What’s it like flying from Toronto’s own City Airport on Porter Airlines?

Although the opening of the Elizabeth Line has dented passenger numbers at London City Airport, it remains one of my favourites for its proximity to home, size and speedy departures and arrivals process. Just a few weeks ago I arrived just under one hour before departure and still had time to kill!

So it should be no surprise that I knew I wanted to try out Toronto’s own City Airport – named after Canadian WW1 flying ace Billy Bishop – after my boyfriend and I accidentally ended up walking to the terminal building whilst exploring the city.

This tiny airport – code an unmemorable YTZ – has many similarities to London City Airport and in some ways even improves on the experience.

For a start, Billy Bishop is closer to downtown Toronto, being located on an island on Lake Ontario. Whilst London City is in East London, Toronto City is slap bang in the middle: just five minutes drive from the CN Tower and Rogers Centre or an eighteen minute walk, as I had previously done.

Until 2015, access to the airport was via a short ferry that crosses the 200 metre gap between the airport island and the rest of the city, but for the past decade a new pedestrian tunnel under Lake Ontario has made the connection even easier.

The walk is about as long (and possibly even shorter) than the connection between Heathrow T2 and the satellite terminal T2B, with plenty of moving walkways to speed you up.

At the end of it a long bank of escalators (about as long as those on the Lizzy line!) emerge into the small terminal building with a biplane suspended from the ceiling:

Another shorter set of escalators gets you up to departure level and the handful or so of check-in desks.

Just two airlines operate from Billy Bishop – Air Canada and Porter, a relatively new airline founded in 2006 initially with flights just from this airport. It has since expanded and now also serves Toronto Pearson Airport with domestic and short flights to the USA as well as Mexico, the Caribbean and Costa Rica (flight time: a lengthy 5:40 minutes!)

Bizarrely, the Porter app is not available in the UK app store (oversight or intentional, it’s annoying either way) so we had to stop by the desks for our boarding passes.

The airport is divided into two halves: domestic and US departures. Security is not quite as slick as at London City as they don’t have the convenient leave-everything-in-your-bag new scanners. It’s even less convenient when you’re stuck behind a family who have seemingly never flown before, but that’s sod’s law!

Once cleared you head back down to ground level to the main departure area. This feels substantially more spacious than London City Airport, with a more open (and less elongated) floor plan. There’s plenty of seating including lounge-style armchairs and work areas. It’s definitely better than your average terminal gate area.

There is also, unlike at London City Airport, a small lounge: the new(ish) Air Canada Cafe, which is also open to Priority Pass holders. Despite the terminal being busy this was very quiet and offered a nice space to relax, although the food offering is basic (to be expected, given the average length of flights from Billy Bishop.)

Once it’s time to board a small announcement is made and boarding begins.

Jet aircraft are not allowed at Billy Bishop so both airlines operate fleets of Dash 8-400 propeller planes to comply with noise regulations. As a result, Billy Bishop has a number of specialised ground-level covered gates that I haven’t seen anywhere else and are presumably a godsend in winter.

It does mean you don’t get a good view of the airfield during boarding though ….

A special trolley at the side of the aircraft is available for any larger bags, including trolley bags, which will not fit into the small overhead bins of the Dash 8-400. These are popped in the hold and then unloaded at the gate at your destination.

Onboard, it’s 2-2 seating in what Porter calls ‘Economy Elevated’. There’s no business class here, just something called ‘Porter Reserve’ which comes bundled with priority check-in, two checked bags, front row seats as well as (on longer flights) a fresh meal. Everyone gets free beer, wine and soft drinks and ‘premium snacks’.

Otherwise, I believe, the experience is pretty much the same wherever you’re seated. The Porter Reserve seats come in navy leather upholstery. With just 78 seats boarding is quickly complete.

The cabin is optimised for short flights, so don’t expect oodles of comfort. The seats are relatively bare, as you can see from the back of the fold-out tables:

It’s perfectly fine for an hour or hour and a half’s flight but I wouldn’t want to fly it much further than that. My flight to Montreal was about an hour, which is no time at all by the time you’re at cruising altitude, had a drink and a snack and then touched back down.

I’m almost forgetting the most spectacular part of the experience: take off. If you’re lucky to be sitting on the correct side of the aircraft (usually left, as I believe take-offs usually occur in an Easterly direction) then you are rewarded with unparalleled views of the CN Tower and Downtown Toronto:

It truly is the best view in the city!

Once seatbelt signs are off the cabin crew start the drinks service. If you’re sat in Porter Reserve that includes a choice of ‘premium snacks’ from roasted nuts to crisps and more. Sadly there’s no sparkling wine on board so standard will have to do. It’s served in real glassware, at least in Reserve.

And that’s it. Of course, there’s no immigration for domestic flights within Canada so it’s a quick exit from the airport.

Conclusion

Flying from Toronto City Airport is an avgeeks dream. Even if you’re not an avgeek it’s worthwhile just for the spectacular views of the city which you can’t get short of chartering a helicopter.

Porter’s ‘elevated economy’ service is also tantalising. With 2-2 aircraft operating from such small airports there really isn’t much to distinguish business class and economy. Serving all customers complimentary drinks in real glassware is a big step up from most economy experiences.

So, if you find yourself in Toronto …. consider booking yourself a flight to leave the city – at least for a few days – so you can enjoy the views.

Head for Points made a financial contribution to the Woodland Trust as part of this trip. The Woodland Trust creates and manages forests in the UK in accordance with the Woodland Carbon Code.