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Toronto to Chicago (Midway International Airport)

Haven't seen this posted yet..

Hoping that Boston (Logan) will be next..

Toronto-based Porter Airlines adds Chicago to schedule beginning Nov. 12

TORONTO — Porter Airlines, which flies out of Toronto's City Centre Airport, says it will add Chicago to its growing list of destinations, beginning Nov. 12.

A schedule of three daily round-trip flights per weekday and two each on Saturday and Sunday will be in effect until Jan. 7.



After that - once Porter's eighth aircraft is put into service - the airline plans six round-trip flights every weekday, plus two on Saturday and three on Sunday.

Introductory fares start at $149 one-way, plus fees and taxes, the airline says.

Porter will use Chicago Midway International Airport, located about 15 kilometres from the city's downtown.

The airline, founded in 2006, says it will add more U.S. destinations including Boston, Washington and Philadelphia as additional aircraft are delivered over the next 18 months.

Porter currently serves Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, New York (Newark) and has seasonal flights to Mont Tremblant, Que.

"We are continuing to successfully add destinations, aircraft and employees at a time when many airlines are limiting growth plans, cutting routes and introducing new fees," said Robert Deluce, the airline's president and CEO.


Another Article:

Canada's Porter Air to Begin Chicago Service Nov. 12
Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Porter Airlines Inc., the carrier operating out of Toronto's downtown island airport, plans to begin flying to Chicago next month, taking on Air Canada in more U.S. cities.

The schedule, beginning Nov. 12, will start with three return flights on weekdays and two each on weekends from the Canadian city to Chicago's Midway International Airport, Porter said in a statement today. The carrier began offering U.S. routes in March, starting with trips to Newark, New Jersey.

Chief Executive Officer Robert Deluce also plans to expand Porter's service to cities such as Boston and Washington. The carrier is targeting destinations within 400 miles (644 kilometers) of Toronto to lure business travelers from carriers such as Air Canada, the country's largest.

Closely held Porter began flying almost two years ago with routes to Ottawa and Montreal. Porter has attracted corporate customers because of its home base, a five-minute drive from downtown Toronto, the country's financial hub. Getting to the only other airport, Pearson International, takes 45 minutes.

As of Jan. 8, daily service to Chicago will increase to six return flights on weekdays and three on Sundays, Porter said. Prices will start at C$149 ($140), excluding fees and taxes.
 
ya I officially mentioned it two weeks ago... and unofficially a couple months ago if I'm not mistaken.

Construction on the Island is starting as well. I don't know if I'll be able to take pictures because of security issues (since it is an airport) but I think for anyone that doesn't like the idea of Porter being here, this building is going to piss some people off.
 
Flying Porter on Monday back to Toronto from Ottawa. I'm trying to make it up to an engagement on the Danforth not long after the flight gets in. I'll be pushing it, even if the flight is perfectly on time. Any idea how often flights get delayed, though? (And I don't suppose they're ever, ever early?)
 
Sir Novelty Fashion said:
Flying Porter on Monday back to Toronto from Ottawa. I'm trying to make it up to an engagement on the Danforth not long after the flight gets in. I'll be pushing it, even if the flight is perfectly on time. Any idea how often flights get delayed, though? (And I don't suppose they're ever, ever early?)
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From Ottawa? jn_12 can correct me if I am wrong but from Ottawa there are hardly any delays....
 
Ottawa is rarely delayed. In fact you're far more likely to be early. Flight time from Ottawa is about 45 minutes from gate to gate, and is usually 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled arrival time. you have to remember that you have to take the ferry back to the mainland, so that's another 5-10 minutes.

Things happen though and even the slightest mechanical issue that just involves a check or two can delay things by 5 or 10 mins. I'd be pretty confident if I were you though.
 
Flight was an hour late. Missed my class. Screw you, Porter!

(It was a nice flight and all. But apparently the airline is human after all. In fact, it was so late that the next flight arriving in Ottawa after ours got stuck on the tarmac, engines running, since we were still boarding.)
 
ya... I knew when I posted above that they're rarely late it would mean your flight would definitely be late. It's been a really nasty couple days with a couple planes going out of service. the problem is Porter uses all of their planes at all times and the turn around schedules are too tight to perform any maintenance without having to take a delay. So if a plane goes out of service, it causes havoc and usually causes the dispatchers to have to juggle the schedule around to make sure we have enough flights to match the demand. I'm really sorry that yours got delayed. Like I said, it does rarely happen, but Murphy's Law...
 
Yeah. I knew when I timed my flight so precisely that Murphy's Law would kick in too.

But here's a question for you: I actually checked in at YOW hours early, and the Porter flight *before* mine hadn't even boarded yet. I thought briefly about asking the gate agent if I could sneak aboard the earlier one, but decided to hunker down and do some work instead.

I've gotten away with that in the States once or twice. Does Porter ever entertain that kind of thing?
 
We have a phrase in aviation...

'Time to spare, go by air.'

It'll always be challenging to achieve on target, on time flying commercial.
 
Sir Novelty Fashion said:
Yeah. I knew when I timed my flight so precisely that Murphy's Law would kick in too.

But here's a question for you: I actually checked in at YOW hours early, and the Porter flight *before* mine hadn't even boarded yet. I thought briefly about asking the gate agent if I could sneak aboard the earlier one, but decided to hunker down and do some work instead.

I've gotten away with that in the States once or twice. Does Porter ever entertain that kind of thing?
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You should have inquired. At the worst they would have charged you a change fee, but odds are because of the delays they would have waived the fee (or at least I would have). As long as the flight hasn't started boarding yet its not much of a problem to move people on to the flight. Even then its still possible to get on the flight if boarding has commenced, but its a hassle for us big time. Either way I guess for next time, don't be afraid to ask. Usually if its our fault that the flight is delayed, people get moved for no charge, so it's at least worth the effort to ask.
 
I heard a radio advert for Porter today, and they were saying how it will start going to Midway Airport, in "downtown" Chicago. Not really downtown...
 
samsonyuen said:
I heard a radio advert for Porter today, and they were saying how it will start going to Midway Airport, in "downtown" Chicago. Not really downtown...
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Friends of mine in Chicago have actually warned me about this. If you look on a map Midway does look closer to the city than O'Hare (and probably is) but they tell me that for some reason (that they do not know why) it takes longer by train from Midway to the Loop than it does from O'Hare? (when the line from O'hare is not under construction)....if this is the case, any time saving for Porter's passengers will be a combination of travel time at this end and any ease of getting through Midway faster than through O'Hare.
 
Midway is about 10 miles from the loop,

I would imagine Midway will save lots of time - something like 40% of flights in and out of O'Hare are delayed for one reason or another.
 
Service to Chicago Midway started yesterday. I'm going on Friday for the night so i should be able to provide a bit of insight about travel times from Midway to downtown Chicago and at least what the Midway experience is like. Apparently Porter is getting or already has built a lounge in Midway, so that should be interesting to see.
 
TOareaFan said:
Friends of mine in Chicago have actually warned me about this. If you look on a map Midway does look closer to the city than O'Hare (and probably is) but they tell me that for some reason (that they do not know why) it takes longer by train from Midway to the Loop than it does from O'Hare? (when the line from O'hare is not under construction)....if this is the case, any time saving for Porter's passengers will be a combination of travel time at this end and any ease of getting through Midway faster than through O'Hare.
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I don't think so. When I was in Chicago two years ago, I had a rented car and made a point of driving to different L park and ride - one day I parked at Dempster for the Red Line, another day I parked at 63rd-Cermak (Pink Line) and parked at Cumberland, near O'Hare for the Blue Line and at Midway (they have cheap CTA parking there - you pay inside the fare paid area to discourage short-term airport parking).

The Orange Line is elevated, but on a modern concrete structure until it joins the Green Line and makes the loop. It's quite fast. The Blue Line is largely in a highway median, then enters an older elevated structure before dipping into the subway at Logan Square. It's a longer haul for sure, but at peak times, the Orange Line does have to deal with congestion in the loop with the conflicting Green, Pink, Brown and Purple Line Express trains.

Midway is the better airport to come in on. It is certainly faster at least getting into the loop.
 
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