Ottawa - Orlando on Porter

mab2012

DIS Veteran
Joined
Dec 19, 2012
For my fellow Ottawa residents:

I noticed a billboard this morning advertising non-stop flights from Ottawa to Melbourne on Porter. Website says seasonal December - April. Only one flight a week, but IMO any new option is good. This would be a great airport for cruises out of Port Canaveral if they would just expand the flight schedule a bit. Strictly speaking it's doable now for a Saturday cruise (inbound flight lands at 1:20, outbound leaves at 3:20), but I don't think I'd personally chance it. If that inbound flight gets delayed a couple of hours, your cruise is leaving without you.
 
Thanks for this! I wonder if they fly into FLL or MIA as well... As for the December to April, I have a trip planned in April and have been stalking flights (hoping to get enough AM). Planning to add on some Disney to a cruise... perhaps we'll be gone for two weeks.
 
Thanks for the info - this is the first I hear of it.

One thing I noticed that is a bit odd with Porter flights (YOW->MLB) and that might cause some complications is that they don't have return dates on the same day as arrivals (i.e. you can't go for 7 days, you have to go for something like 5 or 9). Also it flies to Melbourne (MLB) which as mentioned, for cruises from Port Canaveral works well, but for Disney (about 90 minutes away - a bit less if you take toll roads) or most other Florida destinations is not as ideal. To be fair, Allegiant flies to Sanford (SFB)

I think the more options the better but looking at a quick scan of prices, AllegiantAir from OGS is quite a bit cheaper and it might not be tons cheaper than other airlines from YOW. Looking at dates that we are thinking of travelling (Dec 28-Jan 11), Allegiant is $1600USD so $2000CND (for 4), Porter (for Dec28-Jan13) is $2800CND (for 4). And the cheapest from flights.google.com was $2892 non-stop (no better option for flights with stops).

Just to compare, I looked at other dates (always for 4):
Dec17-Dec24 : Allegiant -> $552US = $703CND
Dec16-Dec25 : Porter -> $1082CND
Dec17-Dec24 : Google -> $1556CND (non-stop), $1468CND (one-stop, reasonable travel time (about 6hrs) - there are cheaper but many have overnight layover)

Mar11-Mar18 : Allegiant -> $2164US = $2756CND
Mar10-Mar17 : Porter -> $6353CND
Mar10-Mar17 : Google -> $5530CND (non-stop), $3521CND (one-stop, reasonable travel time (about 5hrs) - there are cheaper but many have overnight layover)

Note that I didn't include any extra fees for luggage or seat selection so if you are comparing rates, make sure you compare the same thing ...
 
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Thanks for this! I wonder if they fly into FLL or MIA as well... As for the December to April, I have a trip planned in April and have been stalking flights (hoping to get enough AM). Planning to add on some Disney to a cruise... perhaps we'll be gone for two weeks.

Given that they don't fly to MCO, I suspect they'd fly to other small airports rather than FLL or MIA.
 


We’ve done the Toronto-Melbourne route and loved it. It was only about an hour drive. Airport is similar in passenger volume to Billy Bishop (that is - SMALL) so customs was a breeze. Rental cars were literally right outside the airport doors.

I’ll take Melbourne over the Orlando airport any day.
 
I have to agree with you
We’ve done the Toronto-Melbourne route and loved it. It was only about an hour drive. Airport is similar in passenger volume to Billy Bishop (that is - SMALL) so customs was a breeze. Rental cars were literally right outside the airport doors.

I’ll take Melbourne over the Orlando airport any day.

I have to agree with you about preferring to go to Melbourne Airport over MCO because it's so much smaller and quieter but it's still a long drive so have to keep that in mind. According to Google Maps, MLB is 80 minutes from DisneyWorld (and that's on a toll road) - MCO is 25 minutes, SFB is about 60 minutes, TPA is 70 minutes and PIE is 80 minutes.

Arriving 3 hours early at MLB (for an international flight) means that if you have 8AM flight and are staying at Disney, you need to leave at 3:00-3:30AM to give yourself a bit of buffer ... and even that might not be enough buffer if there's an accident on the 95. Similarly, landing at 11:30PM at MLB probably means you don't get to Disney until 2AM ...
 


I have to agree with you


I have to agree with you about preferring to go to Melbourne Airport over MCO because it's so much smaller and quieter but it's still a long drive so have to keep that in mind. According to Google Maps, MLB is 80 minutes from DisneyWorld (and that's on a toll road) - MCO is 25 minutes, SFB is about 60 minutes, TPA is 70 minutes and PIE is 80 minutes.

Arriving 3 hours early at MLB (for an international flight) means that if you have 8AM flight and are staying at Disney, you need to leave at 3:00-3:30AM to give yourself a bit of buffer ... and even that might not be enough buffer if there's an accident on the 95. Similarly, landing at 11:30PM at MLB probably means you don't get to Disney until 2AM ...

I would never in a million years get to MLB 3 hours before my flight. And even Porter doesn’t tell you to. An hour to 90 minutes - tops. And that’s only if you’re checking a bag.

When you factor in time to get your rental car at MCO, or time to wait for the not so magical express and then make 2-4 stops - you’re tied at worst. Or MLB comes out ahead.
 
I would never in a million years get to MLB 3 hours before my flight. And even Porter doesn’t tell you to. An hour to 90 minutes - tops. And that’s only if you’re checking a bag.

When you factor in time to get your rental car at MCO, or time to wait for the not so magical express and then make 2-4 stops - you’re tied at worst. Or MLB comes out ahead.

Good point. I was going by the "common" advanced time for international flights. On their website, Porter says 90 minutes for flights to / from US for airports other than Toronto City but that's still significantly less than you have to do at MCO (there you do have to do 3 hours).
 

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