Porter Airlines pilot recruitment

PD / POE

Canadian airline launched in 2006 at Toronto's Billy Bishop island airport with Dash 8-400 turboprops, which has since expanded with Embraer E195-E2 jets to western Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

Porter Airlines fleet, hub and head office

2006

Founded

Head office

Toronto (Billy Bishop Airport), Ontario, Canada

Main hub

Toronto Billy Bishop, Toronto Pearson and Ottawa; Halifax and Montreal as focus cities

Fleet (aircraft types operated)

De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 and Embraer E195-E2

Pilot recruitment at Porter Airlines

Two fleets: the Dash 8-400 turboprop and the Embraer E195-E2 jet. Hiring is under Transport Canada licensing. For candidates with no flying experience, the « Destination Porter: Cadet Program », run with Cygnet Aviation Academy and CAE, offers about 20 months of integrated ATPL training in Kingston, Ontario, followed by about 2 months of Dash 8-400 type training at CAE Toronto; accepted cadets receive a conditional offer of employment as a Dash 8-400 first officer before training starts. Stated conditions: Canadian citizenship or permanent residence, a post-secondary degree or diploma, minimum age 18, a Transport Canada Category 1 medical and ICAO English level 4 minimum. The course is self-funded, and applicants already holding or working towards a commercial licence are directed to regular hiring. Porter also recruits direct-entry first officers and captains on both fleets; check conditions and open positions on the Porter careers page.

Recruitment information is given as a guide only (public sources, subject to change over time): always check the current conditions on the airline's careers site.

History of Porter Airlines

Porter Airlines flew its first service in October 2006 between Toronto Billy Bishop and Ottawa with Dash 8-400s, and opened a new terminal at the island airport in 2010. Its plan to fly jets there was rejected by the federal government in 2015. After suspending flights during the pandemic (2020-2021), it ordered Embraer E195-E2s, flown from Toronto Pearson and Ottawa, and expanded to western Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

Pay and conditions, from public sources

Figures published by the airline, pilot unions or the press, each one dated (last update: September 2026). For information only.

Captain: on the E195-E2, about CAD 215 gross per hour in year 1 and CAD 302 at top of scale (year 12); on the Dash 8-400, about CAD 121 in year 1 and CAD 170 at year 15 (April 2026, scale derived by AVCentral).
First officer: on the E195-E2, about CAD 91 gross per hour in year 1 and CAD 156 at year 10; on the Dash 8-400, about CAD 75 in year 1 and CAD 93 at year 10 (April 2026).
Guarantee of 77.5 paid hours per month; on that basis AVCentral estimates about CAD 200,000 to 281,000 gross per year for an E2 captain and about CAD 70,000 for a first-year Dash 8 first officer (April 2026).
These scales are based on the company's January 2025 scale plus a 1.5% increase on 1 January 2026; they predate any collective agreement (April 2026).
More than 800 pilots, based in Toronto, Vancouver, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax, joined ALPA, certified on 11 August 2025, and began bargaining for a first collective agreement (September 2025).
In September 2026 ALPA requested federal conciliation; Porter called this premature, saying the union had only recently tabled its wage and scheduling proposals (September 2026).
The Destination Porter programme lets pilots interview for a first officer role from 500 flight hours; the offer is conditional on passing the ATPL/IATRA exams and reaching 1,000 hours (careers page accessed October 2026).

Sources read (4)

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Preparing for psychometric tests before a selection

Some pilot selections include psychometric tests. ForAllPilots does not say whether Porter Airlines uses them, or which ones: none of the series below is presented as Porter Airlines's.

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