I Tested Canada's BEST Rated Airline

Today I Flew Air Canada and Porter Airlines in order to find out how good and bad they actually were and what the differences were like! Air Canada and Porter Airlines are both considered to be to of the best and most popular Airlines in all of Canada but how different can they really be?
In this video I show you everything from the check in, to the in flight experience and all the interactions with staff so we can truly see how each airline compares to one another!
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Time Stamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:46 - Air Canada Check In
02:00 - Lounge
03:05 - Air Canada Reviews
03:57 - Air Canada Flight
09:10 - Porter Check In
11:06 - Lounge #2
11:42 - Porter Reviews
12:26 - Porter Flight
16:40 - Final Review
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[@alex_gh30]

Of course that Porter has only 4 seats per row, because that is the standard on the Embraer E195-E2. Also because the plane is smaller, the overhead lockers are smaller, and the bathroom head space is more limited than on the Boeing 737MAX from AirCanada!

[@ME_IS_BAGEL]

Yeah completely agree with you, You can't really judge an airline based off the aircraft itself

[@mtlreiner]

Agreed. Comparing the aircraft isn’t apples to apples.

[@Brynn-Dutchlander]

yeah, this guy rates everything off the AIRPLANE so he can just call the best airline ever hot crap, but just because doesnt know the F*CKING DIFFRENCE BETWEEN 2 AIRPLANES!

[@JaydenHarber]

O

[@Porter100]

Hi. I'm a Airline

[@kulthummohamed]

Eric never dissapoints with any of his videos. I might go to Canada next year and I'm super excited. If I decide to fly with air canada, hopefully my experience won't be bad. Keep up with the good content! Much love from the uk 🇬🇧 ❤️

[@dfwplanespotters_yt]

but he doesn't know shit about aviation and just acts like it.

[@Leg0456]

Hopefully I visit both Canada and UK soon 🙏🏻 ✈️ 🇨🇦 🇬🇧

[@andrewisvrycool]

Air Canada is not the best in my opinion. Westjet is usally delayed too. I like porter though

[@ericstruk]

Have fun! I can't wait for you to check out this country!

[@kulthummohamed]

@@ericstruk thankss

[@Srapsak2011]

Can you fly airBaltic 🥺

[@connormasonperry7140]

Yea

[@alla_spa]

Yea i whant Sas vs Airbaltic

[@RobloxMinecraftGaming43]

Yeah I want Air Transat vs Flair Airlines

[@philipmilo]

I want tam vs azual airlines

[@kingdomavgeek]

@@alla_spabro for real

[@hothotheat3000]

AMEX Centurion lounge will NEVER turn you away just because you have the Canadian version of the card. It would be detrimental to the brand to punish international customers. Glad you have a good time in the lounge.

[@HarmlessBongo0]

Banger vid. It’s a good day when this man uploads.👍

[@matthewstotz3001]

I’d love to see a base fare comparison in these videos as well, as price is often the number one determining factor of which airline people choose

[@SgtT7]

True comrade

[@ericstruk]

Very true! I will be sure to start including this!

[@peternguyen7673]

Hey pumpkin🎃, I bet I can put a smile on your face!

[@triplejproductions385]

​@@ericstrukcan you do alaska vs hawaii airlines 😢

[@captainrylenaviation29]

Your videos in aviation are improving! I love it!

[@omarrizk8201]

Fly EgyptAir next

[@andrewisvrycool]

@@omarrizk8201Hes probably not gonna fly that far just for a video

[@iamcool_528]

yep@@andrewisvrycool

[@lemonade_glass]

Another great video as always Eric!

[@Col_Crunch]

I worked at a major US airport a while back, and porter was probably the only airline that I never heard anything bad about. (the free alcohol was something most people mentioned that they loved)

[@AirplaneMan10]

Hey Eric, love your videos keep it up

[@aalplayz1425]

Been waiting for this vid

[@Perhentian79]

Great review! However Air Canada and Westjet are by far the largest and most popular airlines in Canada. Porter is suppose to be a great airline though, thanks for the review:)

[@neondeon475]

Wrong. westjet is far from popular. They have been cancelling flights daily for 4 years now and stealing the money. Further they fired over half their staff over bs mandates and have been reducing capacity all over. Westjet actually sucks since the buyout. Ask anyone who has worked there!

[@alessiagalaxy08]

I don't know if this is a good idea for a video, but you can try to randomly pick a country from any continent and then fly to it but with the worst airline available. I really like your videos and I always like! Keep going!! :))

[@ericstruk]

This is a fun video idea!

[@lawrie.bs123]

@@ericstrukI subscribed and liked your video

[@theoddperson8060]

Next video you should do Alaskan airlines vs Hawaiian airlines. :)

[@LeviandHenry]

That’s a perfect combo

[@seriusli8463]

The two non-continental us states

[@ericstruk]

Thanks for the idea! Sounds good!

[@Notluhvque]

@@ericstrukU HAVENT DONE IT YET

[@Stations647]

Congrats on 300 videos eric!!!!

[@baseballfan172]

You never miss! Love your videos!

[@airline_aviation12]

Thank you very much Eric for another awesome video! I enjoyed it very much. I flew Porter back in August from Toronto to Montreal since my flight with Air Transat for Toronto to Montreal was switched with Porter Airlines. I flew the same plane as you, known as Embraer E195-E2. It was the best experience I've had! Wi-Fi completely free and snack services are amazing! Everything was clean as always. Washroom small but was very clean, it turned out to be an amazing flight in the end! I recommend others to fly with this airline sometime.

[@ericstruk]

I am glad you enjoyed it just as much as I did!

[@misternoam9037]

The only 2 times I had an AC delay was a thunderstorm and a Cessna 172 that smashed into a runway at YYZ it’s fine other than that!

[@Aleksandar6ix]

I survived Air Canada on a 14 hour flight to Seoul and back, as well as Houston. Both experiences were great! No delays and early arrivals.

[@PlaneSpotterRVer314]

Great video Eric!! I’m glad you were able to come to my house airport here in Las Vegas! How did you like it? Now I’ve completely been missing out on that lounge. Next time I have got to go there! Also Eric that scan at the gate is not Air Canada that is actually connected the to Jet bridge it self since that’s an international gate they use it for every singe passenger that boards through that gate.

[@Deanluvs2fly]

Great video! As I live in Vancouver but am from the opposite coast I travel across the country regularly. Air Canada is my preference as they have many flight options should there be delays or cancellations. Porter has a better onboard experience but when there are delays or cancellations it can be awful. My last trip back to Vancouver in July was on Porter and my flight from Halifax was cancelled due to weather so I had to stay at hotel. The flight they booked me on the next day was cancelled due to staff shortage so they booked me for later in the day, That flight was delayed and I missed my connection in Toronto, The aircraft was still at the gate but boarding had closed There were no other flights so I had to stay overnight in Toronto, When I finally made it home on day 3 my checked bags didn't make it.

[@ellisonketovore]

Been flying AC for decades and only had a handful of delays, most often they are punctual and many delays are caused by our inclement winter weather, -30C temps in places, AC deals with winter weather very well despite our harsh conditions.. On board, I find the hard and soft product the best in North America, hands-down. Like you've shown, state of the art IFE and probably the best BOB menu of all the NA legacies by far, not to mention a consistent cabin product.. Just FYI the A321's and A320's are currently being upgraded to the levels of the A220s plus cameras in the IFE. Thanks for combatting all the AC haters out there which we're all getting very tired of as that is old news and reflects AC in the distant past.

[@BaylenLevine1753]

Love it keep up the good work!

[@Nilsrugbyer]

Because of you I got more interested in airplanes. So I want to thank you for that and keep going love the video's you make💪

[@Hiethan]

I think westjet is also very popular. Can you do a vid for westjet

[@emilys8728]

So, I figured out why I was so surprised that people hadn't heard of Porter - at the time they only had three destinations in the US. Also, the last time I flew Air Canada, they were upgrading their computer system, and it delayed my check -in.

[@jamiewren]

Hey Eric, love your videos man keep it up, love from the states! 🇺🇸

[@joyceadams2470]

LOVE UR VIDS❤

[@ToddBaker2112]

This video was super-good.

[@AdrenalineLegends]

the air canada legroom is awesome. No complaints. You should see how much alex praglowski suffers trough, mad respect to him

[@TailsMilesFox147]

Early! Love your aviation videos!!

[@rsvert92]

Nice vid keep up the good work and effort

[@ZooterEGT]

With Swoop shut down, I switched to Porter in September and I was amazed by the service, cleanliness and comfort. I will say, I am like you though; I fly between Alberta & Ontario 3-4 times a year and out of 4 round trip flights in the last year, I've had to go through secondary screening for 5 boardings, 2 in YEG, 2 in Hamilton and 1 in YYZ. I don't get it.

[@99insider99]

I've also switched from Swoop to Porter, and I don't mind spending the few extra bucks for Porter. I really do miss YHM, YYZ is so big and crowded :(

[@Brownie-the-brocoli]

Im so sad that swoop closed 😭 tought I really like flying with porter

[@maple_leaf0]

Porter Airlines is the one of the only few airlines that treats economy like business

[@aliebellule]

and their business class is also super affordable

[@Silver801]

These vids are interesting. Thanks for entertaining us.

[@IsraeliEditzz]

Keep up the great work!!!

[@jennymaks]

I've been flying Porter for years now on their smaller planes, and I've got to say the 2x2 layout is such an underrated plus. In Billy Bishop Airport on the domestic side, they did just open up the Aspire lounge this year too, which I must say makes flying Porter all the more enjoyable for me now! Plus, Porter constantly is having sales, the affordability is out of this world!

[@aarongamerofficial]

Keep up the great work, I love the content. You should do more airlines, their amazing, and I enjoy this Content. I hope this comment gets liked and pinned by you!

[@grahamrothphotography]

I flew an AC A321 to Toronto in August, had the old 10+-year-old interior and entertainment system, which sucked. The crew was nice though, flew Porter home and it was far above in ever way, free snacks and wine were amazing. The Wi-Fi speed was insane too. AC Wi-Fi was slow AF. Only issue with Porter was the small bathroom.

[@NorthBlu]

It’s always a good day when Eric posts 😊

[@HarmlessBongo0]

Bruh you copied me….

[@NorthBlu]

@@HarmlessBongo0 how?

[@robhildebrand9914]

Porter is a bit of a double edged sword in my experience, when I flew there embraer 195 for the first time it was an awesome flight, unfortunately though a week later in Halifax the first flight was cancelled to weather, than it was staffing issues for the second cancelled flight, we needed to take an air Canada flight back to Toronto which was crammed and no were near as good

[@APG19912009]

I’ve flown Air Canada several times in my life. And I’m a tad confused by how some folks hate on them. I’ve had nothing but amazing experiences flying with Air Canada. I just flew this October round-trip with Air Canada and the flights were awesome, the customer service was amazing. In fact I had an amazing customer service rep when I was boarding as I had a cat to check-in. I booked In advanced that I was checking-in an animal. Usually it’s a $105 charge. They didn’t charge me! The rep stayed with me and helped me through the entire process till the kitty was checked and I was getting into security line.

[@papageorge2397]

I fly Air Canada several times a year. While the experience was okay for the most part, the last several years have been a losing battle, and their ranking is terrible now. They are consistently the worst in North America. They have the most disruptions and tardiness. I would say the service is hit or miss. I still have good flights, the same way I still get flights where it seems the crew just can't be bothered to even look at you.

[@yolikumiofficial8605]

Whoops another banger!

[@AlwaysCam839]

I love porter air! It’s amazing two seats beside eachother a lot of room and just so clean and nice

[@SuperSerferNow]

Please Do WestJet Next

[@Michael4Reall00]

It would be nice to see a video of Air Canada Vs WestJet Vs Air Transat. The big 3 against each other.

[@andrew9954sffss]

Porter is bigger then Air Transat now, and growing much faster

[@lucasweather1]

I love these videos! Can you fly delta out of Atlanta to Valdosta Ga? The flights seem very interesting.

[@SportySlade]

Love your videos.

[@erik_griswold]

Fly Porter before everyone else discovers them. They were a Dash 8 only carrier hubbed at Billy Bishop (Toronto Island) Airport, which they still do. However,Porter just got a bunch of brand new E195 jets and they are flying those from Pearson/Moulton (YYZ) to places all over North America, because the E195s can do that.

[@nwananka]

Same here, i flew them the early days taking a ferry from downtown Toronto. I didn't even know they fly from yyz now

[@SWEDISH-IRISHAVIATION]

Can you please do SAS vs Norwegian

[@Duukar]

Porter has 2x2 which is a major plus when travelling with your partner. Free drinks and the meals are really fresh and tasty. When I can i choose Porter to fly. Also having fast WiFi means I can be productive on longer flights which is another bonus. Once Porter gets more planes they will be a real contender in Canada.

[@kevwwong]

Eric, you must be on some sort of list at CATSA. I just don't see any way it can be random at this point. Porter is great. Really, I think it's the best way to fly short (< 2hr) flights between Canadian cities. I've not tried their commuter jets yet so I'm still curious about that.

[@Cheeekss]

Ngl should have been Air Canada vs WestJet

[@Adumb69420]

Yes he has to do that

[@sloanelily9285]

Yes that is like the best one out there!

[@avi8078]

westjet left the chat

[@potatosoldier5633]

West jet is a W

[@UnderShadowKing]

Spam w

[@UnderShadowKing]

W

[@UnderShadowKing]

W

[@UnderShadowKing]

W

[@JoshuaTheTransitProdigy]

Can you do Japans best airlines: All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines? I love your reviews by the way! Keep up the good work!

[@domlalonde7111]

I'm flying with Rouge on Nov 11th from Ottawa (your favorite airport lol) to Orlando, leaving at 6:00 am...hopefully it goes well. Porter is awesome, we always fly from Ottawa to Bishop airport...45 min flight compare to 5-6 hours of driving or train..so worth it

[@joeylego6722]

You should also fly sun county vs allegiant Or United vs delta

[@LeviandHenry]

That’s what I said

[@EvilPumpkinPlays]

he should do TUI and jet2 😂😂

[@TB_Bird]

I'm sure he has to book a HOLIDAY with it

[@EvilPumpkinPlays]

you can just book a flight with them you dont need to book a holiday

[@Fly_boy8]

Hey mate. Lovely video. Love Canada and most Canadian airlines. Can you please post the different music you used in the background of this video?

[@KETECHUP5000]

Great Vid 👍

[@CrystaI07]

People who live in Canada 👇

[@Crosswindsaviations]

No one cares 👇

[@SgtT7]

Great video Eric! I find this really entertaining! By the way comrade, can you fly to Bratislava when you will do another trip to europe?

[@PierceBares]

Great video 👍

[@iLoveCamdy]

Love your videos Man (:

[@JetSetter14]

Love this video!! But can you do Westjet sometime??

[@adribiron]

When you got inspected at YVR security twice, the first one was random (bad luck) and the second one was because you had something that they needed to have close look at. Maybe some large batteries or a laptop that you forgot to put out of the backpack. Get Nexus if you want to avoid this

[@user-mx2et7nw1l]

my first time watching eric review good airlines cause ive only watched these ones -Spirit -Ryanair -Flair -Swoop

[@Wertzu_-ib1xu]

Best KZbinr of all time ❤ keep the stuff up 👍

[@ilyasovich]

I tried AC, flair and Porter, for me AC was the best especially for transatlatic flights. The day i used Porter it was onboard of a turbo prop DeHavilland, this this was damn noisy and the seats were stiff, a short flight from Halifax to Montreal felt like hell. Same thing for Flair 😅

[@BluepineYT]

Pls make one about Asiana Airlines! They have lines that go to canada, plus they are closing soon so we need to check them out quick!

[@Wiseguy1138]

Porter has been around for decades now. It's just they've mostly just been regional with small propeller planes that fly out of Toronto as their main hub to cities like Ottawa, Montreal, and Canada's east coast and were mostly a business travel airline between central and eastern Canadian economic hubs. It's just within the last two years that they have purchased jets and fly across Canada and U.S. destinations like NYC and Orlando.

[@neondeon475]

decades .....LMAO.....Try again there Mikey.

[@alanfisher-cw2rn]

love watching your videos,

[@habs381]

Great video Eric, main thing you have to think about Air Canadas aircraft is the one you flew on was a nearly brand new Boeing 737 Max 8 as Porters aircraft was an older Embraer E195-E2 which as I said is a little bit older and smaller, plus for an airline the in flight entertainment is a little bit more expensive and as you previously said Porter isn't even on the North American airline size list (yet) plus Air Canada was founded on April 10, 1937, as Porter was founded on February 2, 2006 so big difference with size of the companies. No complaints about the video just wanted to give you and others a heads up on the size differences of the aircrafts!

[@ABoriginArt]

The Porter aircraft is much newer than the Air Canada one. The newest B737M8 arrived in the Air Canada fleet in Dec 2021. The oldest was delivered to Air Canada in 2017. The 1st Porter Emb entered service in January 2023 and the newest arrived just last week !!!! Any of the Porter Aircraft would be newer than any of the Air Canada ones of that type.

[@SMA_Mapping]

Keep it up Struk

[@TimmyCanSwim]

was in YVR lounge over thanskgiving. was a great lounge and not too busy early in the morning.

[@hedasadaat288]

Im SO happy this came on mynfor you page im traveling from Canada to Dubai good to know (im going on air Canada )

[@apa182]

The Embraer with it's 2-2 seating is unbeatable: No middle seat, faster boarding, faster deplaning, quicker onboard service, quick access to the aisle, bigger windows (yes, the embraer has bigger windows than any airbus or boeing)..... the ONLY downside of this plane is that the overhead bins wont fit many carry on.

[@thecaynuck]

It's interesting how you think Porter isn't really busy with Canadians to me, but then I remember you're flying on the West coast and Porter is only expanding their network more there now. Here in Eastern Canada, Porter is actually very commonly flown, especially with less WestJet service in the Maritimes, and Porter is quite established not only in Eastern Canada but also routes going to the US from there. Also, thing to note is that airlines don't get to choose the seating arrangements. It all depends on the aircraft type, the 737 Max Air Canada flies has 3-3 and the Embraer E195-E2 Porter flies has 2-2 and is essentially a regional jet. Something else to note is that Porter is a regional airline technically and flies two types of regional aircraft. Air Canada is a major airline so they're going to have everything from regional to long-haul international flights.

[@SquareRootOf4761]

@eric struk you should check to see if you have the “0000” code on the top corner of your flight ticket. It’s a secret code that means you’ll always be secondarily screened.

[@theponyworld6723]

Hi Eric! I love watching your videos but you never reviewed any asia airlines yet😢 Can you please review singapore airlines vs qatar airways! I really hope you see this!

[@kaarinya]

Eric never fails to emtertain us

[@k1oeve]

Flown with porter this week from YVR to YYZ. Check in was pretty rude, but I ended up in the extra leg room row, with a window and no one sat next to me ! 🎉 I had almost too much room and the free wifi was great and got two snacks (one at the start of the flight and one towards the end) and they don’t care if you ask for extra snacks! So it was honestly 9.5/10 for me despite the rude check in.

[@ZaHunterYT]

Around 4:49 you can see the rolling shutter effect. If you were filming at 24fps, you should always make sure the shutter speed is double. In this case: 24fps = 48 Shutter Speed

[@gabyabed]

Thanks for the Centurion Lounge info...I used to have a Canadian Platinum Amex (back to gold for now), but I thought it wasn't usable in the lounge. Is that what you used?

[@jeffluhn4514]

Eric the states must love you because you never get pat down (like you said last video) And LOL I think it was funny to say that

[@skyaviationjal]

🤩🤩🤩 super video

[@fdk57]

Love the channel. But just for fun, can you keep an on-screen count of the number of times you say "actually" and "literally" in each vlog?

[@harryspitteler6667]

I love your videos Eric. However, I feel like when you were comparing things like the overhead bin space and legroom, it wasn't entirely fair because on Porter you flew on the ERJ 190, while on Air Canada you flew on the Boeing 737-800 which is a larger plane. Just wanted to mention that but I still think your vids are amazing and I love to watch them

[@Liloshy]

It's not 190. It's a 195-e2 second-generation aircraft. It's completely different between the 195-e1 and 195-e2

[@gamingarena710]

Hi it’s me again your biggest fan i love your videos ❤😊

[@maktgr8]

5:00 I love how she got so offended 🤣

[@rateit-wn1dn]

I flew Air Canada once in 2018. It was onboard an Airbus a340 the flight was from Copenhagen to Toronto and it got delayed 48 hours. Though if you see it at the bright side, we did get a hotel in downtown Copenhagen, hotel Circus, and a ticket to the amusement park to cover our delays. We also got 21 000 dk which is around 3600 USD for the inconveniences. So in conclusion, The delay wasn’t bad at all. We even got a day in Copenhagen.

[@tropichydra7190]

Ac stopped operating a340s well before 2018. You sure it wasn't on an a330?

[@rateit-wn1dn]

@@tropichydra7190 maybe it was, but I was sure it was an a340. Thank you

[@andrewmercier7991]

Erik, when you get your boarding pass, does it have SSSS on it? Might explain why you always get extra screening. Take a look at any old boarding passes you have.

[@youssefbenrabia6999]

Your a great KZbinr keep it up

[@Aviation.762]

I might come to Canada for Christmas break. Hopefully I could come. Which airline should I fly to Canada? What would you recommend?

[@alankingchiu]

Porter flights departing from YTZ is great, free drinks and snacks, quick security check and boarding.

[@DaBigBirb]

Eric, I highly recommend WestJet. It is very similar to porter and they have a lot of different planes.

[@cooperdsfuntv]

You need to try the oldest airlines KLM VS Anvinaca

[@HeadlessChickenTO]

My bag always gets the swab treatment. I literally don't know why this happens to me. I don't travel much, but I git hit 9 times out of my last 10 air travel trips. I haven't flown on Porter's jets that you usually catch out of Pearson, but I do like their turbo prop planes out of the smaller and less busy messy Billy Bishop airport out of downtown Toronto Island. My only beef with those planes is the noise level coming from the prop engines.

[@Aviation.762]

Love your videos ❤. Would you be able to come to Europe and try to fly Swiss?

[@danmaneditz]

Fire as a Canadian who loves planes u make me happy ❤