Porter Suspends Vacation Packages

Porter Airlines is pulling its in-house vacation program, Porter Escapes. 

Edmond Eldebs, Porter’s senior vice president and chief commercial officer, sent a memo to employees on May 9 to inform them that the packages were being suspended, Pax reports. 

“No new packages are being sold through this channel,” Eldebs wrote. 

Porter Escapes was the airline’s in-house vacation package program, which combined flights with hotels and attractions. Trips previously booked for future travel will be honored, and Porter’s travel planners are available to assist customers with those vacations.

The Porter Escapes website confirms that the program is no longer available for booking, stating that “a new option combining Porter Airlines flights and hotel stays will be available in the future, complementing Porter’s ongoing growth throughout North America. These packages will focus on sun destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean.” 

In his memo, Eldebs noted that Porter has not established a timeline for entering these markets or developing a new packaged travel program.  

Porter is in a period of growth, evolving its operations and expanding its network. The airline was the first in North America to use the new 132-seat Embraer E195-E2 jets, which feature spacious cabins and no middle seat.  

Yesterday (May 9) Porter Airlines announced its busiest summer schedule ever. By August it will become the third-largest carrier flying from Canada’s largest airport: Toronto Pearson International Airport. 

Routes from Toronto-Pearson include destinations in the U.S. such as Florida, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as Canadian cities like Halifax, Québec City, St. John’s, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria, Winnipeg and Saskatoon. Every flight from Toronto-Pearson is on the new Embraer jets.

Porter’s main hub is Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, where the airline offers up to 105 daily flights to 15 destinations. These flights are operated by the 78-seat De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft. 

“Porter is offering passengers a level of generous economy service they will not receive from any other carrier serving Toronto and we’re continuing to provide passengers with more choice from both of the airports that serve the Greater Toronto community,” said Kevin Jackson, president, Porter Airlines.

“It was only last February that Porter started flying out of Toronto-Pearson, so to have grown to become the third-largest carrier this summer reinforces the fact that once passengers try our style of economy travel, we are seeing them choose to fly us again and to more destinations. We will continue to expand the number of destinations served as we take delivery of more of our Embraer E195 aircraft.”