Vancouver to Montreal: Porter offers new low-cost YVR flights

Travelers can enjoy flights from Vancouver to Montreal with Porter Airlines starting today (April 11).

The new route is the airline's first western Canadian route from Montreal and offers an affordable alternative for locals looking to travel to Quebec.

In December 2023, Porter Airlines announced that it would begin service between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) beginning this spring.

The airline operates one daily non-stop flight between Vancouver and Montreal, seven days a week. They also offer connecting flights from YVR to YUL (in Toronto).

March round-trip tickets from Vancouver to Montreal with Porters start at $356 when booked with a third-party provider through Google Flights. Prices now start at $500. For example, a flight departing from YVR on Monday, June 10 and returning from YUL on Monday, June 17 costs $491 when booked through FlightHub (see third slide).

That price is considered low for an economy class ticket on a popular route and is about $332 less than usual, according to Google Flights (see the fourth slide).

One-way tickets from Vancouver start at $200 on some dates in the spring (see second slide).

Porter fills the void left by the low-cost carriers that previously served the route between Vancouver and Montreal.

Two low-cost airlines that previously served the popular route connecting YVR and YUL will no longer fly this season.

Lynx Air ceased operations on February 25 due to fierce market competition, rising fuel costs, rising operating costs, exchange rates and rising airport charges.

The budget airline previously offered YVR-YUL from just $69 for a one-way direct flight.

Canada's third-largest airline, ultra-low-cost carrier Flair Airlines, sold tickets between YVR and YUL in 2023 for $59. However, due to changes in market demands due to changing weather conditions, the service has been suspended during the winter months.

There are no flights from YVR-YUL for spring and summer travel, although Flair said it will resume operations on May 5. The airline did not respond to VIA's inquiry as to whether it will continue operating on the route this year.

Porter's new Vancouver-Montreal route will offer a variety of connections to Eastern Canada via YUL, including “Halifax, Toronto-Pearson and Toronto City, complementing daily non-stop service to Vancouver between Toronto-Pearson and Ottawa,” it said. release.

The carrier's codeshare partnership with Air Transat provides connections from YUL to destinations across Europe, including Paris and London.

The new route will be operated by Porter's 132-seat Embraer E195-E2 aircraft. The two-by-two configuration means there are no middle seats on any flight.