Porter Airlines announced yesterday that it is building two new hangars in Ottawa. The new hangars will house all the airline’s Embraer E195-E2 maintenance.
New maintenance hangars in Ottawa
North American launch customer for Embraer’s latest generation E195-E2 aircraft, Porter Airlines, announced it is building two new hangars at the Ottawa airport for maintenance. The 150,000-square-foot facility is a $65 million investment that will generate 200 jobs over the next few years.
“Ottawa has been a critical location for Porter throughout our history and the multi-million dollar facilities we’re building to maintain aircraft here is only the latest example of our desire to meaningfully invest in Canada’s Capital Region. “We anticipate our presence in Ottawa will grow in the coming years, supported by the maintenance base and future aircraft deliveries that give us the ability to consider new routes.” – Michael Deluce, President and CEO, Porter Airlines
The new facilities at the Ottawa Airport come through a joint investment from Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. and the Ottawa International Airport Authority. OIAA is building a new taxiway and additional infrastructure to support the hangar project and any future airport enhancements.
The new taxiway, Taxiway Romeo, is being built in the airport’s north field area and is the first airside expansion project in OOIA history. Taxiway Romeo is a project valuing $15 million.
”YOW was Porter’s first destination when they launched in 2006. We believe it’s very fitting that YOW is an important part of their expansion plans and their future, and look forward to the benefits that come with such an extensive maintenance operation. We are particularly pleased that sustainability factors so prominently in Porter’s plans, which fits perfectly with YOW’s ambitious commitment to net-zero operations (Scope 1 and 2 GHGs) by 2040 or sooner.”
In addition to being a maintenance base for the E195-E-2 fleet, of which Porter has up to 100 on order, Porter will also service its Dash 8-400 fleet in Ottawa.
Preparing to receive the Embraer E195-E2
Porter Airlines is the North American launch customer for the Embraer E195-E2 aircraft and is expected to receive the first two before the end of the year. The airline has been preparing and anticipating the arrival of the new aircraft, and yesterday’s announcement is just one part.
In early September, Porter revealed North America’s first E195-E2 simulator and announced its plans to train more than 650 pilots on the new aircraft. The simulator was installed at FlightSafety International’s Learning Centre in Toronto.
Porter signed an eight-year exclusive partnership that will make FlightSafety International Porter’s exclusive pilot training partner. Michael Deluce, Porter’s CEO, said that the airline is in final preparations to introduce the E195-E2. He emphasized that the E2 will be core to the fleet as the airline reshapes passenger expectations for travel as it did more than 15 years ago.
Simple Flying contacted Porter Airlines for information about its first E2 delivery and launch flight and has not received a reply at the time of publication.
Source: simpleflying.com
