Porter Airlines set to return to Saint John Airport

Air travellers will get new flight options from the Saint John airport after an announcement form Porter.

Another airline will soon be helping travellers take flight from the Saint John Airport.

Beginning June 15, Porter Airlines will be reconnecting to YSJ through a partnership agreement with Pascan Aviation to take travellers to the soon to be opened Montreal Metropolitan Airport (MET).

Flights from Saint John to Montreal aboard Pascan will department from New Brunswick at 6:55 a.m. daily, with a 2 p.m. flight also available during the weekdays. From there, travellers are being told they can easily catch a same-day connection through Porter’s national network to places like Toronto, Winnipeg, and Calgary.

With the new flight options people will be able to leave Saint John first thing in the morning, and arrive in Vancouver by lunchtime, says Saint John Airport president and CEO Court Edeburn.

“It’s going to be just huge for us here in Saint John,” Edeburn says. “You check in your bag here, you fly Pascan to the MET airport, you take 45 minutes to connect to Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Billy Bishop or Toronto Pearson and you’re on your way. It’s a seamless process start to finish.”

The new flights are now available for bookings through Porter’s website. Currently Pascan offer flights out of Saint John to Halifax, Montreal and Quebec City. Air Canada also offers daily flights to Montreal and Toronto.

In his short time as the airport’s CEO, Edeburn says he has heard the community wants more competition as it pertains to flights leaving YSJ, featuring times and prices that make travel sensible.

He says the opening of the MET in Montreal is good news for airports like Saint John, who will see more flight options as a result of the new airport aiming to meet a certain threshold of flights. He also points out how the overall changes to Canadian travel plans have shifted since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office, leading to a demand for more domestic flights.

“Our flights that we have now are almost at capacity or at capacity,” Edeburn says. “The economy in Saint John and the area is booming, and to satisfy that demand airlines need to add more flights. We’re seeing that that happen, and that’s in spite of all of the geopolitical issues that are happening.”

Saint John isn’t the only airport that will see new flights as a result of the MET’s opening.

Andrew Pierce, Porter Airlines’ vice-president of Network Planning and Reporting, says the airline has added flights in Charlottetown, Halifax, and Moncton that will take Maritimers directly to the new airport.

He also expects more flights to be added in the weeks and months ahead.“

We couldn’t be more excited than we are for opening a design from scratch terminal in Montreal in the Montreal Metropolitan Airport,” Pierce says. “Part of that is our own rapid growth into a dozen destinations in the first month, and the other part of it is, of course, our growing partnership with Pascan Aviation and their Saab 340 service to destinations both in Atlantic Canada and in the province of Quebec.”

Peirce believes the new airport’s impact will be similar to the Billy Bishop Airport in downtown Toronto – allowing travelers easier access to the heart of the city.

He also notes the additional flights come just in time for summer, when the domestic demand is high.

“Domestic wins in the summer,” Pierce says. “What we see in the advanced bookings for this summer just further accentuates that the demand across Canada is going to be robust in 2026.”

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