Porter Airlines Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) C-GLQB (msn 4130) YUL (Gilbert Hechema), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Porter Airlines (Toronto-City Centre) is celebrating its fourth anniversary today (October 23). The airline has operated over 86,000 flights and, this week, carried its three millionth passenger.

Highlights of the airline’s success in the past year include adding Moncton, Sudbury, and Myrtle Beach as destinations, while service also expanded in Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Boston, New York, and Mont Tremblant. The Porter team has grown to over 1,000 employees, up from 700 at this time last year.

The airline’s expanding fleet now includes 20 70-seat Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) aircraft. A recent order for up to 10 additional aircraft potentially brings the fleet size to 30 by 2012.

A new $49 million dollar modern terminal, including two passenger lounges with well-appointed features and an array of free amenities, is nearing completion at Porter’s main base of operations at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

Porter now serves 14 destinations across Canada and the United States, a considerable increase from the single route between Toronto City Airport and Ottawa when the airline launched in 2006.

Copyright Photo: Gilbert Hechema. Please click on the photo for additional details.