Porter: Good Airline, Better Brand
Posted by Brett Tackaberry on November 10th, 2006
I have to echo David Jones’ remarks on Porter Airlines earlier this week. I flew from Ottawa to Toronto (and back) today and on top of the obvious convenience of flying in and out of the island airport instead of Pearson, what really blew me away was the flawless execution of their brand and how it completely shaped my experience with them.
As David mentioned, the beautifully designed in-flight magazine contains a mini-insert (which is practically another magazine in itself) that lays out the Porter brand from top to bottom - company philosophy to uniforms to logo to mascot. It’s unusually thorough but it really does a bang up job of framing Porter as a company that any customer would want to do business with. After reading their mission statement about a fresh approach to commuter travel and the whole flying experience, you can’t help but want to get in their corner and fight the good fight against Air Goliath. Being the only commercial airline to operate from the island airport has put them on the map but they’ve obviously realized that they have to offer a lot more than that to build up a loyal following.
They’re living and breathing the brand right down to the smallest detail - from the way the flight attendants greet and serve you right down to the glasses with the Porter logo etched into them - and every little piece contributes to a positive customer experience. In case you didn’t gather it already… I really enjoyed getting acquainted with Porter today - if only briefly. I plan to sing their praises far and wide and I sure hope they’re in it for the long haul.
November 11th, 2006 » 9:13 pm
This is good to know. I plan to fly with them in the near future. Good to see some positive alternatives to Air Canada emerging.
November 17th, 2006 » 6:29 pm
A friend of mine works at Porter, check out the email below offering 50% off flights to friends and family by simply entering a promo code on the website. I booked for new years in Montreal. $42.50 per direction!
“We are happy to extend a special promotion to Porter Employees friends and family with a 50% off promo code for flights between Toronto and Ottawa/Montreal for travel between December 18th and January 7th on Porter!
For online bookings only, they enter the promo code “FAMI” on the home page of http://www.flyporter.com. After having entered the promotional code simply search for flights and all fare classes will be discounted by 50%.
Today with the lowest fare to Ottawa at $69 and Montreal at $85 in Firm Class, this would result in a base fare cost of $34.50 from Toronto to Ottawa and $42.50 to Montreal.
This promotion is only available for a short period of time and with limited seat availability, so if you do have friends and family interested in traveling they should book soon.”
November 18th, 2006 » 2:09 pm
Thanks for the tip, Michael. I’m planning to head to Montreal over the holidays. I was going to drive, but a deal like this is almost too good to pass up!