Porter Airlines

Porter Airlines for Android is a reservation and travel management app that does everything most will want from an airline's service – except the one thing that most people downloading this type of app expect: booking new flights. This oddity establishes the pattern for an app built to cater to existing customers as opposed to courting new ones, and the overall experience is stripped down — a bit too much so, in fact — for Canadian travelers trying to make connections on Porter's network.

Your digital boarding pass keeper

The app's greatest strength is in translating check-in from an airport torment to a living room chore. Beginning 24 hours before departure, passengers can check in from anywhere, pick or upgrade seats, add bags and save boarding passes for offline use. The offline capability is handy when airport Wi-Fi doesn't work or data gets sketchy – boarding passes and flight info remain accessible no matter what the situation. Flight status tracking functions by searching the routes or flight numbers, showing the departure times and delays and lengths of layovers with push notifications for last-minute changes. VIPorter rewards program compatibility allows members to check their points balance, tier status and book flights and other features from the convenience of the app, as well as make payments through redeeming travel credits or Porter Gift cards for seat selection upgrade and baggage fees.

The puzzle of booking and other restrictions

Which is where Porter's strategy gets weird: the app cannot book new flights. Users need to use the website for reservations, and then come back to the app for management — a two-step process that seems antiquated in 2025. This design leaves it up to travelers to bounce around between platforms, disrupting the fluid experience offered by most airline apps. User feedback also points to other friction areas. Some say the app is crashing during peak travel times, when it's under the most load; others complain of slow loading times when retrieving boarding passes or looking up flight information. The app also blocks travelers from checking in online unless they hold US or Canadian passports, forcing green card holders and visa travelers to check-in at the airport.

Who benefits and who doesn't

The Porter app is most suitable for frequent Porter flyers who prefer ease of use over full functionality. Business travelers appreciate the $10 savings on baggage purchases ahead of booking versus at airport rates, and the ability to arrange seating changes or upgrades without a call to customer service. The offline boarding pass storage certainly comes in handy during those layover connection delays when the internet is spotty. But periodic travelers or those comparison shopping find the app to be limiting. The single-airline focus has no multi-carrier booking option, and the absence of any way to handle new reservations makes it seem like half an app next to a full-service airline offering. The design here is clean and functional, though less advanced features — such as live seat maps or in-app customer support chat that larger carriers provide — are absent. Porter Airlines for Android serves as a solid post-booking management tool, but falls short of being the ultimate travel assistant it could have been.