Porter Airlines of Canada is building on its success with its Embraer E195-E2 deployment, by placing a follow-on order for the type.
Porter Embraer E195-E2 – Image, Embraer.
The Canadian airline has exercised purchase rights to place a firm order for 25 Embraer E195-E2 passenger jets, adding to their 50 existing firm orders.
Porter will use the new aircraft to extend its award-winning service to destinations throughout North America. The deal, valued at US$2.1bn at list price, will be added to the Q4 backlog, and brings Porter’s orders with Embraer to 75 firm, with 25 purchase rights remaining.
Porter, the North American launch customer for Embraer’s E195-E2, has already taken delivery of 24 E195-E2s. It has been deploying the type from its Toronto-Pearson and Ottawa bases and building out networks from then.
In terms of configuration, seating remains in a 2-2 layout, with Porter Reserve seats at the front at a 36″ seat pitch, and Porter Classic seats at 34″ and 30″ seat pitches, offering 132-seat configuration.
In Quotes
Michael Deluce, President and CEO of Porter Airlines said,
“At Porter, we entered a new era when we began operating the E195-E2 earlier this year. The jet is exceeding our expectations, especially in terms of fuel burn, and delivering an incredible level of customer satisfaction to our passengers with a quiet, comfortable ride. These additional 25 orders enable us to continue extending our reach throughout North America, with more exciting new destinations.”
Arjan Meijer, President and CEO Embraer Commercial Aviation, said,
“Porter Airlines is an exciting disrupter delivering an elevated passenger experience that’s shaking up the North American market. Choosing the E2 to deliver an upgraded service is a huge endorsement of the jet’s comfort and capabilities, and a further endorsement of the E2 – the world’s quietest and most fuel-efficient single-aisle aircraft.”
Confidence in the type
Porter Airlines’ dual fleet strategy seems to be working for it – with them offering City destinations with its De Havilland Dash 8-400 fleet, whilst stretching its wings (as well as distance) with the Embraer E195-E2 fleet.
With 24 delivered and 26 to arrive from the original batch, there are lots of options for expansion.
The additional 25 aircraft will allow both further routes to be launched, and to build frequency if needed as it will need operations for those new aircraft to work.
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond. Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.
Our Social Media pool has expanded. You can find us across most networks as @economybeyond on Twitter, Mastodon, BlueSky, Threads and Instagram!
Also, remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.
With domestic and US growth coming with the Embraers, the new joint venture with Air Transat, and the US expansion opening more codeshare possibilities with JetBlue, Porter is putting pressure on the Air Canada-WestJet duopoly from the high-service end, while at the same time the growing Canadian LCCs are attacking from below. In the long run, I expect the battle of attrition to take out at least a few of the LCCs, but we could also see Westjet shrink – it used to be the challenger to Air Canada but now offers the same mediocre (at best) service.