Porter Airlines is betting travellers will embrace a new passenger terminal at Montreal Metropolitan Airport, on Montreal’s South Shore.
Commercial service begins today from the new terminal in Saint-Hubert, with Porter launching flights to 11 Canadian destinations, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto, marking a major expansion of its passenger service.
Chief executive Michael Deluce says bookings have already exceeded expectations and he predicts the airport will quickly become “the talk of the town.”
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Deluce says Porter’s research found roughly half of the Montreal area’s population can reach the Saint-Hubert airport faster than Trudeau International Airport, and he believes travellers who try the airport will keep coming back.
But transportation experts say changing long-established travel habits may take time.
Archie Huang, a transportation expert at Montreal’s Concordia University, says travellers often choose airports based on destination, ticket prices and flight frequency, meaning convenience alone may not be enough to quickly shift behaviour.
He says business travellers tend to prioritize reliability and flight schedules, while leisure travellers are often more sensitive to price.
Jacques Roy, a logistics professor at HEC Montréal’s business school, says the new service could prove particularly attractive to South Shore residents and travellers looking for competitive fares.
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