Well, I'm typing this from my hotel room in Toronto.....
I flew via Porter for the first time out of Moncton. The Bombardier Q400 is a very nice aircraft. It seats 70 and is quite spacious on the inside with lots of legroom. This was
most appreciated, especially since my unintended seatmate weighed about 350 lbs. Despite this, I didn't feel crowded.
On the way up, you have to make a station stop in Ottawa. This is a bit of a pain, but I was surprised at how many passengers actually got off in Ottawa. I wonder if Porter is having any effect on the Moncton-Ottawa Air Canada route?
One benefit of the station stop in Ottawa is that you get fed
twice, once on each leg of the journey. It's not bad. It's a box lunch with a wrap and a small pasta salad. You have your choice of beverages (I had beer) and it's all
free. The flight attendants wear nice retro costumes with pillbox hats and the quality of the service was exceptional.
Arriving in TO, the approach to Billy Bishop Airport on Toronto Island is spectacular. Deplaning was a breeze. I just had carry on and was able to walk right through the baggage claim area to the ferry terminal. This took about 3-4 minutes. The ferry was waiting and the crossing to the mainland took another 3-4 minutes. The free shuttle bus to downtown was already waiting at the terminal and the drive to the Royal York took no more that 8-10 minutes. From there, i was able to walk to tbe Sheraton in about 5 minutes!!
So, it only took about 20 minutes from deplaning to get to my hotel downtown
and it was all free!!!. This compares quite favourably to navigating Pearson (at least 10-15 minutes) and taking a 30 minute, $60 cab ride to downtown.
Air Canada needs to mend it's ways, especially since they now intend to charge you for even one piece of checked luggage!!