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4 min read

Porter Airlines

Porter Airlines
This is a cheat sheet on Porter Airlines – written to help you learn about the company and prep for that inevitable interview question, "Why do you want to work here?”

What it is

A Toronto-based airline flying across North America. It offers only economy class and there's no middle seats.

Let's go deeper ↓

The problem it solves

Problem:
You can’t exactly drive from Vancouver to St. John’s.

Flying is often the only realistic option for getting around our massive country – but it’s become an uncomfortable experience.

Solution:
Like any airline, Porter Airlines gets you from Point A to B – but the real difference is it makes flying feel good again:

No middle seats, free wine and beer in glassware, and a smoother experience through Billy Bishop, just fifteen minutes from downtown Toronto.

Zoom in

Here are some notable stats, accolades, and news you should know:

Vitals:

Trending down:

  • Discontinued flight-hotel packages program, Porter Escapes, in May 2024

Trending up:

Pre 2023, Porter Airlines' destinations were around the Great Lakes and East Coast. E.g. Toronto, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Chicago, New York, Moncton, etc.
Map of destinations pre 2023. Source: Porter Airlines "Who We Are" page https://www.flyporter.com/en-ca/about-porter/who-we-are/porter-and-embraer
In 2025, Porter Airlines' destinations are all over North America. E.g. Toronto, Winnipeg, Tampa, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Edmonton, Victoria, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, etc.
Map of destinations 2025. Source: Porter Airlines "Who We Are" page https://www.flyporter.com/en-ca/about-porter/who-we-are/porter-and-embraer

My take

Can an airline have a cult following?

Porter might.

Find someone who's flown with them and ask them what they think of the experience. Chances are they'll rave about it.

One thing they might mention to you (besides the no middle seats) is that the company has been extremely busy recently.

It feels like every week there's news about a new route, a new destination, a new partnership, new jets, or a new co-branded credit card.

Just scroll through the News section of their website – every other headline seems to have the words "launches," "celebrates," "inaugurates," "expands" or "new."

Probably the best illustration of Porter's growth are the two maps above with their destinations:

  • Pre-2023 shows a Great Lakes-East Coast regional carrier that goes as far west as the famously mid-western Chicago, and Thunder Bay, which is almost smack-dab in the middle of Canada.

    It looks less like an airline's map and more like the places your extended family moved to... This aunt moved from Ottawa to Boston, those cousins left Toronto and went up to Timmins, these cousins moved to Quebec City...
  • On the other hand, the 2025 map tells a different story. Porter now flies to almost every big city in North America.

    They expanded so much that they had to add the Caribbean and the bottom half of Mexico to the map. (Take a look at the images again.)

There are many reasons for the airline's success but I'll focus on two simple ones. Porter is:

  1. Giving people a nicer experience and
  2. Removing what doesn't give a nice experience

That's not incredible business insight but it's important and often overlooked.

Take the middle seat for example.

I would guess that 98.0% of people don't like the middle seat.

So what does Porter do?

They remove it.

And instantly 98.0% of people are happy that Porter won't seat them in something they don't like.
(By the way, that 98.0% number is their completion factor – the percentage of scheduled flights that are actually completed. Among the best in Canada).

While things look great, this is still an airline. Not an easy business to be in.

Spin the wheel of airline headaches:
Weather surprises, mechanical issues, high fixed costs, changing fuel prices, labour negotiations, coordinating thousands of moving parts on a nonstop schedule...

It’s capital-intensive, labour-intensive, and planning-intensive. Oh my.

And just when you think you've got it down? Your typical leisure traveler might not even use your product more than once or twice a year.

Scared of the airline business yet?

Despite all the downsides and challenges of this type of business, Porter seems to have made it work. They found their niche.

Of course, my positive attitude of the company would change if I have a long delay and they ruin my travel plans. Or if they have significant layoffs. But it hasn't happened yet.

In a tough environment where other airlines are shutting down (Canada Jetlines, Lynx Air), Porter is – excuse the pun – soaring.

Bottom line:
This is a company that spotted a common frustration with flying – and did something about it.

Here's Porter's...

  • TIME SAVER Job board
    ↳ Click to see open roles. It's already filtered for Toronto ✓
  • USEFUL TOOL Meet people who work there
    ↳ Use this tool to find folks working at Porter
    ↳ Ask them questions, get the inside scoop – maybe even get a referral 👀

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