Canada’s Porter Airlines makes ‘targeted frequency reductions’ amid softening US demand

Porter Airlines is the latest Canadian carrier to tweak its schedule based on weakening demand for US travel, though it pledged to maintain a substantial operation to the USA during the summer air travel season. A revised summer schedule released on 31 March shows Porter stepping up domestic flying to 80% of its total network capacity, versus its previous plan of 75%. “This is balanced by targeted frequency reductions in select US markets,” Porter says. “Despite the changes, Porter’s presence in the Canada-US market will be 25% larger than last summer.” Most of the changes include stepping up frequencies on existing routes, including transcontinental flights between Eastern Canada and Vancouver and Victoria. Toronto-based Porter has in recent years pursued an aggressive expansion plan across North America with a now 44-strong fleet of Embraer E195-E2s. It flies to several US cities, including Chicago, Boston, New York, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. <br/>