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Originally Posted by RomanR27
It's a good listen. A couple things that jumped out at me that weren't mentioned in various articles:
Re: MCO and FLL: "We were very full on Florida...you're gonna see more frequency [on MCO and FLL] as well as new markets". It's been hypothesized on this form that MCO/FLL would go double daily next winter so glad to see it potentially coming to fruition. Seems like a no brainer with well-timed connections, especially if F8 vacates those markets next winter from YOW. Also mentioned that he would speak to people in Ottawa who had no idea Porter was an option for Florida, so it's encouraging it was already successful and are optimistic there's room for growth there.
"You'll soon see a co-branded credit card, and a broadening of our loyalty program...." - this has been mentioned before, but good to see still on the radar. I'd happily switch from my Aeroplan CC to a Porter based one.
He also alluded how it's hard to estimate demand based on market data. An example he gave was YQT, they were surprised how much YOW traffic they were funneling through YTZ on that route given the market data, hence why they launched it 2x daily from YOW.
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I watched this video a few days ago myself. One thing he said that was very optimistic is the fact that not everyone knows that Porter is an option for longer haul flights and the fact that these flights are full from YOW to places like Florida despite this fact is "encouraging" to him. He mentions they never expected to hit peak uptake in the first year and that awareness and route connectivity will continue to increase over the years. "So even though not everyone knows Porter is an option, these successful flights are encouraging".
Also, apparently so far every route Porter has launched has been successful according to him. This allows them to "take risks" which solidifies my point that I have made on this forum a couple of times that route launches with any given carrier are not just about the data on hand. Sometimes it takes vision, risks, and commitment to a community.
Another point that I have mentioned on here in the past that he said in the interview: "more connectivity stimulates demand, and when you introduce a non-stop, it gets people thinking maybe I should go visit there now that it's just one plane away rather than a connection".
In general, it seems from the interview that Ottawa is proving to be very successful for them. Can't wait to buy tickets to LAS, LAX, and/or SFO the second they announce it for a family vacation.