TORONTO — Happy birthday, Porter Airlines, which is celebrating 17 years of service.

The airline is looking back on what it calls a transformative year, which included the launch of its new state-of-the-art Embraer E195-E2 jets, the introduction of flights at Pearson International Airport, and the expansion of flights in Ottawa.

In the past 12 months, the airline has hired more than 1,000 new team members, taken delivery of 22 new E195-E2s, announced 26 new routes and 14 new destinations, and grew its fleet size to 51 aircraft, including 29 Dash 8 aircraft.

The airline now flies as far west as Victoria and as far east as St. John’s in Canada. It is also making further headway into the United States with five destinations in Florida, as well as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, starting this fall and winter.

“Passengers love flying Porter and they have been asking us for years to fly to more destinations. Now, we’re operating from Billy Bishop and Pearson airports in Toronto, and expanding across North America, so that passengers have more options to fly with Porter,” said Michael Deluce, president and CEO, Porter Airlines. 

“Our team members have tremendous passion and they genuinely care about our passengers. They are instrumental in delivering an elevated level of service that no other airline on the continent can match for economy passengers,” he added.

Porter’s signature in-flight service includes complimentary beer and wine served in glassware, along with a selection of premium snacks for all passengers. Both the Dash 8 and E195-E2 aircraft feature a two-by-two configuration, which means there are no middle seats on any Porter flight. Porter is also the only airline in Canada to offer free, fast Wi-Fi for all passengers on E195-E2 flights and fresh meals are available to everyone on longer routes.

For more information on Porter’s growth plans click here.