Porter Airlines Expands With Air Transat Vacations and New Sun Routes!

What Is the Porter x Air Transat Package, Exactly?

Source: Porter Airlines

The two carriers have been building toward this since signing a joint venture at the end of 2023, and now there's a real bookable product. You head to transat.com, select your Porter non-stop flight, choose your hotel, and your airport-to-hotel transfers are included. Everything is managed under one reservation.

Currently available packages depart from Toronto, Ottawa, and Hamilton for travel from November 1, 2026 onwards, covering four destinations:

• Cancun, Mexico
• Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
• Nassau, The Bahamas
• Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Liberia, Costa Rica is already flagged as the next addition, and given how fast Porter's southern network is growing, more will follow.

For destinations like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta where both carriers already operate flights, packages can now be booked with either a Porter or Air Transat flight, which gives you more flexibility when hunting for departure times that work for you.

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Which Fare Type Should You Choose?

Source: Porter Airlines

There are two options when booking through Air Transat, and the difference is meaningful:

Air Transat Economy gets you a PorterClassic fare, which includes carry-on luggage and one checked bag. It's the straightforward, no-fuss option.

Air Transat Club steps you up to a PorterReserve experience. That means two checked bags, a front-of-cabin extra legroom seat, an in-flight meal, and a handful of other extras included in your fare.

If you're the type who typically adds on seat upgrades and extra bags anyway, Air Transat Club is worth running the numbers on.

One good perk to know about: you still earn VIPorter points and Qualifying Spend on the flight portion of your package, so your loyalty status keeps building even when booking through Air Transat.

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What's the Porter Onboard Experience Like?

Source: Porter Airlines

If you haven't flown Porter before, here's the quick version of why the partnership is appealing. There are no middle seats across the entire cabin, which is an immediate improvement over most economy products. Complimentary beer and wine are served in actual glassware, along with premium Canadian-made snacks, on every flight.

On routes operated with the newer Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, all passengers get free, fast Wi-Fi. Worth noting: Porter's aircraft do not have individual seatback entertainment screens, so download whatever you want to watch before you board. With streaming-capable Wi-Fi on E195-E2 routes it's easy enough to work around, but it's good to know going in.

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Now for the Routes: Porter's Winter 2026-27 Sun Network Is Massive

Alongside the Air Transat news, Porter dropped its full winter schedule, and it's a significant expansion. Four new international destinations, over 40 warm-weather routes total, and the airline's first-ever international flights out of Alberta.

New destinations for this season are Aruba, San Jose (Costa Rica), Montego Bay (Jamaica), and Los Cabos (Mexico), joining an existing lineup of Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Nassau, Grand Cayman, and Liberia.

Here's the full picture of new routes:

Toronto (YYZ)

• Aruba starting October 30 (5x weekly)
• Los Cabos starting November 16 (3x weekly)
• Montego Bay starting November 23 (5x weekly)
• San Jose, Costa Rica starting December 2 (4x weekly)

Ottawa (YOW)

• Aruba starting November 7 (2x weekly)
• Montego Bay starting November 25 (2x weekly)
• Los Cabos starting December 18 (2x weekly)

Halifax (YHZ)

• Fort Lauderdale starting December 17 (4x weekly)
• Cancun starting December 18 (3x weekly)

Hamilton (YHM)

• Montego Bay starting December 20 (2x weekly)

Porter is the only airline flying non-stop from Ottawa to Aruba and Los Cabos, and the only carrier connecting Hamilton directly to Montego Bay. For travellers in those cities, that exclusivity is worth something.

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Alberta Gets Its First Porter International Flights

This deserves its own moment. Porter is launching international flights out of Alberta for the first time this winter:

Edmonton (YEG)

• Puerto Vallarta starting November 3 (3x weekly)
• Phoenix starting November 6 (daily)
• Los Cabos starting November 16 (4x weekly)
• Las Vegas starting November 16 (4x weekly)

Calgary (YYC)

• Phoenix starting December 20 (daily)

The Phoenix routes connect onward through American Airlines' domestic U.S. network, which opens up a wide range of connections for anyone heading further south.

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Capacity Is Also Increasing on Popular Existing Routes

Beyond new routes, Porter is adding meaningful seat capacity to markets that have been selling well.

Ottawa to Cancun doubles from 5x weekly to 10x weekly. Hamilton to Cancun goes from 3x to 6x weekly. Toronto to Phoenix jumps to twice daily. Toronto to Puerto Vallarta goes daily.

If you've been frustrated by slim availability on these routes in past winters, that's about to ease up considerably.

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The Bottom Line

The Porter x Air Transat partnership is the most interesting development here for travellers who want the simplicity of booking a complete vacation in one step without giving up the quality of the Porter onboard experience. The package options are straightforward, the destinations are appealing, and the addition of Nassau and Grand Cayman through Air Transat brings two sought-after Caribbean spots into the mix.

Layer on top of that a winter route network that is growing by over 150 percent compared to last season, and there's a real case to be made for putting Porter at the top of your list when you're planning where to escape to this winter.

Porter x Air Transat vacation packages are bookable now at transat.com. Full flight schedules are at flyporter.com.

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Note: Flights to Montego Bay, Jamaica and San Jose, Costa Rica are subject to regulatory approvals.