Spendthrift Shoestring

Trio Buzz: Taiwan, Porter, SkyEurope

A flurry of buzzy briefs:

1. Taiwan's Tourism Bureau is running a huge competition for travel writers. It's a complicated and multistage affair, which involves setting up an itinerary, following it, writing about it—and then, if you're lucky, winning a massive NT$1 million to spend a month touring the island. The deadline for applications is June 30.

2. Last week Porter announced a new Toronto City Centre-Boston route, which kicks off September 14.

3. Airscoop is reporting some bad news for SkyEurope. The plucky Slovak low-cost carrier had a plane seized on Monday at Paris Orly, after failing to pay fees to the airport. The following day, officials at Bucharest Airport followed suit, claiming that SkyEurope owes the airport €529,000. See the background story in the Slovak Spectator.

Porter Expands

I'm still getting nasty comments in response to a blog post I wrote last November extolling the virtues of Porter Airlines. This has been odd. I'm used to experiencing solidarity with the neighborhood planning and limited growth constituencies, and these are precisely the groups who have opposed the use of Toronto City Centre Airport most vociferously. Whatever the details of this urban skirmish—and I can't pretend to have exhaustively studied the airport's history—the fact remains that Porter is far ahead of its competitors in countless ways. The service, aesthetics, and perks it offers are all leagues better than those on offer at any other North American airline.

The airline also appears to be weathering the recession quite well. The Toronto Star reported last week that work has begun on the airport's terminal expansion, which is expected to double airport traffic.

Late next month Porter will kick off a Toronto-Thunder Bay route.

Porter vs. Air Berlin: A Comparison

Less Than a Shoestring asked me to compare Porter and Air Berlin. What an interesting request! The airlines are quite different in terms of model yet both stand above their competitors in terms of the on-board experience they offer. 

Porter operates almost exclusively along a point-to-point model, with almost all routes running either to or from Toronto City Centre airport. The point-to-point approach, interestingly, is more associated with low-cost carriers than it is with traditional carriers. Porter is not a low-cost airline, however, but rather a business airline with a fare structure that enables budget travelers to book flights relatively cheaply. A regional airline, Porter operates Bombardier Q400 turboprops that can only fly short-haul distances. Porter has a beautiful, compelling, carefully conceptualized brand.

Air Berlin, by way of contrast, bills itself as a low-cost carrier yet departs significantly from the low-cost carrier model. It sells connecting flights and provides snacks, drinks, and newspapers free of charge on board. Other departures from the low-cost carrier model include assigned seating and a frequent flyer program. The airline flies to around 80 destinations in Europe and beyond out of one major base and several big hubs in Germany and Spain. Its brand went through a major rework last year, though the livery associated with the rebranding has not yet been imposed universally. Air Berlin also operates codeshare agreements with several other airlines, a decision that further weakens brand stability.

Most importantly for budget travelers, both airlines offer inexpensive advance fares, and both provide an experience in the skies well above average.

Porter Airlines: In a League of its Own

Porter snack box

This past week I finally had the opportunity to fly Porter, the airline I've been watching for a while now. Never have my expectations for an airline been so high.

And Porter delivered. Every element of the experience was satisfying. The planes are quiet. The seats are comfortable. The snacks are of high quality. Coffee is served in actual cups, the supply of which unfortunately ran out on my second flight—see paper cup substitute above. Beer and wine are complimentary. The flight attendants are friendly and nattily clothed. The in-flight magazine, on sturdy paper and looking for all the world like a Monocle special edition, is full of interesting tips and beautiful graphics. (The Chicago briefing includes a write-up of the great 'hood of Andersonville, along with a mention of Scout, my favorite Chicago home furnishings den.)

What else? Toronto City Centre airport is possibly the most conveniently located airport I've ever come across, lying as it does a few minutes from downtown by ferry. Departing from Toronto City Centre is—how shall I put this?—similarly awesome. Due to the airport's size and flight volume, it's possible to check in as late as thirty minutes before a domestic flight or sixty minutes before an international flight. And then there's the gorgeous lounge, with a bank of shiny computers, a snack and drink station, and newspapers for the taking. All of this is gratis. 

Best of all for budget travelers, the airline operates a three-part fare structure. Tickets purchased in advance can be quite affordable. To illustrate, the cheapest advance roundtrip fare I've found between Newark and Toronto over the winter is C$243.43 (just under US$192 as of right now.)

On my way in I chatted with Brad Cicero, Porter's Communications and Public Affairs manager. He told me that the airline's main focus is on expanding routes between Toronto and various U.S. destinations. The in-flight magazine lists Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins, and Windsor as proposed domestic destinations as well as Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington DC as proposed US destinations.

(Here's another, completely unexpected perk of flying Porter from Newark to Toronto in the morning. Flights leave from the international terminal, which is dead in the a.m. There was nobody ahead of me in line going through security.)

I have but one caveat, and it's not an insignificant one. There appear to be some maintenance issues which obviously need to be rectified. My flight from Newark into Toronto included many passengers from an earlier, canceled flight.

I'll put this matter aside for the moment, because I want more than anything to claim that I've seen the future of commercial aviation. Most likely, Porter will merely designate a sideline of the future of aviation, and, granted, I have no idea how well the airline is doing. But it strikes me as a truly fantastic business model. One fantasizes readily about a West Coast version of Porter, based in Seattle or Portland, with routes to Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Boise, Reno, San Francisco and San Jose. Or a Western/Central European Porter. Or a Mediterranean Porter. Or a Porter for Japan.

If good service and dashing aesthetics are enough to lure a bargain-hunting shoestringer like me into the Porter orbit, I can only imagine the prospective fan base for it and other airlines of its ilk.

Porter Plus Me, Finally

I'll be flying Porter twice week after next, first from Newark to Toronto City Centre and then from Toronto on to Ottawa. After months of following the airline, exploring its site in depth, and obsessively tracking press releases, I'll finally actually board a Porter Bombardier Q400. My expectations for the Canadian business airline with the tripartite fare structure are high.

I'll spend five days in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montréal on a budget-minded adventure. Can't wait!

Porter to Chicago!

On Wednesday, Canadian business airline Porter announced that they'll be flying between Toronto City Centre and Chicago Midway from November 12 onwards. They're already advertising in the Globe and Mail, taking out one of their typically cute ads—page A5, full-page no less. The airline will fly thrice daily from mid-November, increasing frequency to six times a day from January 8 onwards. Midway-Toronto City Centre flights will start at C$149 (under US$138) one-way, not including taxes.

Mike and I really need to plan a weekend in Toronto soon.