Our first long week-end of the summer seems to have set a precedent for the rest of (so far) this season. Jay's Papa was hitting a milestone birthday and Maman had planned a big "surprise" pour Papa. Of course by the time all transpired Papa had had it all figured out! Since we were both very busy with various projects, driving to Montreal for the week-end was out of the question and the train would take too long, which left only the option of flying. Tickets for our national airlines, as well as getting to and from the airport, were a little eyebrow raising so...plan B was put into action. Which led us to one of our first delightful discoveries of this summer: Porter Airlines.
The beauty of Porter is the fact that it is so easy, and what do we all want now when travelling? Easy! A quick and inexpensive cab ride from our home base to the Billy Bishop Toronto Downtown Airport, then literally a 5 minute ferry ride and you're there.
We cannot assume that it is always this easy or that the staff is always this courteous... but when we arrived our check in took mere minutes and the same through security. Heaven!
(These ladies, above, rode their bikes to the airport, took the ferry, folded up their bikes and off to Montreal they they went! How cool is that?!) We then we hit the lounge. A sea of calm prevailed...
The beauty of Porter is the fact that it is so easy, and what do we all want now when travelling? Easy! A quick and inexpensive cab ride from our home base to the Billy Bishop Toronto Downtown Airport, then literally a 5 minute ferry ride and you're there.
We cannot assume that it is always this easy or that the staff is always this courteous... but when we arrived our check in took mere minutes and the same through security. Heaven!
(These ladies, above, rode their bikes to the airport, took the ferry, folded up their bikes and off to Montreal they they went! How cool is that?!) We then we hit the lounge. A sea of calm prevailed...
Free WiFi at the banks of Apple Computers, along with the beige and taupe color scheme, said it all as you exited the escalator to your right. To your left was the "kitchen" where one could help oneself to cappuccino (fab), tea, water, juices, cookies, etc etc...all gratis.
Sitting in the lounge, we must admit to being somewhat shell-shocked at how easy this was and how pampered we were. In retrospect, could we have expected anything less from the branding genius that is Tyler Brule and his Winkreative and Monocle teams?
Not really, but still astonishing since we were paying the same as an economy flight out of Pearson would have cost us. When, lately, had we been treated like this?! What more could we expect since we hadn't even boarded the plane yet?!
Needless to say the exceptional and courteous service continued throughout both outbound and inbound flights.
The small premium spent (which was virtually negated by not having to take ground transport to and from Pearson) was well worth it. We were being treated as a travelling consumer who has a choice of carriers in getting to and from a variety of destinations, and we were being appreciated as such.
Sitting in the lounge, we must admit to being somewhat shell-shocked at how easy this was and how pampered we were. In retrospect, could we have expected anything less from the branding genius that is Tyler Brule and his Winkreative and Monocle teams?
Not really, but still astonishing since we were paying the same as an economy flight out of Pearson would have cost us. When, lately, had we been treated like this?! What more could we expect since we hadn't even boarded the plane yet?!
Needless to say the exceptional and courteous service continued throughout both outbound and inbound flights.
The small premium spent (which was virtually negated by not having to take ground transport to and from Pearson) was well worth it. We were being treated as a travelling consumer who has a choice of carriers in getting to and from a variety of destinations, and we were being appreciated as such.What a perfect way to start a celebration!
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