Porter suspends vacation packages

Porter Airlines is discontinuing its in-house vacation program, Porter Escapes.

Edmond Eldebs, Porter’s senior vice president and chief commercial officer, sent a memo to employees on May 9 informing them that the packages would be suspended, Pax reports.

“No new packages will be sold through this channel,” Eldebs wrote.

Porter Escapes was the airline’s in-house vacation package program that combined flights with hotels and attractions. Trips already booked for future trips will be honored and Porter’s travel planners will be available to assist customers with these trips.

Porter Escapes’ website confirms that the program is no longer available for booking and explains that “a new option combining Porter Airlines flights and hotel stays will be available in the future, complementing Porter’s continued growth across North America.” The focus of these packages are to sunny destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean.”

In his memo, Eldebs noted that Porter has not set a timeline for entering these markets or developing a new package travel program.

Porter is in a phase of growth, evolving its business and expanding its network. The airline was the first in North America to use the new 132-seat Embraer E195-E2 jets, which have spacious cabins and no middle seat.

Yesterday (May 9), Porter Airlines announced its busiest summer schedule ever. By August, it will be the third-largest airline flying from Canada’s largest airport: Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Routes from Toronto-Pearson include U.S. destinations such as Florida, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as Canadian cities such as Halifax, Quebec City, St. John’s, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria, Winnipeg and Saskatoon. Every flight from Toronto-Pearson will be on the new Embraer jets.

Porter’s main hub is Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, where the airline operates up to 105 flights daily to 15 destinations. These flights will be operated using the 78-seat De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft.

“Porter offers passengers a level of generous economy service that they will not receive from any other airline serving Toronto, and we continue to offer passengers more choice at both airports serving the Greater Toronto Area,” said Kevin Jackson, President, Porter Airlines.

“Just last February, Porter began flying from Toronto-Pearson. Our emergence as the third-largest airline this summer underscores the fact that once passengers try our economy style of travel, they will choose to fly with us again and again and to more destinations. We will continue to expand the number of destinations served as we receive more of our Embraer E195 aircraft.”