Canada’s Porter Airlines cleared for UK flights but has no suitable aircraft
Canadian carrier Porter Airlines has received regulatory clearance to begin operating its own aircraft on scheduled routes between Canada and the United Kingdom.
The Canadian Transportation Agency issued the approval on 6 June, amending Porter’s licence to allow the airline to fly directly to the UK, as well as to Costa Rica and Jamaica.
It follows a decision by the agency in 2023 to grant Porter Airlines authorisation to operate services through code shares with other airlines between Canada and the UK.
It is unclear how the airline would operate the route using its own aircraft as its current fleet comprises E195-E2 and Dash 8-400, neither of which has the range for transatlantic flights. However approval to operate flights to the UK may include the UK’s overseas territories in the Caribbean, such as the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Porter Airlines gets rights to fly to Costa Rica and Jamaica too
Also decided on the same day, the Canadian Transportation Agency issued approvals for Porter to fly its own aircraft to two popular leisure destinations.
The airline requested an upgrade in permissions for flights to Costa Rica and Jamaica. In March 2023, it was granted rights to operate flights to these destinations via codesharing, but had applied to operate the routes with its own aircraft, which the CTA approved.
The E-195 E2 is perfectly capable of reaching both Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in Costa Rica and all of the Caribbean Islands from Toronto. Its range of around 3,000 nm puts these destinations comfortably in its reach.
Porter Airlines: The challenger
Porter has repositioned itself as a challenger airline in the North American market.
The airline has been rapidly expanding its network in recent years, moving beyond its original base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) to include a wide range of destinations across Canada and the United States.
The introduction of the E195-E2 has been crucial to this expansion, offering increased range and passenger capacity compared to the airline’s earlier fleet of Bombardier Q400 turboprops.
Porter Airlines and Air Transat have an existing codeshare agreement, allowing them to jointly offer flights under both airlines’ flight numbers.
