I flew Ottawa to Toronto city airport on Porter in December. Last year I had the train booked to go to Toronto and a flight to come back. My train was right after the one that derailed and after rebooking and trains getting cancelled for three days I gave up on going. I had booked the cheapest flight to come back no refunds but I got one year credit for my flight. The credit was going to expire so I decided to book an evening flight so I could go after work. I had intended to use it earlier in the year but things didn’t work out.
This was the first time flying on Porter. It is only a one hour flight and Ottawa airport is not busy. I got to the gate at 630 for a 7 flight. It was empty except for gate agents. I asked if they had boarded already they said yes. I thought I was the last one but other people came after.
My carry on didn’t fit in the overhead bin they gave me a choice of putting it under the seat or taking it back to the front to go under the plane. There was no one beside me so I chose under the seat. I also had my work backpack with me it also didn’t fit overhead. didn’t have much leg room with the bags there but shoutout to Solgaard for making bags that don't fit in tiny overhead bins but fit under seats. With the two seats it was okay but not sure I could do this with someone beside me or on a longer flight. I have short legs so legroom isn’t usually a problem for me. I couldn’t go in the window seat with my bag there. I moved for that few minutes when I could have the bags up to take pictures.
Porter still has magazines in the seat back pocket. They also offer complimentary food, snacks, and drinks. Since I was on a short flight I wasn’t expecting much but they did come around with a basket of snacks and drinks. I couldn’t really see what was in the basket but they kept adding more bags of chips so that was good. I asked for cranberry juice and they asked if I wanted the bottle. One thing I noticed about Porter were the flight attendants were very accommodating and friendly.
It was a very quick flight and it was time to land before I even got up to see the bathroom. There were stairs to get off the plane the flight attendant kindly offered to help me get my luggage down the stairs. The flight attendants were outstanding. If I take Porter again and have the option of gate checking luggage I will do that.
The return flight was from Toronto city airport. This was my first time at this airport on arrival I walked through the tunnel. I had lots of time on the return so I took the ferry to the terminal. A very cool experience you can see on YouTube here
YouTube Ferry at Toronto Airport and Via Rail Train view
I hadn’t eaten breakfast was really hoping to get something at the airport. There were no vegan food options other than snacks. The coffee shop does have every kind of plant milk so at least I got coffee. I had a few snacks with me so with the coffee I thought no problem I’ll be home in the afternoon.
I could see on the screen an earlier flight to Ottawa has been cancelled but my flight was still showing as going. There were earlier Air Canada flights that were delayed but they were starting to go on time. Then a mumbled message came over the PA to see desk agent if you can change your flight. I didn’t get much info from the desk they were advising to go to Pearson if you really wanted to fly that day. Getting to Pearson at my own cost wasn’t something I was going to do the other option was to change my flight to the next day I had relatives to stay with. They said to wait and see what happens as the flight wasn’t officially delayed yet. It then got delayed for an hour so I decided to wait. After it got delayed for another 2 hours I decided to get a refund for my flight and book the train. I wish I had remembered earlier that I could take the train.
It was too late to book vegan food on the train but I did have good snacks. In the future I will likely book a flight to go to Toronto and a train for the way back.
Thank you for reading. For more vegan food follow me on Instagram @LivingOttawaLocal and @VeganCanadianfinds
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