You Trip Report

	DATE	FLIGHT NUMBER	SEAT	AIRCRAFT
25 Jan 24	PD 670	4B	195-E2
CLASS	VIEWS	LANGUAGE	AUTHOR
Premium Economy	1135	English	jetsetpanda

Prologue:

Hello and welcome to this very special YTR that I have the pleasure to share on my first inaugural flight with Porter.

Since its foundation in 2006 Porter has operated as a regional carrier with limited domestic destinations in the Eastern part of Canada with a fleet of Bombardier Q400's and De Havilland Dash 8-400's. Then a major expansion followed with the arrival of the Embraer E195-E2's in late 2022. This type of plane allowed PD to serve longer routes and the airline started to add new CA/US destinations in the last few years.

The airline has a "boutique" reputation by providing free premium snacks to all pax and serving drinks in glassware. I have always wanted to try them and with the announcement of flights out of SFO and at $100 in Premium Econ this presented the perfect opportunity to sample the product.

Porter offers 2 classes of service - Porter Reserve (Premium Econ) with all perks included like ticket flexibility, free meals and extra legroom AND Porter Basic (Econ) with free drinks, snacks and Buy on Board meals. In this cabin you can also select seats with a little more legroom by paying for it.

There is a feeling of anticipation at the check in hall with agents preparing the area for its big inaugural flight.

I was the first to check in at Porter Reserve and the agent was professional and efficient. No give away gifts commemorating the inaugural at the counter. Celebration will be at the gate.

I was able to access the lounge using my Priority Pass.

Alcoholic drinks available.

I sampled some ramen chicken Cesar salad and tomato soup. Catering at this lounge has been limited during the Priority Pass members' access times. I imagine that for the regular VS pax this would be more generous.

Still a great place to relax before your flight.

This lounge is also part of Priority Pass and catering is more varied and self serve than at VS Clubhouse. However the ambience is not as nice and sophisticated as the latter.

Hot dishes available.

The gate area was adorned festively.

Tea or coffee available.

The racoon is the official mascot of Porter and it is featured prominently in its promotional ads and swizzling sticks for drinks. These sticks are "biodegradable" by the way.

Box of chocolates and chocolate chip shortbreads.

Podium for speeches.

Raffle for a free ticket.

Crew posing for pics.

Porter President Kevin Jackson.

Gate preparation for boarding.

Aircraft arrival.

Agents were distributing vouchers for passengers as they entered the jetbridge.

Cheerful and friendly welcome aboard by the crew.

My Porter Reserve seat 4B - last row of Premium Econ.

Great legroom.

Literature in the pocket.

View of cabin.

Air vent call button and reading light.

Flight was delayed by about 1 hr. Not a lot of announcements from the cockpit but we received a welcome aboard greeting.

Very informative and stylish inflight magazine.

Distribution of printed menus for Porter Reserve pax.

WC.

Drink service. I ordered a tomato juice and water.

Box meal.

Wellness shot passed around.

Bread.

Meal selection. Four choices but all of them cold. FA recommended me the Buddha bowl (vegetarian) saying that it's a favorite of the crew. It was tasty and good.

Snacks before landing.

========== San Francisco Intl Arpt (SFO) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 10/10

Access and parking: 10/10

Services and activities: 9/10

General cleanliness: 10/10

========== Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse ==========

Staff Service: 9/10

Entertainment: /10

Business Center: /10

Food: 8/10

Lounge Design: 10/10

Spa and Bathroom: 10/10

Wifi: 10/10

========== China Airlines Dynasty Lounge ==========

Staff Service: 9/10

Entertainment: /10

Business Center: /10

Food: 9/10

Lounge Design: 7/10

Spa and Bathroom: 8/10

Wifi: 10/10

========== Porter - Airline ==========

Cabine comfort: 10/10

Crew: 10/10

Entertainment: /10

On-time performance: 4/10

Appetizer: 8/10

Starter: 8/10

Main Meal: 8/10

Main Meal-2: 0/10

Cheese: 0/10

Desserts: 0/10

Alcohols: 0/10

Mid-flight snack: 0/10

Breakfast or light meal before arrival: 0/10

========== Lester B Pearson Intl (YYZ) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 9/10

Access and parking: 9/10

Services and activities: 9/10

General cleanliness: 10/10

Summary:

It was a fantastic experience trying this new airline and I can see why it has created a fan base among frequent flyers. I get the feeling that Porter tries to differentiate itself from competitors by providing a more elevated and stylish experience.

Crew was friendly and made frequent rounds throughout the cabin offering drinks during the flight. The meal I had was delicious and I appreciate that there were four choices on this flight but none of them was a hot meal.

The E195-E2 only has 2 WC's aboard. One in the front and another in the back. On a full flight this can create quite a wait and queue.

The fares can be very cheap if you are lucky to find them but some of the lowest fares do not even include carry on (not to mention checked bag) so you will need to pay extra. At the right price though this is a great product that blows the competitors away. I also had the chance to fly Air Canada on the return and all that was provided was free drinks. Not even a bag of pretzels or snack so in this aspect Porter gives you so much more in comparison.

7 Comments

Bibopaul — Feb 26,2024

Frankly it's just stunning ^^ Thank you Jetset^^
Reply
Thomas — Feb 26,2024

What a joy to read this report !

Thanks my friend.

Hello from JFK :)
Reply
Casper — Feb 29,2024

Gracias Amigo!
A good ride on this unknown carrier with a nice VS lounge.
Reply
Capoune — Mar 03,2024

Hi my friend!!!
What an exceptional service!
A great time at the airport with the lounge and then the festivities at the gate.
On board it's juste amazing if you consider it as economy... And for such a good price!!!

Thank you for sharing with us Adan!!
Reply
Emile — Mar 04,2024

What a nice surprise.
Reply
Vendredi13 — Mar 11,2024

Woof ! JetSetPanda !

A Panda in a Racoon flight;) Excellent^^
U had a really good flair with this flight. It was a big opportunity.
On board, nice service. And honestly after this report, you want to try Porter.

Thanks Adan for this excellent report. See u soon !
Reply
SERGE13 — Feb 27,2024

Hello
I am so suprised to read this report for txo things:4

First I did not knox that Porter had Embraer
Second the service on board (excellent)

Thank you for that.

Merci et continue à nous faire rêver... :)
Reply