[12] Owned by Porter Aviation Holdings, formerly known as REGCO Holdings Inc., Porter operates regularly scheduled flights from its bases in Eastern Canada, primarily Toronto and Ottawa, to locations across North America using a fleet of Canadian-built De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400 turboprop aircraft and Embraer E195-E2 jet aircraft.

[13] In July 2021, Porter announced that it would begin flying out of Toronto Pearson International Airport and expand its destinations throughout Canada, the United States, and Caribbean, starting in mid-2022.

[17] Porter Airlines reached an agreement with the Government of Canada for loans valued up to CA$270.5 million, which were used as a capital reserve during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery period.

Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. is controlled by : Source: Bloomberg Business Week[citation needed] At startup, CA$125 million was put into the airline including money from: In 2009, Porter's institutional investors include EdgeStone Capital Partners, Borealis Infrastructure, GE Asset Management Incorporated and Dancap Private Equity Inc.[19] In 2013, Porter's investors are listed as EdgeStone Capital Partners, OMERS Strategic Investments, GE Asset Management Incorporated and Dancap Private Equity Inc.[20] The then REGCO Holdings purchased the Toronto island airport assets of City Centre Aviation Ltd in 2005.

This included the terminal used by Air Canada's Jazz airline, which at the time operated daily flights to Ottawa from the airport.

The company filed a preliminary prospectus — a business plan — with securities commissions across the country, a requirement before it can offer shares.

According to Robert Deluce "We came to the conclusion that it was really prudent to defer the offering at this time and to wait until better market conditions existed.

[29] Porter sold the terminal at the island airport in Toronto to Nieuport Aviation Infrastructure Partners GP in January 2015.

Mayoral candidates Barbara Hall and John Tory supported the bridge and David Miller opposed it.

Miller and a slate of like-minded candidates for council ran on a common platform, the centrepiece of which was to stop the bridge.

[35] Immediately, political opponents of the TPA, including Miller, City Council members, local community associations and local Members of Parliament Olivia Chow and Jack Layton expressed concern that the operation of a major airline from the island will cause increased noise and air pollution in the downtown core.

There are several cautions to pilots flying into the airport, including boat masts, a nearby wind turbine, and no-fly areas.

The flight path into the airport requires the airplanes to fly an approach offset from the runway centre-line to avoid nearby hazards such as tall chimneys and buildings.

[42] Although on-site protests eventually stopped, Community Air continues to monitor Porter's operations along with those of the TPA.

The TPA confirmed at its annual meeting of September 12, 2008, that Porter was fined for breaking noise curfews in its operations following complaints from local residents.

"[48] According to the TPA, they are powerless to stop Porter other than imposing fines, and that planes landing at the airport when no controllers are present is not a safety risk.

Such notices are departmental warnings with strict deadlines to deal with problems that could be safety related, but could also be demands to replace key personnel, like pilots, who have left the company.

Transport Canada told Porter it was considering releasing some information and wanted a written response from the company detailing why any records should be withheld.

[52] On July 11, 2013, the federal court ruled in Porter's favour and the Confidentiality Order dated September 14, 2012 would remain in effect.

In April 2013, Porter filed a libel lawsuit against the Canadian Office and Professional Employees union representing the 22 striking workers.

Porter suit was for $4 million in damages for alleged defamatory statements made by the union using its Twitter account.

[61][62][63] In April 2013, Porter announced expansion plans to serve new destinations in Western Canada, California and Florida.

Porter's plans required regulatory and facility changes to its Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport hub.

Porter asked for modifications to the operating agreement of the airport to allow jets and extensions to the runway to support the new aircraft.

[67] Then-Toronto Mayor Rob Ford had indicated his support for the proposal while some councillors expressed their opposition with others urging further study.

[71][72] The No Jets TO group filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Council of Canada, calling the ads "patently false".

The project is expected to create more than 500 permanent jobs, including full-time positions within terminal and airline operations, and the establishment of a new pilot and flight attendant crew base.

[125] On November 13, 2015, Canada's transport minister Marc Garneau released a statement saying that the government would not reopen the Tripartite agreement, cancelling the expansion of the airport.

As Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport does not allow jets under its terms of operation, the airline announced that they would base the planes out of their hubs at Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax, and Toronto's Pearson International Airport and would be able to serve an expanding list of destinations across Canada, Mexico and the United States.

[132] The airline offers a frequent flyer rewards program called 'VIPorter', whereby points can be redeemed for free flights.