Porter Airlines

Porter's operation at Toronto–Billy Bishop, located on the Toronto Islands near downtown was launched in 2006 with some controversy. Robert Deluce, who is now the executive chairman of Porter Airlines, proposed creating a regional airline using Bombardier turboprop aircraft to service major cities of Canada within the range of Toronto. A planned bridge to the airport was cancelled in 2003, leading to lawsuits between Deluce and the City of Toronto. The airline lost the case in court, but the idea for the airline remained. With the compensation received from the Toronto Port Authority for the lawsuit, REGCO bought the island airport terminal used by Air Canada Jazz and terminated Air Canada's access. To accommodate Porter's expansion, Toronto–Billy Bishop opened a new, larger passenger terminal in March 2010.

From 2010 to 2012, Porter partnered with Bombardier Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney Canada to explore aviation biofuels. This culminated in flying once from Toronto to Ottawa on a 50/50 blend of biofuel and jet fuel, the first such commercial example in Canada. Two months later, Air Canada ran a 50/50 flight also, but there have been relatively few such flights since. In 2022, the Canadian government compelled airlines to lower their emissions, and as of 2023, more 50/50 flights are expected.

In 2013, Porter made a proposal to expand Toronto Island airport to allow jets. City Council reserved its support, requiring the controversial proposal to be the focus of port authority studies. In November 2015, the federal government announced it would not support the proposal. In 2015 a new pedestrian tunnel was opened connecting Toronto–Billy Bishop to the mainland. Despite an increase in passenger traffic at Bishop, Porter Airlines still reported a loss in operations during this period. In 2017, it lost CA$18.9 million, in 2018 CA$40 million and CA$30 million in 2019. In 2018, Porter reduced the number of slots it rented at Bishop from Nieuport by 18.5%, effective in 2020, reducing its costs by CA$12.2 million. Porter estimated that operating at Billy Bishop was three times the cost of operating at Toronto–Pearson.

On March 18, 2020, Porter announced that they would suspend all flights, initially from March 20 through to June 1 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The suspension of service was then extended several times until it was announced that Porter would be returning to service starting September 8, 2021, nearly 18 months since all flights were suspended. Porter Airlines reached an agreement with the Government of Canada for loans valued up to CA$270.5 million, which were used as a capital reserve during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery period.

In July 2021, Porter announced that it would begin flying out of Toronto–Pearson and expand its destinations throughout Canada, the United States, and Caribbean, starting in mid-2022. Porter ordered 30 Embraer E195-E2 jet airplanes in 2021, later increasing the number to 50. With the prohibition on jet traffic at Toronto Island Airport, Porter launched flights from Toronto–Pearson to new destinations in western Canada (Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary) and augmented its service to existing destinations in eastern Canada (Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax) that are already served by the De Havilland Dash 8-400 from Toronto–Billy Bishop. In November 2023, Porter ordered another 25 jets, bringing to total to 75 firm orders, with 25 purchase options still remaining.

In addition, the airline expanded its operation at Ottawa's Macdonald–Cartier International Airport. Porter launched new routes from Ottawa to two destinations in the eastern United States (New York-Newark and Boston) and four destinations across Canada (Charlottetown, Thunder Bay, Edmonton and Vancouver). With Porter’s Embraer E195-E2 aircraft being deployed from Toronto–Pearson and its De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400 aircraft serving the small Toronto–Billy Bishop, the Ottawa hub is the only one where both aircraft types have a regular presence, making it an important hub for Porter's network. Porter's largest maintenance hangar is located at the Ottawa airport. Porter has built a new maintenance base at Ottawa International Airport. The 150,000 ft2 (14,000 m2) facility houses Porter's maintenance operations for the Embraer E195-E2. Porter partnered with Algonquin College to offer work-integrated learning at the facility.

Porter constructed a new terminal at the MET – Montreal Metropolitan Airport, which opened June 15, 2026. This enables domestic-only service to a secondary airport for the Montreal region. Porter flies both the De Havilland Dash 8-400 and the Embraer E195-E2 from the airport.