Disappointing Experience with Porter to Vancouver
Mar 11, 2023, 7:06 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Pennsylvania
Programs: AA Platinum Pro, AC *S, Marriott Gold Elite, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 9,689
Disappointing Experience with Porter to Vancouver
Wanted to post about my experience flying porter YYZ-YVR RT given that it is a relatively new service. I have had mixed experiences with Porter out of YTZ but was excited to give them a try on this longer route.
Booking
I booked two months in advance for a RT YYZ-YVR in early March. Fare was C$304.45 for a Standard Fare and a checked bag was an additional C$45.50 each direction. Air Canada was slightly more expensive but would have come out to less as I have status with AC and would not have had to pay for a bag. Seat selection was a steep C$45 for a regular seat or C$62 for an extra legroom seat.
YYZ-YVR
At online check in we were assigned seats in the last row (33) and could not change them without paying the C$45 fee. At the airport neither the kiosk nor the machine that accepted the bag worked and everything had to be processed manually. The kiosk did let us change to a different seat for free (including extra legroom) but by this point there were no other pairs open. The gates in YYZ are a fair distance from the departures hall. Our flight left on time. The Embraer E195-E2 felt clean and brand new (because it was). I appreciated the 2x2 layout which means not having to sit next to a stranger as a couple. Legroom (30") was very tight. Wifi on the flight was free and usable. There was an option to purchase meals. Baggage delivery in YVR took 42 minutes from the time we parked at the gate.
YVR-YYZ
We received a notification 48 hours before departure that our flight had been cancelled. The reason was listed as due to weather. The weather was poor 2 days prior to our departure in YYZ but fine in both YVR and YYZ the day prior to and the day of scheduled travel.
We were rebooked to another flight 48 hours layover which was not acceptable. We used the website to change to a flight 24 hours before our original departure which was easy. Learning from our prior experience, we waited to check in until ~5 hours before our flight and were assigned extra legroom seats for free. Check in at YVR was uneventful and the kiosk was able to print our baggage tags this time. Multiple passengers were being asked to repack overweight carryons and/or pay excess baggage fees for carryons that did not fit in the sizer.
We noticed a big improvement in comfort with the increased seat pitch of 34" compared to the outbound. Everyone was provided with a free meal (crew reported that this was a trial of their offerings). I had a Budda Bowl which was very good. We landed at Pearson about 20 minutes late but the staff was unable to figure out how to use the jetbridge so we did not deplane until 40 minutes later. One of our bags showed up soon after arriving at the belt but no other bags came out for some time after that. When asked if more bags are coming a staff member replied 'I don't know' and did not seem interested in finding out. She eventually told another passenger that her bag not being on the belt means that it "probably" did not make the flight. Multiple people filled out lost baggage forms and left. Our second bag (along with many others) eventually showed up almost 90 minutes after we arrived at the gate.
Verdict
My experience with Porter was very disappointing although I will admit I had unreasonably high expectations with Porter's "actually enjoy economy" advertising. Pros included free wifi, 2x2 layout and reasonable fare. I anticipate that some of the issues (check in problems, difficulty using the jetbridge etc) are teething issues that will improve with time. The experience felt very much like a low cost carrier and I was particularly irked by not being able to select seats for free at OLCI. I would consider flying Porter again if it was the cheapest option and I had a very flexible schedule. However, I would probably pay $50-100 more RT to fly Air Canada instead given their more frequent schedule.
Would be curious to hear if anyone else has had (hopefully more positive) experiences on Porter's routes out of YYZ?
Booking
I booked two months in advance for a RT YYZ-YVR in early March. Fare was C$304.45 for a Standard Fare and a checked bag was an additional C$45.50 each direction. Air Canada was slightly more expensive but would have come out to less as I have status with AC and would not have had to pay for a bag. Seat selection was a steep C$45 for a regular seat or C$62 for an extra legroom seat.
YYZ-YVR
At online check in we were assigned seats in the last row (33) and could not change them without paying the C$45 fee. At the airport neither the kiosk nor the machine that accepted the bag worked and everything had to be processed manually. The kiosk did let us change to a different seat for free (including extra legroom) but by this point there were no other pairs open. The gates in YYZ are a fair distance from the departures hall. Our flight left on time. The Embraer E195-E2 felt clean and brand new (because it was). I appreciated the 2x2 layout which means not having to sit next to a stranger as a couple. Legroom (30") was very tight. Wifi on the flight was free and usable. There was an option to purchase meals. Baggage delivery in YVR took 42 minutes from the time we parked at the gate.
YVR-YYZ
We received a notification 48 hours before departure that our flight had been cancelled. The reason was listed as due to weather. The weather was poor 2 days prior to our departure in YYZ but fine in both YVR and YYZ the day prior to and the day of scheduled travel.
We're sorry, Porter flight 318 to Toronto-Pearson has been cancelled.
We're sorry, Porter flight 318 to Toronto-Pearson has been cancelled.
Reason: flight schedule re-alignment because of earlier weather conditions*
Category: uncontrollable event
We are in the process of rebooking you on the next available flight. You’ll receive an email with your new flight details shortly.
We kindly ask that you do not contact our call centre or airport agents at this time. Your patience is appreciated as we work to get you on your way as quickly as possible.
Category: uncontrollable event
We are in the process of rebooking you on the next available flight. You’ll receive an email with your new flight details shortly.
We kindly ask that you do not contact our call centre or airport agents at this time. Your patience is appreciated as we work to get you on your way as quickly as possible.
We were rebooked to another flight 48 hours layover which was not acceptable. We used the website to change to a flight 24 hours before our original departure which was easy. Learning from our prior experience, we waited to check in until ~5 hours before our flight and were assigned extra legroom seats for free. Check in at YVR was uneventful and the kiosk was able to print our baggage tags this time. Multiple passengers were being asked to repack overweight carryons and/or pay excess baggage fees for carryons that did not fit in the sizer.
We noticed a big improvement in comfort with the increased seat pitch of 34" compared to the outbound. Everyone was provided with a free meal (crew reported that this was a trial of their offerings). I had a Budda Bowl which was very good. We landed at Pearson about 20 minutes late but the staff was unable to figure out how to use the jetbridge so we did not deplane until 40 minutes later. One of our bags showed up soon after arriving at the belt but no other bags came out for some time after that. When asked if more bags are coming a staff member replied 'I don't know' and did not seem interested in finding out. She eventually told another passenger that her bag not being on the belt means that it "probably" did not make the flight. Multiple people filled out lost baggage forms and left. Our second bag (along with many others) eventually showed up almost 90 minutes after we arrived at the gate.
Verdict
My experience with Porter was very disappointing although I will admit I had unreasonably high expectations with Porter's "actually enjoy economy" advertising. Pros included free wifi, 2x2 layout and reasonable fare. I anticipate that some of the issues (check in problems, difficulty using the jetbridge etc) are teething issues that will improve with time. The experience felt very much like a low cost carrier and I was particularly irked by not being able to select seats for free at OLCI. I would consider flying Porter again if it was the cheapest option and I had a very flexible schedule. However, I would probably pay $50-100 more RT to fly Air Canada instead given their more frequent schedule.
Would be curious to hear if anyone else has had (hopefully more positive) experiences on Porter's routes out of YYZ?
