Security and boarding moved along effortlessly, allowing our Porter Airlines flight to push back slightly ahead of its scheduled 7:00 AM departure. The flight itself was smooth and uneventful, but the aircraft earned high marks. Porter flies the Brazilian-built Embraer E195-E2, a long, stretched narrow-body twinjet engineered with a civilised 2-by-2 seating configuration throughout the entire cabin. With no middle seat anywhere on the aircraft, the extra shoulder room and quiet cabin make the four-hour transcontinental run feel far less confined than standard domestic hops.
We touched down at Toronto Pearson just past 1:00 PM Eastern time. With our connecting flight to London Gatwick not scheduled to depart until 9:45 PM, an eight-hour terminal vigil was off the table. We had planned ahead and purchased online passes for the Plaza Premium Lounge, securing our base camp for the entire afternoon.
The lounge bustled with the steady churn of arriving and departing passenger groups, but it provided all the necessary comforts: generous spreads of complimentary food, cold beer, and room to stretch out. Around 5:30 PM, we booked into the private shower suites. Stepping out thoroughly refreshed, fed, and clean takes the dread out of boarding an overnight transatlantic crossing.
