about half the size it had been when I flew to Montreal, and this particular attendant did not encourage us to "take two" snacks each as the one on the other flight had, though I imagine we could have.
Meals are available for purchase (credit card payment only) in PorterClassic, and are all served cold. Options include a vegetarian soba noodle bowl, mini croissant sandwiches, and a salmon and rice bowl with mango salsa (which I chose and enjoyed). My travel companion got a cup of instant ramen noodles; I paid $18 total for our food.
My entree did not come with any sides or the box that PorterReserve ticket holders get, which was a disappointment to learn. However, I enjoyed my meal and appreciate that overall the options were fresh with a nice balance of carb and protein and more light, as oftentimes eating airport fast food or airline entrees can mean greasy or heavy meals.
For my Montreal to Vancouver flight, the WiFi worked well almost the entire time, though I don't recommend trying to stream or watch TikTok as it can be a bit laggy.
Overall impressions of Porter Airlines
Porter does a nice job of being an option that is neither budget nor fancy. Their economy experience does seem to be on the whole much nicer than economy on other major Canadian airlines and is well beyond that of a budget airline.
I deemed my flight to Montreal among the best flights I've ever been on in terms of comfort and food. I would say my flight home was moderately more pleasant than most flights I've taken in recent years as far as comfort and amenities. In the past few years, I have flown WestJet, Delta, and Flair.
A few more things I took note of that stood out for me flying Porter would be the following:
- The service was attentive and every crew member or agent I interacted with was pleasant and kind.
- I wish their app/in-flight web portal had a real-time flight tracker; I used the WiFi to track our flight using an external website.
- The in-flight magazine has terrific graphic design and good content and comes on nice paper stock.
- The aircraft feels new and more contemporary.
- The attendants will ask you to remove your headphones for the safety demonstration.
- Because I was in a party of two, I appreciated the two-by-two configuration, which eliminated any discomfort or anxiety about the middle seat or stepping over a stranger to get to the washroom.
- I had no issue with lost or damaged baggage. My bag was tagged "priority" when on PorterReserve. Coming home it was tagged "heavy" for safety (the culprit surely some of that Quebec maple syrup I was coming home with) but was not subject to a surchage as it was not overweight. Because of the on-board WiFi I was able to quickly ascertain that my bag made it on both flights using AirTag tracking.
Would I fly Porter again? You bet I would. If the flights were within my budget I would choose Porter (including the Classic fare option) for a future flight.
Currently, Porter flies direct from Vancouver to Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa and can connect with destinations in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe (often with other carriers and stops).
The airline seems to be positioning itself for significant growth, so there could soon be more options to fly with Porter direct from YVR to more destinations.
With files from Elana Shepert
Disclaimer: Thanks to Porter Airlines for facilitating the flights. All opinions and inclusions are those of the author and were not guided or influenced in any way, and none of the businesses or entities mentioned were granted any previews of the story prior to publication. Further, at no time did any Porter Airlines employee at YVR or YUL have any knowledge that the author was travelling as a guest of the airline.
