Porter Airlines considering adding direct flights from Ottawa to California, Vegas, Caribbean

A Porter flight takes off from the airport Wednesday July 3, 2019 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The CEO of Porter Airlines says Ottawa could see new flights to destinations like Florida's Gulf Coast, California, Las Vegas and the Caribbean in the near future.

Michael Deluce made the comments at the Mayor's Breakfast speaker series in Ottawa this week.

"There's tremendous opportunity for Ottawa," Deluce said. "A breadth of destinations into Florida, including the western side of Florida, western U.S., L.A., San Francisco, Vegas and then a broader range of potential leisure destinations in the Caribbean, all markets that Ottawa residents are forced to connect in Montreal or Toronto today."

Deluce said he expects Porter to become the No. 1 airline serving Ottawa by this summer.

"Almost half of people travelling out of Ottawa or into Ottawa will be on Porter aircraft. We want to be the hometown airline in Ottawa," he said. "You'll see more Florida next winter. You're going to see western U.S. markets, which is something the airport has long wanted."

Porter already offers direct service to several destinations across North America, including Orlando and Fort Lauderdale in Florida.

"We will continue to put faith in Ottawa in our market. It's our most important growth city across our entire network," Deluce said.

No timeline was given for the new routes.

"You're going to see additions of service, new markets, over the next six months, 12 months, 24 months," he said.

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