Porter Airlines · Captain / Commandant de bord
Direct Entry Captain - Dash 8 - Toronto / Ottawa
Porter Airlines is hiring Direct Entry Captains for its Dash 8-400 fleet. The role is based in Toronto (Billy Bishop) or Ottawa, depending on operational needs. The posting highlights fast career progression towards a narrow-body jet Captain role.
- Employer
- Porter Airlines
- Position
- Captain / Commandant de bord
- Base
- Toronto (Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport) et Ottawa (Macdonald-Cartier International Airport), Canada
- Aircraft
- De Havilland Dash 8-400 (Q400)
- Pay (public sources)
- E195-E2 captain: about CAD 215 to 302 gross per hour; first officer: about CAD 75 to 156 per hour depending on fleet (2026)
- Posted
- 23 June 2026
Key points
- Direct Entry Captain role on the Dash 8-400
- Base in Toronto (Billy Bishop) or Ottawa
- Career path described as the fastest upgrade to narrow-body jet Captain in Canada
- Large-scale pilot hiring planned over the coming years
What the employer asks for
- Airline Transport Pilot Licence (Transport Canada)
- Minimum 2,500 total flight hours
- 500 hours Pilot In Command on Q400, or 1,500 hours Pilot In Command on heavy turboprop over 44,000 lbs MGTOW
- Time on type and 705 operation experience preferred
- Aviation college or university degree considered an asset
- Legal right to work in Canada: valid Canadian passport, or valid international passport with a US Crewmember Visa (C-1/D)
- Candidates not meeting minimum requirements may still be considered based on experience
What the employer offers
- Pay described as industry leading for the Dash 8-400
- Rapid seniority progression due to company growth
- Fastest upgrade path to narrow-body jet Captain in Canada
Summary written by ForAllPilots from the employer's posting. Only the official posting counts: check every condition before you apply.
Regional airline
Porter Airlines at a glance
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.
- Bases
- Toronto Billy Bishop, Toronto Pearson and Ottawa; Halifax and Montreal as focus cities
- Fleet
- De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 and Embraer E195-E2
Pilot recruitment
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.
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)
Give yourself every chance
A captain selection focuses on leadership, decision-making and crew management: prepare real situations, what you decided and why.
Expect an in-depth technical interview and a simulator session: go over abnormal procedures and the performance of your type.
Some airlines give aptitude tests to captains too: a refresher on the arithmetic and attention exercises never hurts.