Canada’s Porter Airlines revises financial plans

Canada’s Porter Airlines (PD, Toronto City Centre) is officially returning to the skies on September 8, 2021, nearly 18 months after suspending flights due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the airline announced.

In a statement, Porter said it would restore its flight schedule in phases, starting with a group of Canadian destinations, these being Halifax, Moncton, Montréal Trudeau, Ottawa Int’l, Québec, St. John’s, Thunder Bay, and Toronto City Centre.

Flights to the US will start on September 17 and include Boston, Chicago Midway, New York Newark, and Washington Dulles.

Flights to other year-round destinations normally operated by Porter are set to resume from October 6. The airline said services would return based on passenger demand, with frequency, and markets increasing over time.

“This is the moment our team members, passengers, and the communities we serve have been waiting for,” commented president and chief executive, Michael Deluce. “The pandemic has progressed to the point that we can now begin restoring service across our network, focused around our main base at Toronto City Centre Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Being grounded for more than a year has been incredibly difficult for everyone involved. While deciding to suspend our service was the most difficult business decision we’ve made, announcing a restart of flights is the first step in a recovery process that includes recalling hundreds of team members and welcoming back passengers,” he said.

About 500 staff members will be recalled to active status as the first phase of flights is introduced. More staffers will be added in subsequent months as flights and destinations return to the schedule.

The airline’s traditional network entails flights to Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Fredericton, Saint John, Moncton, Halifax, St. John’s, Thunder Bay, Sault Sainte Marie, ON, Sudbury, Timmins, Windsor, as well as New York (Newark), Chicago (Midway), Boston, and Washington (Dulles), and has seasonal flights to Mont Tremblant, Muskoka, Stephenville in Canada, and Myrtle Beach Int’l, North Carolina, USA.