Porter Airlines (P3, Toronto Billy Bishop City Centre) is set to begin E2 operations after sister firm Porter Aircraft Leasing placed a firm order with Embraer for thirty E195-E2s with purchase rights for an additional 50 aircraft. The ability to convert purchase rights to smaller E190-E2s is included in the agreement.
As the E2's North American launch operator, Porter will start taking delivery of the jets during the second half of 2022.
In a statement, the Canadian regional carrier said the E2's range would open up a variety of regional North American routes previously unavailable with its existing fleet of twenty-nine DHC-8-Q400s. While exact city pairs have yet to be revealed, Porter said it intends to operate the E2s from Ottawa International, Montréal Trudeau, Halifax, and Toronto Pearson to "popular destinations" in Canada and the United States, including US sun destinations in Florida, Texas, Arizona, Georgia, and California, as well as the Bahamas, and even Mexico. However, given the operational restrictions in place at the airfield, the E2s will not be deployed to Toronto City Centre/Billy Bishop airport.
“We are bringing Porter’s distinct style of service to dozens of new North American cities,” Michael Deluce, Porter Airlines' president and CEO, said. “We believe that now is the right time to make this investment as the pandemic resets the aviation landscape. Adding a diverse selection of popular business and leisure destinations to our network means that we are better positioned to serve the needs of many more passengers.”
A Porter spokesman has confirmed to ch-aviation that despite the E2's arrival, the airline will retain its De Havilland Aircraft of Canada turboprops which will provide regional Canadian feed into the major hubs Porter plans to deploy the E2s to. He also confirmed earlier Canadian press reports that Porter has now abandoned a conditional order for thirty A220-100s (nee CS100s) placed in 2013.
