TORONTO and OTTAWA — Hundreds of employees, partners and other guests gathered at ceremonies in Toronto and Ottawa to celebrate Porter Airlines‘ 10th birthday. The airline’s first flights took place on Oct. 23, 2006, connecting these two cities.
Porter celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Porter has since grown to serve 23 destinations in Canada and the U.S. from its home base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
“Being in a position to celebrate 10 exciting years is first and foremost a credit to Porter’s 1,400 team members who are focused on providing the absolute best service we can every day,” said Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines. “We’re also incredibly thankful to our passengers and partners for supporting us since day one.”
Nearly 18 million passengers have flown with Porter over the last 10 years, while the airline travelled more than 240 million kilometers.
“Porter Airlines is a true Canadian success story,” said Geoffrey Wilson, CEO of PortsToronto, which owns and operates Billy Bishop Airport. “When Porter Airlines launched in 2006, the airport was servicing 25,000 passengers per year. In 2015, the airport welcomed 2.5 million passengers, was confirmed as the sixth-busiest airport in Canada servicing the U.S. and the ninth-busiest overall, drove economic output of more than $2 billion and accounted for 6,500 jobs directly and indirectly.”
Original crews from 2006 operated two commemorative flights between Billy Bishop Airport and Ottawa International Airport to honour Porter’s first route. Each flight was welcomed at the respective airports by a traditional water cannon salute, where arches of water were sprayed overtop the aircraft by local fire services.
As a special commemoration of its 10th birthday, Porter is distributing for the first time a limited number of Mr. Porter raccoon brand mascots in plush format. Sales of these special mascots are exclusive to the passenger lounges at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport while supplies last.
Giveaways of free flights were also provided to one passenger on every flight for the last two days.
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