Porter Airlines, an airline based in Toronto, Canada, is one of the larger operators of the Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. Porter is a relatively new airline that celebrated 8 years of service on October 23, 2014. Porter Airlines operates a total of 26 Q400 aircraft in their fleet. Porter does not have any additional Q400 aircraft on order as of the date of this article. The Q400 is currently the only aircraft Porter has in its fleet. Porter Airlines is an airline that is focused on operating out of the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport / Toronto City Centre Airport (ICAO: CYTZ / IATA: YTZ) Porter Airlines markets the close proximity of the airport to Toronto downtown as a major benefit for travelers, when compared to Toronto Pearson International Airport (ICAO: CYYZ, IATA: YYZ). In fact it is only around 2.4 miles or 4 kilometers from the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre. Air Canada is also flying to Toronto City with the Q400, operated by Sky Regional. Toronto City Center airport has a short runway and restrictions on certain types of large aircraft. The Q400 is one of the airplanes that can fly into the airport. Porter also has ordered the new Bombardier CS100 (CSeries) commercial jet from Bombardier. The airline is requesting that the Toronto Port Authority lengthen the runway and allow the CS100 to fly at the airport. Another key area of Porter Airlines Q400 operations is that Porter has announced an interline agreement with Jetblue Airways that will allow passengers to transfer on to Jetblue flights. The transfer flights are only available on flights to / from Boston Logan International Airport (ICAO: KBOS FAA: BOS). The transfer agreement begins on November 3, 2014.

The Porter Airlines Bombardier Q400 Turboprop Aircraft

Above Porter Q400 photo by BriYYZ on Flickr & Wikimedia Commons, modified by FlyRadius. Photo (only) released under a Creative Commons License.

Porter Airlines Q400 Seat Map, Seating Plan & Configration

The Porter Q400 has a total of 70 seats in a one class configuration. This seating configuration yields a seat pitch of 33 to 34 inches, which is one of the best seat pitches for an economy class configuration. On the Q400 there are no middle seats, as the aircraft is configured in a 2 by 2 seat configuration. The Seat Map for the Porter Airlines Q400 is located below. It says 34 inch seat pitch, however some of the seats may be closer to 33 inches.

Porter Airlines Bombardier Q400 Seat Map

Background on the Porter Bombardier Q400 Turboprop
The Bombardier Q400 turboprop is the fastest regional turboprop available on the market. On short flights the Q400 can actually be faster then jets in total time from airport to airport, depending on conditions. The Q400 is also one of the quieter turboprops that has advanced propellers, giving passengers more comfort in flight. Porter also operates the Bombardier Q400 NextGen version of the Q400, that has some interior upgrades when compared to older Q400. Range for the Porter Airlines Q400 is over 1,014 nautical miles. Range can be higher, depending on the configuration of the Q400. The Q400 turboprop can seat up to 86 passengers, however Porter Airlines has decided to go with a 70 seat, one class configuration that gives 33 inches of seat pitch.

To learn more about the Q400 aircraft visit the other pages on the site.

The Other "Names" for the Porter Airlines Bombardier Q400
The Bombardier Q400 aircraft has few other names that it is called by. This is due to changes in the name for the aircraft and other names that are used for different purposes. Below are the other names:

  • Bombardier DH4 Porter Airlines: "DH4" is the Q400s IATA code that is primarily used by airlines to identify the aircraft. Learn more on the DH4 page.
  • Bombardier DH8D Porter Airlines: "DH8D" is the ICAO code for the airplane and is used by airlines, air traffic control and others. To learn more about this name visit the DH8D aircraft page.
  • De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400 Porter Airlines: This is the "model" name for the turboprop. De Havilland was a division of Bombardier that built the aircraft. The De Havilland name is not used by Bombardier in marketing, so the airplane is called the Bombardier DHC-8-400. DHC-8-400 is the official model name for the turboprop that is used by aviation regulators to identify the aircraft.
  • De Havilland Dash-8-400 Porter Airlines: the Dash-8-400 name is the name that was previously given to the aircraft by Bombardier. The Q400 was apart of the Dash-8 series program of turboprop aircraft. Bombardier then decided to change the name of those aircraft to the Q series turboprops and the Dash-8-400 became the Bombardier Q400. More on the Dash-8-400 can be found on that page.