Porter Airlines Review: Is Porter Air Worth It?

Porter Air Sucks!!! After an awesome Caribbean Cruise we returned to Vancouver on Porter Airline flights from Fort Lauderdale with a transfer in Montreal. In Fort Lauderdale we were told that are luggage would be automatically moved between the Porter flights. In Montreal we went through customs and back through check in and boarded our connecting flight. Once on board, another passenger told us that Porter forgot his baby stroller and he had to go back to baggage claim to get it…and once there, all of his luggage was on the spinner. He believed that everyone that was making this transfer was probably facing the same dilemma as there was lots of luggage on the spinner not being picked up. We told the flight attendants this and after about 10 minutes they confirmed that yes indeed none of our luggage made it on the flight. When I asked for them to go get it, I was told that unfortunately they could not and our luggage would be forwarded on the first flight they very next day. The next day came and just to be on the safe side, I called Porter to see what was happening. The very nice lady on the phone said there was nothing noted under our name or flight number and stayed on the line with me while I completed the lost or delayed baggage form. Almost immediately the electronic form was updated and we were told that our luggage had been found and was on its way. I assumed that meant we would receive the bags later that day, so we cancelled our plans and periodically checked the website for an updated status. This is where things went sour. The status never updated again and eventually after calling and leaving several messages with Porter Lost Baggage (2 days later I am still waiting for a call back) I was able to actually speak with a Porter employee at the general line who told me that our luggage had left Montreal on a 4pm flight that afternoon (so much for first flight the next day) and was in Vancouver but had not been checked in by Porter staff. I could expect a call this evening in regards to delivery options. That call never came. The following day, I woke up at 8 am and checked the website for an update. Still the same response, that our luggage was waiting to be received by the delivery airport. So I called Porter Lost Baggage again and left a few more messages (which I am still waiting on call backs for) and eventually again had to call the Porter general line in order to reach an actual person. From here I was again given the complete run around and told such things as they don’t have the phone number for Porter Air in Vancouver, not being able to check if the luggage people are not working due it being Remembrance Day, no I can’t let you speak directly with my supervisor, No I don’t know my supervisors name, etc, I finally demanded a phone number and the name of somebody in charge so that I could include it the formal complaint I was putting together in regards to Porters poor service. After being on hold for 20 minutes, the girl came back and told me her supervisors name was Faleeza and gave me a local Vancouver number. Through this number I was finally able to reach Porter Luggage at YVR where awesome Porter employee Lilly, told me that my luggage was in fact in Vancouver and she was just about to check it in. The final slap in the face being, that now due to the stat holiday, my luggage will not arrive at my house until some time Tuesday, which is 3 days from when I first arrived in Vancouver. When asked if there was anything I could do to receive it earlier, I was told that had Porter Air sent my luggage on the first flight Sunday morning, I would have received it Sunday afternoon.

So why was I able to find out this information while Porter staff was either too inefficient or too lazy to bother investigating. Why could nobody just give me this number in the first place? Why did I have to waste 2 days on the phone, being on hold for hours, threatening to go above peoples heads for a number to call (or that they could have called for that matter) for a simple update as to where my luggage was and when I would receive it. At one point, the agent that gave me Faleeza’s name basically admitted that Porter does not call anyone back, and simply waits for frustrated customers to keep calling back until an agent actually answers or just plain gives up trying to reach Porter at all. I find Porters lack of professionalism and caring in regards to a problem that THEY caused is completely unacceptable as it has put a real damper on to what was a fantastic vacation.

Take my advice and avoid this lousy airline at all costs !! They do not care about customer satisfaction and really had no concern in regards to making sure our luggage made our connection or even made it to us at all. I plan on asking for compensation for all my troubles but i am positive Porter will deny any claims as stated in previous reviews. Porter is just another example of a money grabbing airline that puts company profits ahead of customer satisfaction!