Porter Airlines is looking to carve out it’s share of the business travel market by going up against heavy weight Air Canada. Through recent expansion, it has added flights to its’ network in regions that Air Canada has cut or reduced frequencies. Porter Airlines has offered a status match and status challenge offer directly targeting Air Canada Elites. You’ll have to act fact in order to get in on this offer. Read onto see additional details.

Porter Airlines Offers Air Canada Aeroplan Elites a Status Match & 2024 Status Challenge to VIPorter Passport, Venture, Ascent, or First Levels.

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Competition in domestic Canada’s business travel market is heating up this fall. Porter Airlines has just announced a status match opportunity exclusively targeted to Air Canada Aeroplan Elite members.

Interestingly, this offer appears to directly exclude elite members from the Westjet Rewards program. Unusual for status match opportunities, the promotional marketing is specific to Air Canada status holders.

The Essentials of the Promotion:

The Status Match from Air Canada Aeroplan Elite to VIPorter for the rest of 2023:

Porter Airlines is offering Air Canada Aeroplan Elites the opportunity to status match to VIPorter Ascent, Venture, and First levels from the corresponding Air Canada Aeroplan Elite 25K, 35K and 50K levels.

The offer is also valid for those that do not have official status, but have flown a specific number of Air Canada Status Qualifying Segments (eight / sixteen or twenty eight SQS segments) this calendar year.

The details are as follows:

Provide verification of your Aeroplan status or the number of segments (SQS) you’ve flown so far this year, as shown in your Aeroplan account and Porter Airlines will match it as detailed in the table below.

Porter Airlines promises that they will review your application “within 3 weeks”.

If approved, you will have the equivalent VIPorter status until the end of the calendar year in December 31, 2023.

You’ll have to act quickly. Porter Airlines is only offering this status match until September 6, 2023.

I generally don’t advocate taking advantage of status match offers, unless you actually plan on using the benefits during the future. There is always the possibility that your travel plans can change into the future, and you might be prevented from accessing a similar status match or status challenge opportunity in the future, if you’ve already taken advantage of it in the past.

The 2024 Status Challenge:

Porter Airlines is also offering a 2024 Status challenge:

Porter Airliens is offering a reduced qualification level in order to maintain the elevated status until the end of December 31, 2024.

In order to maintain the following level,s you’ll have to spend the following amount(s) with Porter Airlines.

• VIPorter Passport — earn $500 in Qualifying Spend
• VIPorter Venture — earn $750 in Qualifying Spend
• VIPorter Ascent — earn $1500 in Qualifying Spend
• VIPorter First — earn $2500 in Qualifying Spend

The full terms and conditions of the promotion are also posted within the registration page.

Is Porter Airlines Useful to Your Travel Patterns?

Porter Airlines will be much more useful for Toronto, Ontario based travellers that travel on short haul segments. If you live in downtown Toronto, Porter Airlines operates an excellent facility at the Billy Bishop International Airport that is located just minutes from downtown Toronto.

The Billy Bishop International Airport is dominated by Porter Airlines and they offer Q400 service to many destinations with regular frequencies that no other carrier is able to match. Porter Airlines also offers it’s greatest destinations from Toronto, with flights across most of the East Coast and throughout destinations in Canada.

However, from my home base in Vancouver, British Columbia, the value proposition is a little different. There is currently only one route; Vancouver – Toronto which is serviced by less competitive Embraer 195 narrowbody aircraft. When flying with Air Canada, it is easy to get on wide body Boeing 777-200, Boeing 777-300 or Boeing 787-900 aircraft on this route. Porter Airlines typically flies an Embraer 195; a much smaller and cramped aircraft for the four and half hour flight. Generally, there is only one Porter flight per day which makes it even less convenient.

In addition, the Porter Airways experience in Vancouver is pretty bare bones. Relegated to the end of the Vancouver domestic check in area next to Flair Airways, Air North and Lynx Airways, the experience is pretty simple in nature.

What Can You Use Porter Airlines VIPorter for:

VIPorter offers a points earn rate based on a dollar spend amount. The earn rate is directly tied to your VIPorter elite status level. The earn rate varies from 5 points per dollar up to 7 points per dollar.

VIPorter elite status isn’t super exciting. Since they don’t offer a complimentary lounge network anymore, the most valuable part of VIPorter are the priority services found at the airport that include a small version of Priority Check in, a Complimentary Carry On and a Complimentary Checked Bag.

Unfortunately, VIPorter points can’t be used for rewards tickets on international business class cabins or redemptions against far away exotic places. The airline does fly to Florida, but that’s about it for exciting destinations for the moment.

In Summary: Porter Airlines is Offering a Status Match and Status Challenge for Air Canada Aeroplan Elites.

Porter Airlines is offering a time limited status match offer for Air Canada Aeroplan Elites into VIP Porter Passport, Venture, Ascent or First levels. This is a time limited offer and you need to sign up by September 6, 2023.

Furthermore, if you spend a set amount by December 31, 2023, Porter Airlines will award you status for the balance of the 2024 calendar year.

Those travellers based in Toronto, Ontario can really take advantage of this. Other Porter Airlines customers will have limited use for this offer as a result of a lack of flights at their outer destinations.

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Will You Be Taking Advantage of Porter Airlines Status Match and Status Challenge Offer ?

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