Porter Airlines plans to expand at a secondary airport near Montreal that now has relatively few commercial flights.
The airline’s parent, Porter Aviation Holdings, has partnered with Montreal Saint-Hubert airport to help develop a new 21,000 sq m (225,000 sq ft) terminal, from which Porter aims to launch “Canada-wide” network expansion, it says on 27 February.
A planned nine-gate terminal will be capable of handling four million passengers annually and is set for completion in late 2024, Porter says on 27 February. Construction will begin this summer.
The Toronto-based carrier does not disclose its financial commitment to the project.
Porter has identified more than 10 potential routes from Montreal Saint-Hubert, which is in the Quebec city of Longueuil. The airport is about 10 miles (16km) east of downtown Montreal and 16 miles from the region’s prime international gateway, Montreal-Trudeau International airport.
The planned routes include those to Vancouver and St John’s (the capital of Newfoundland), and the airline aims to connect Montreal Saint-Hubert to both of its hubs in Toronto – Billy Bishop Toronto City and Toronto Pearson International airports.
The routes will be operated with both Porter’s new Embraer E195-E2s and older De Havilland Dash 8-400s.
The terminal will be modelled after the Billy Bishop airport’s terminal, Porter says: “After decades of declining passenger service, Porter’s commitment to [Billy Bishop] was the catalyst for route developments and infrastructure investments that led to the airport serving nearly three million passengers annually, across more than 20 routes and producing C$3 billion dollars of annual economic impact.
Designed by Toronto-based Scott Associates Architects, the terminal at Montreal Saint-Hubert will provide “faster passenger processing, resulting in travel time savings to go along with a comfortable departure lounge environment that Billy Bishop travellers are familiar with”, Porter says.
The terminal will also be used by other airlines, such as Pascan Aviation, which operates regional flights throughout Quebec. The project will create some 500 permanent jobs, Porter says, and allow for the establishment of new pilot and flight attendant bases.
Porter plans to use its E195-E2s to spearhead an aggressive North American expansion, with new routes to western Canada, the USA, Mexico and the Caribbean. The airline placed its first E195-E2 in service 1 February, allowing the regional carrier to roll out flights from Toronto Pearson International airport to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver – its first to western Canada.
Porter has placed firm orders for 50 E195-E2s and purchase rights for 50 more, for a total list-price value of $7.38 billion if all options are exercised. It has taken delivery of eight of the type so far, according to Cirium fleets data.
