Porter Airlines

Porter Airlines is a Canadian carrier that has transformed itself from a Toronto City Airport turboprop operator into a national airline, flying Embraer E195-E2 jets alongside its De Havilland Dash 8-400 fleet from Toronto Pearson and a growing base network. Its expansion has been one of the fastest in Canadian aviation, and it markets itself on an elevated economy product with no basic-economy fare.

Flying for Porter Airlines

Porter runs a cadet programme built on a Transport Canada-approved Integrated Airline Transport Pilot Licence course, open to candidates holding a post-secondary degree or diploma who are legally entitled to work in Canada and able to obtain a Canadian Category 1 medical. Alongside it, Destination Porter is a mentorship pathway for recent graduates of partner schools, with a further cohort planned for 2026. Direct-entry First Officers and Captains are recruited for the E195-E2 and the Dash 8.

The E2 fleet growth is the reason the airline is worth watching: rapid expansion shortens the time from First Officer to command in a way established carriers cannot match. Selection combines aptitude and psychometric testing with technical assessment, simulator evaluation and interviews, and for cadet entry the assessment does the sorting because no candidate arrives with airline experience.