Ontario-based airline just named among best of its kind in the world

If you're a frequent flyer from Canada — especially if you live in downtown Toronto — you're likely pretty familiar with Porter Airlines, the small-but-mighty carrier that has grown to receive numerous accolades in its less than two decades of operations.

The T.O.-based brand, which uses the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport as its primary hubs, has been recognized numerous times over for the quality of its cabin service and economy class offerings, its low rate of passenger complaints, and its high rate of positive customer reviews, among other categories.

And, this week, Porter added another distinction to its list of awards and achievements.

Friday marked the release of the 2026 Airlines Awards from the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX), which considers passenger testimonies from hundreds of thousands of flights worldwide to honour the best of the best carriers with its lauded Four and Five Star ratings.

Porter secured the coveted Four Star title in the regional category, along with being named "one of APEX's top three regional airlines in the world" — a merit it also holds from esteemed international air transport rating agency Skytrax.

This follows a Four Star major airline award Porter received from APEX last year, along with a Four Star regional title in 2022. Its hub at Billy Bishop has also been named among the best airports in the world by stakeholders in past years.

APEX Group's CEO specifically called out Porter's free premium snacks and beverage service, its reliable high speed WiFi and lack of less-desirable middle seats in a press release announcing the news on Sept. 12, along with noting the carrier's "commitment to service innovation and passenger experience" that "sets a new benchmark... [and] redefines what excellence looks like in Canadian air travel."

The APEX awards are touted as the sole global accreditation that is "based entirely on neutral, third-party passenger feedback."