I’m back on the road again and I was pretty pumped to get things started by flying Porter for the first time this morning. Porter launched its convenient service from downtown Toronto back in 2006 and in all this time, I haven’t had the opportunity to fly with them. What have I been waiting for??
Porter Airlines is Canada’s third-largest carrier and currently serves Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Moncton, Halifax, St. John’s, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, New York (Newark), Chicago (Midway), and Boston (Logan), and also has seasonal flights to Mt. Tremblant, Quebec, and Myrtle Beach, SC.
If you live in downtown Toronto or even in the city’s east end, getting to the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is easy and much faster than wending your way to the west end and coping with the passenger volume at Pearson. My arrival at the island airport was so pleasant. It was calm and quiet. Check-in took all of five minutes and the best part was yet to come. There’s a large, bright, spacious lounge available to all passengers that’s got free snacks and drinks and about 15 shiny new Mac computers available for use. Awesome! I loved being able to check my email and Facebook accounts without having to haul out my laptop from my carefully packed bag. The lounge was clean, stylish and a real indication of what was to come.
Passengers don’t go through customs in Canada – that happens on the other side, in Newark. It’s another reason to love flying Porter. Although there’s no way to predict what the line at customs will be like in Newark, at least you don’t need to get to the airport two hours in advance when you’re departing. At most, the Porter website asks that you arrive 60 minutes in advance of your flight although sometimes they recommend just 30 minutes depending on where you’re flying from and where you’re going. When I arrived in Newark there was no line at customs. Literally no line. I breezed right through in no time.
Image courtesy of JohnnyJet.com
Inside the planes, the grey-ish beige leather seats and navy accents and the stylishly dressed flight attendants set the tone for your experience. Porter is about style and convenience. The flight to Newark was just under an hour and couldn’t have been easier from start to finish. I look forward to incorporating Porter into my future travel plans. For more information and to book tickets, visit flyporter.com.
So, now I’m Newark, waiting for my connecting flight. Stay tuned to find out where I’m off to!