Introduction
Hi avgeeks, this is my first ever flight report. This flight from Toronto City Airport to Boston is the first flight of the series of 6 flights that complete my trip to India with Qatar Airways as the primary carrier. The routing was supposed to be YTZ-BOS-DOH-BOM-DOH-BOS-YTZ, starting from 09-Nov-2019 and ending on 01-Dec-2019. However, the last leg, BOS-YTZ was cancelled due to weather, and I had to take BOS-BUF flight and a bus journey to Toronto. Thus, the overall routing was as below:
Flight routing
- 1Toronto YTZ - Boston BOS started on 09-Nov-2019
- 2Boston BOS - Doha DOH started on 09-Nov-2019
- 3Doha DOH - Mumbai BOM started on 10-Nov-2019
- 4Mumbai BOM - Doha DOH started on 01-Dec-2019
- 5Doha DOH - Boston BOS started on 01-Dec-2019
- 6Boston BOS - Buffalo BUF started on 02-Dec-2019
This was my first flight after two years. I had been reading the flight reports on this site for a few months, and was super excited to begin my journey. Adding to my enthusiasm is the airline and the airport. There are not many reviews for Billy Bishop and Porter Airlines, and the reviews I had read before were only the good ones. So I could not have a better start for the journey!
AT YTZ
My wife was supposed to accompany me for the whole journey, but she had to reschedule her journey to different dates due to work. However, she accompanied me to the airport. We took the free shuttle from Union Station to the Airport. The shuttle operator was welcoming and did not ask any questions related to who was travelling. The shuttle bus dropped us at the "land"-side of the airport. For the sake of providing context, The Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ) and its terminal is located on an island, and cannot be directly accessible through ground transport. One has to take a ferry (2 minutes ride) or a tunnel. Ground vehicles could be transported through the same ferry. I had some time on hand, so I availed ferry to reach the terminal, and walked around to explore the tunnel.
view from the ferry…
The Tunnel..
After exploring the terminal for some time, I completed check-in, cleared security and was on the airside in no time. Boarding would start soon, so I did not get the chance to explore the departure lounge fully. However, I felt the departure lounge was small and there wasn't much too see or spot. One thing I found noteworthy was there were two different departure lounges, one for US-bound flights and another one for domestic flights. Another thing I could not find is the complimentary snacks and coffee in the departure lounge. I remember reading about it in one of the flight reports. Maybe they stopped providing the complimentary snacks in the terminal.
ONBOARD
Boarding commenced soon after. The aircraft had the standard 2x2 seating arrangement. I had requested a window seat during check-in and the agent was kind enough to give me a starboard (right) side window seat, where I could have the city view during take-off. The legroom was comfortable, but then, I am not very tall, so legroom was never a big bother for me.
seating..
generous legroom..
random window shots before and during taxi…
The flight took off on time (sorry, I was not keeping tab on time, so not very sure, but more-or-less, there was no delay). It was a great feeling to be airborne again after two years. The take-off was westbound, and soon after, the plane took a left turn.
post take-off pics of Etobicoke (Toronto West) and Lake Ontario…
After the plane got above clouds, there was not much to do. It was time to explore the flight amenities. Took out the Re:Porter in-flight magazine to see what they had to offer today. Glad to see the choice of complimentary snacks and drinks onboard. For a low-cost carrier, it's certainly exceptional.
re:porter magazine, safety card and porter routes
good sense of humour…
Now was the time to relax and enjoy. I requested red wine (got it in an actual glass) and almonds. Enjoyed sipping and viewing outside the window (clouds were gone and I could see the snow-covered land. Reminded myself to take pics for the flight report
It was a very short flight and descent time came soon. The window had a very nice view of the aircraft; I could actually see the landing gear retracting and dropping.
landing and taxiing at BOS
ARRIVAL
Flight arrived on time. I needed to go through immigration, baggage collection and re-check in for my onward flight to Doha. However, I had plenty of time to kill, due to the 6-hour layover. Not many spotting opportunities upon disembarking, but still managed to get a few shots of Hainan Airlines flights to Beijing and Shanghai, as well as a shot of the aircraft that brought be there.
My flight…
Hi Ani_BOMYYZ, thanks for sharing your first report here with us! It's nice to see more reviews on Porter lately. Yet another data point showing a good product and passenger experience. Wine in a real glass is something normally reserved for Business/First in North America--I like that Porter try to set themselves apart with a premium product, without necessarily premium prices.
Welcome to Flight-Report!
Thanks KevinDC for your comment. I did not have good experience with them during the return journey, where the flight was cancelled due to weather, and I had to spend out of my pocket to make my own arrangements (they offered me an alternative flight that would depart after 3 days, and there was no way I could take it). However, I tried keep this FR independent of the later experience, and will also do my best to keep the future reports unbiased.
Hello!
Welcome and thanks for your report!
So nice to have a report of a flight from Billy Bishop! When I visited Toronto Islands, it was amazing to watch the planes take off and landing from this so small airport.
Hello Sam_isintheair! Thanks for your comment.
A great view indeed, to see the flights take off and land at YTZ. In fact, my last visit to the Toronto islands inspired me to book this kind of itinerary.