Flight Review: Porter Airlines PD306, Vancouver to Toronto Inaugural Flight - February 7, 2023
C-GKQJ, our aircraft to Toronto, taxiing to the gate after landing.
When Porter Airlines announced their expansion with their Embraer E195-E2 aircraft from Toronto Pearson and one of the destinations was Vancouver, I was keen to fly with them- on the aircraft type and with Porter.
Booking
I booked the PorterClassic Standard fare for my flight, which included a personal item, carry-on bag, and an electronic boarding pass. Free WiFi, snacks, beer, and wine was included with all tickets. However, this does not include a checked bag or seat selection.
Check-In
The check-in area for Porter at YVR.
Check-in online went smoothly and I received an email with a mobile boarding pass and one to print. I decided to go to the check in desk to print a boarding pass and see how the check in process was like in person.
Porter’s check-in desks at Vancouver International were on the international side of the airport, instead of the main domestic check-in area in the domestic terminal. The lineup was short and within minutes I had my boarding pass and was ready to go through security.
The check-in desks
Inaugural flight celebrations
The inbound flight arrived late so I had plenty of time to watch the plane land and taxi to the gate, where a large group of media were waiting on its arrival.
Gate celebrations for the inaugural flight
Cake, coffee, and snacks!
At the gate, there was free coffee, snacks, and cake, along with a live DJ and a backdrop of Toronto.
After a ceremonial cedar brushing and a song, a short press conference was held with Porter and YVR, we began to board the flight.
All the passengers on the inaugural flight were handed a small envelope, which contained a commemorative keychain and a $150 voucher for future travel with Porter.
Commemorative keychain given to every passenger onboard this flight
$150 flight voucher included inside the envelope
Porter’s E195-E2 Cabin & Seat
The aircraft is arranged in a 2-2 configuration, 33 rows total. The first four rows are PorterReserve, followed by three rows of PorterClassic Stretch, continued with the regular PorterClassic seats. The emergency exit rows are also PorterClassic Stretch seats.
The interior of Porter’s E195-E2 aircraft.
A better look at the seats.
Overhead bins large enough to fit rollers wheels in first.
Individual air vents, light, and call button above every seat.
The overhead bins were just large enough to fit a roller bag with the wheels facing in, a much needed improvement compared to the first generation Embraer jets.
Each seat had its own reading light, air vents, and call button; and the leather seats were comfortable and well padded. The legroom and pitch is average, nothing too significant in terms of it. There were two outlets under the seat in front of you, in-between the two seats, no need to share with your seatmate.
The tray table folds out and extends.
The tray table folds out and slides, and was large enough for a laptop to fit. All seats have a coat hook to hang your jacket. Porter does not offer any seatback entertainment, instead has a wide selection of streamable content and free wifi onboard their flights, more on that later.
After pushing back about twenty minutes late, we waited a few extra minutes before beginning our taxi to the runway. Once airborne, we were notified that this inaugural flight will offer their entrée selection for free, for us to try and experience first hand and give feedback on the meals.
Onboard WiFi and Entertainment
Connecting to the onboard wifi was straightforward, all you had to do was join to the Porter-WiFi network, then go to PorterWifi.com on your browser. You’ll get free wifi throughout the flight by logging in to your PorterVIP account, or get 30 minutes free after watching an ad. The speeds were more than enough to scroll through social media, and even enough to stream Netflix.
The onboard entertainment content was up to date and plentiful, with many recent Hollywood releases, and other movies and TV shows. You connect to it the same way as connecting to the wifi.
PorterCafé Menu & Meal Service
The afternoon entrées were much better than the ones served on the morning flights, I hope they’ll improve on the morning items in the future.
After a few bumps of light turbulence, the drink and meal service began. However, since everyone received a meal on this flight, my row didn't get served until Regina, an hour and a half into the flight. By no fault of theirs, the only meals left were the cheese platter and the vegetarian Buddha bowl- I opted for the bowl. Beer and wine were also offered in glasses, while other drinks were in paper cups.
The Buddha bowl was fresh, delicious, and well portioned. It wasn't anything that would completely fill you up but was more than enough for a four hour flight. I look forward to trying their other meals, as they are all reasonably priced.
The vegetarian Buddha bowl with a Steam Whistle pilsner
E195-E2 Lavatories
The E195 along with other aircraft in this family are equipped with two lavatories, one in the front and one in the back. For a short flight this would be no issue, however, on a four hour flight, 132 passengers between the two lavatories meant long lineups throughout the entire flight. In contrast, the A220-300 has an extra lavatory in the back, relieving the lineup, even when it's fully seated.
The rear lavatory onboard the E195.
The lavatory itself is rather small and was restrictive in size, anyone over 6ft would have to crouch down when they're inside. Everything else inside was pretty standard. Unfortunately there's no window to look outside.
Onboard Snacks
The crew came around for another drink service after the meal service has completed, offering the same selection along with their premium snack offering, which included banana bread, shortbread cookies, almonds, and fava beans
Some of the snack selection that were available on this flight
Conclusion
We touched down a minute after our scheduled arrival time and made our way to terminal 3, arriving just a few minutes after scheduled. Overall, the flight was very enjoyable, the crew were friendly and available. The speed of the service should improve as the crew becomes more familiarized with the equipment, longer routes, and onboard meal services. The lack of a third lavatory was definitely a pain point with such a long flight.
I would definitely consider flying Porter again on their E195 routes; however with similar prices compared to the legacy mainline carriers and the smaller cabin, Porter probably won’t be my first choice.