Porter Airlines’ winter-sun rush is under way, with its Ottawa to Aruba service taking off on Saturday, November 7 — the first of a wave of new nonstops to warm-weather destinations. Porter began Ottawa to Aruba on Saturday, three times a week, and will add Ottawa to Montego Bay on November 25, twice a week, Providenciales on December 17 and Los Cabos on December 18, according to a Porter release via Business Wire on November 5 and TravelPulse Canada. Porter is the only airline with nonstop Ottawa to Aruba, Los Cabos and Turks and Caicos service. All the routes use the 132-seat Embraer 195-E2, with no middle seats. From Toronto Pearson, Aruba began on October 30, Providenciales started on Friday, November 6, Los Cabos starts on November 16, Montego Bay on November 23 and San Jose, Costa Rica, on December 2. Porter is running about 1,400 sun flights from Pearson this winter, more than double last year, and nearly 5,000 sun flights in total, with winter-sun capacity up more than 150% for 2026–27.
Edmonton and London join in
From Edmonton, Porter’s first international routes from Alberta, Puerto Vallarta began on November 3, three times a week, and Phoenix began on November 6, daily, with Los Cabos and Las Vegas both starting on November 16, four times a week each. From London, Ontario — a new station for Porter — Fort Lauderdale starts on November 18, Orlando on November 19, Cancun on December 17 and Montego Bay on December 18. One frequency conflict to note: an earlier Ottawa Airport Authority table said twice a week, while the Business Wire release — and the airport authority’s current release — say three times a week. This post follows the Business Wire release.
Looking further ahead
Qatar Airways inaugurated twice-weekly flights from Doha to Bogotá and Caracas on November 4, on a Boeing 777-200LR, flight QR783, operating on Wednesdays and Sundays. The two cities are the airline’s 16th and 17th destinations in the Americas, and Qatar says its winter network now covers more than 170 destinations. It is the first Gulf airline to serve Venezuela, via Bogotá. For travellers, the new routes mean more nonstop choices to the Caribbean and Mexico this winter — and more competition on fares. Porter, Breeze and Avelo are all low-cost carriers, and their new routes are aimed squarely at leisure travellers heading south for the winter. With Black Friday travel deals already live, the new routes are arriving at the right time for anyone planning a winter escape.
