Canada’s Porter Airlines has taken delivery of its first jet airliners, in the form of two Embraer E195-E2 aircraft.
Porter is known for operating de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Q400 aircraft out of Toronto’s downtown (island) Billy Bishop airport to destinations in Canada and the United States.
Now, Porter, who is the North American launch customer for Embraer’s E195-E2, is opening up operations throughout North America, including to the west coast, southern U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean. The aircraft will initially be deployed from Toronto Pearson International Airport, with Halifax, Montreal and Ottawa also seeing new services with the E195-E2. Porter has chosen to configure the 146-seat aircraft in a comfortable 132-seat all-economy configuration, with a variety of seat pitches on offer for their guests: 36, 34, and 30 inches.
“The official delivery of these aircraft is the beginning of a new era for Porter,” said Michael Deluce, president and CEO, Porter Airlines. “The E195-E2 enables us to reach across the continent, beyond our Eastern Canada roots, while introducing a level of service for economy air travellers that no other North American airline provides. It’s an enhanced experience that builds on our reputation for providing an elevated level of service to every passenger at reasonable prices in a single class of service. The first planes are ready to fly to Canada later this month before going into regular service in February.”
The two aircraft are C-GKQJ and PR-EDK (to be re-registered), and are the first two of 50 of the type on order for the airline, with another 50 options held.
