Canada is a tough aviation market. Our largest economic centers (Toronto/Montreal, and Vancouver) are about 4,500km apart, making the fixed costs of operating an aircraft expensive. This makes it difficult for new airlines to disrupt the legacy carriers and innovate in the Canadian market, as evidenced by the slew of now-defunct Canadian airlines.
Because of this complex business proposition, consumers get the short end of the stick and are left with only four major airlines, compared to ten in the USA. I had an opportunity to fly all four major Canadian carriers in 2024 on varying flight lengths and have compiled a somewhat scientific ranking process to compare Air Canada, Porter Airlines, WestJet, and Flair Airlines.
I will rank the airlines across nine different categories on a scale of one to ten to find what I believe to be Canada’s best airline. Before you question my expertise, I flew on 94 flights last year with 29 airlines, so I think I know a thing or two about a thing or two! With that in mind, let’s take a look at which Canadian airline is the best.
Amenities
When discussing amenities, I will consider complimentary snacks on the plane and airport lounge access. The spoiler, of course, is that only one airline (Air Canada) offers consistent lounge access through its premium credit cards or by holding Aeroplan 50K status.
Air Canada
As mentioned in the preamble, Air Canada takes the cake regarding amenities. With its Maple Leaf Lounges, it has the largest lounge network in Canada and is often nicer than its DragonPass, Visa Airport Companion, or Mastercard Travel Pass counterparts.
As for snacks onboard, I love their Twigz collaboration, and I’ve even bought a bag of them at the grocery store. Air Canada’s free selection of beverages, including beer and wine, earns it top marks in the Amenities category.
In the amenities category, Air Canada scores 10/10.
Porter Airlines
Porter obviously doesn’t have any lounges, but out of their biggest hub at Billy Bishop Toronto City airport (YTZ), they do have an Aspire lounge (co-branded as an Air Canada Cafe, mind you) that is one of my favorites to visit. You would need a credit card unrelated to the airline to access or pay a hefty entrance fee, so I can’t give Porter much credit for it.
Their in-flight offering of free beer and wine is spectacular, and they forced Air Canada’s hand in that regard. However, I find their savory snack options lacking compared to Air Canada, even though I love the “Shorts” cookies they serve. Porter offers a choice of almonds or fava beans, which don’t hold a candle to Air Canada’s offerings. Porter scores a high mark and gets extra credit for forcing Air Canada’s hand with their innovative beverage service.
In the amenities category, Porter Airlines scores 6/10.
WestJet
Lounge access for WestJet is a struggle, even though it does have its fantastic Elevation Lounge in Calgary. You can only get access with passes through WestJet Rewards status, flying international business class, or as a credit card benefit. It’s hard to classify this in the same realm as Porter and the lounge at YTZ because the Elevation Lounge is notoriously hard to get into if you don’t have status.
Last year, I flew on nine WestJet flights, and I still have difficulty remembering the snacks I was served, which I think says a lot about the product. From my recollection, they serve the same cookies as Air Canada (those orange-wrapped ‘celebration’ cookies) but also offer some extraordinarily dry pretzels. Combine that with a lack of free beer or wine, and my final rating is low.
In the amenities category, WestJet scores 4/10.
Flair Airlines
It will come as no surprise that Flair scores low in the amenities department. They are a low-cost carrier by trade, so naturally, you’re not paying for any amenities in your ticket! Not even water is included, but they do have a relatively overpriced menu, which you can view here. At least you can buy expensive food while onboard, if you consider that an amenity.
In the amenities category, Flair Airlines scores 1/10.
Comfort
In the comfort category, I’m considering factors such as legroom, the ability to choose a more comfortable economy seat, and the option to upgrade to business class.
Air Canada
While Air Canada’s economy experience varies greatly (we’ll get to consistency in flying experience later on), generally, their planes are pretty comfortable. Their A320s are old but have good legroom, and their newer narrow-body planes, the A220 and 737 Max-8, are reasonably designed. The A220 is a particular favorite for me when travelling as a couple, as the left side of the aircraft only has 2 seats.
If you’re on a longer-haul route and end up with a widebody aircraft, they are simply the most comfortable domestic airline in Canada. That said, being stuck in a middle seat in economy class is still the worst, and Porter flyers will never have that problem.
In the comfort category, Air Canada scores 8/10.
Porter Airlines
Porter is absolutely wonderful to fly with on their new Embraer E-195s, which feature a 2-2 configuration and amazing legroom in the emergency exit rows. If I didn’t have to rely on Air Canada so much to get me where I need to go, I would always choose to fly on this plane.
That said, I find their Dash 8 Turbo Prop “ultra light” seats incredibly uncomfortable. At least you’ll always know before you book which aircraft you’re getting. However, it loses a perfect score due to its decision to install one of the worst seats I’ve flown with. At least it only operates the uncomfortable seats on short flights.
In the comfort category, Porter Airlines scores 9/10.
WestJet
WestJet has a perfectly average fleet in economy class, but they don’t fly any long-haul aircraft with a 2-2 or a 2-3 configuration, making your chances of a middle seat higher than the other airlines on the list. The economy legroom is very similar to Air Canada and Porter, except for the old “Swoop” planes, which offer less recline and less legroom.
In the comfort category, WestJet scores 7/10.
Flair Airlines
As our resident low-cost carrier, Flair offers the least legroom at a 29” pitch compared to the Canadian standard of 30”. When I flew with Flair in December of 2024, I didn’t hate the amount of legroom I had, but I wouldn’t want to be there for more than my 2.5-hour flight from Toronto to Winnipeg. It was better than I expected it to be!
In the comfort category, Flair Airlines scores 6/10.
Onboard Service
Onboard service can vary greatly depending on the crew you end up with, but I’ve summarized and rated my overall experiences with each major airline below.
Air Canada
Air Canada is usually good regarding friendly service in economy. Still, I find their business class cabins to be above average compared to the US carriers. I have had a few run-ins with some less-than-helpful crew in economy, where ice was not offered for a soft drink, or service seemed to be more of a chore than an opportunity to help.
In the onboard service category, Air Canada scores 7/10.
Porter Airlines
I find most of Porter’s staff to be great! They genuinely seem happy to be there, and it reminds me of WestJet 10-15 years ago. I had a decent sample size with four flights in 2024 and zero bad experiences.
In the onboard service category, Porter Airlines scores 10/10.
WestJet
None of my WestJet flights were particularly memorable for service, which is both good and bad. Nothing went wrong, but nothing was exceptional. I believe that the phrase “perfectly average” describes a lot of what WestJet offers.
In the onboard service category, WestJet scores 7/10.
Flair Airlines
Considering that Flair doesn’t offer any in-flight service unless you pay, it’s hard to rank them on a scale. My only experience with the crew on my flight was when they faced a delay because of an unruly passenger, so we had to turn back and offload the passenger. The staff seemed to handle that well, so I’ll give them a mid-grade mark rather than a zero.
In the onboard service category, Flair Airlines scores 5/10.
On-Time Arrivals
This category is self-explanatory and driven by data. I will also include my own experience with each airline.
Air Canada
Air Canada’s on-time performance rating was 71% in 2024, which is not great. My stats from Flighty back that up, with Air Canada being responsible for 50% of my time delays.
In 2025, they were better at a 78% on-time performance rating, but the year is only half over, so we will see what the next six months bring.
In the on-time arrivals category, Air Canada scores 6/10.
Porter Airlines
Porter dropped the ball for me in 2024 with 3 of my 4 flights resulting in delays, and pretty significant ones, as you can see, they cost me about 4 hours in the infographic above (denoted as PD and responsible for 4 hours of delays). But as of May 2025, Porter has an on-time performance record of 81%, which is excellent!
In the on-time arrivals category, Porter Airlines scores 9/10.
WestJet
In 2024, WestJet was equally as bad as Air Canada, with only a 71% on-time completion rating, and nearly half of my personal WestJet flights were delayed. They are better in 2025, currently sitting at a 76% on-time performance rating, but they are the worst airline in Canada regarding on-time scheduled performance.
In the on-time arrivals category, WestJet scores 5/10.
Flair Airlines
Data on Flair is hard to find for the 2024 year as they like to publicise their best results, which, to be fair, are always north of 80%. In 2025, they are sitting just at 80% overall, which is excellent, and my flight with them in December 2024 would have been on time if not for an unruly passenger who needed to be removed from the flight.
Where Flair has issues is at out-station airports where there are no spare aircraft. Fellow contributor Andy had a hell of an experience on Flair Airlines when trying to get home from our 2024 meet-up in Edmonton. While they have turned a corner in reliability, their lack of solutions because of a small fleet drops their score.
In the on-time arrivals category, Flair Airlines scores 7/10.
Entertainment Options & In-Flight WiFi
This category is fairly self-explanatory, as we look to the entertainment options and in-flight wifi you can expect to find with each Canadian carrier.
Air Canada
Air Canada has one of the most inconsistent experiences in Canadian aviation, but their fresh A321s are the best by a wide margin, thanks to Bluetooth connectivity and exterior cameras (!!). However, this is the same airline that operates an A321 from EVA Air, which doesn’t include any in-seat power outlets, and that’s a significant problem in our digital world.
Free wifi on most of their planes seems like a fairly standard feature across all Canadian carriers, so it’s hard to count that as a significant feature in 2025.
In the entertainment options & wifi category, Air Canada scores 7/10.
Porter Airlines
Porter easily wins this category in my books. There is free and generally pretty fast Wi-Fi on every Embraer plane. There is a good selection of entertainment available with that same Wi-Fi connection, and there are full 110V outlets for all passengers, as Reed noted in his Porter Airlines economy class review. It’s an easy win for “Toronto’s Airline.”
In the entertainment options & wifi category, Porter Airlines scores 10/10.
WestJet
WestJet offers its WestJet Connect service on almost every plane except for some propeller planes and the Swoop fleet. WestJet does a good job of letting customers know when they will not have wifi access or WestJet Connect with an email 72 hours before departure.
Overall, they don’t have enough redeeming factors on their domestic routes to earn an outstanding grade, and the days of live TV are long gone. That being said, their new free in-flight wifi on certain planes is excellent.
In the entertainment options & wifi category, WestJet scores 6/10.
Flair Airlines
Flair is the only airline that doesn’t offer any WiFi internet of any kind. You will need to connect to their WiFi in order to access the entertainment app’s content, so at least they have something for their guests. Power is delivered through two USB-A ports that must be shared between three passengers in a row.
In the entertainment options & wifi category, Flair Airlines scores 5/10.
Route Schedule
This category will be ranked based on how often an airline flies and how desirable its routes are. Mid-day “civilized” flights rank more favorably, and red-eye flights rank less. We’ll examine major routes here, but Air Canada is the clear winner in the east, while WestJet dominates Western Canada. This section is highly dependent on which part of the country you’re located in.
Air Canada
Looking at the Vancouver-Toronto corridor, Air Canada is impressive, with its route frequency of 14 flights in a 24-hour period.
While that’s great, they lack significantly in Calgary compared to WestJet.
In the route schedule category, Air Canada scores 9/10.
Porter Airlines
As much as I love Porter, they are still a niche airline. If you can get their schedule to work for you, they are one of my favorites for flying! But simply because their frequency is only 30% of what Air Canada operates, they simply can’t compete.
In the route schedule category, Porter Airlines scores 6/10.
WestJet
While WestJet wants to compete with Air Canada, servicing the main economic corridor (YYZ-YVR) with only 50% of the capacity won’t cut it.
Their route network out of Calgary is rather impressive, though, so they are credited with servicing Western Canadians well.
In the route schedule category, WestJet scores 8/10.
Flair Airlines
As I mentioned earlier, with Flair’s inability to respond to maintenance delays, as they have such a small fleet, their schedule is a huge downside. Often, their flights are cheap, but they only have the most affordable fares early in the morning or late at night.
In the route schedule category, Flair Airlines scores 5/10.
Consistency of Economy Cabin
Knowing what you’re receiving when you pay for something is important. Only a few Canadian airlines do that well, while some (I’m looking at you, Air Canada) can vary greatly. Top marks are earned for delivering on what they sell and allowing customers to plan appropriately without surprise aircraft swaps.
Air Canada
Air Canada will lose this category, and by a wide margin. While their widebody planes are fantastic, it’s not uncommon for them to swap in an ancient A330 drastically different from their regular A330 service. Or there’s the classic experience of getting “Rouge’d,” where you book yourself a mainline Air Canada plane, only to end up boarding a cramped space A319 that desperately needs a refresh.
Air Canada has a lot of things going for it, but its fleet consistency is not one of them.
In the consistency of the economy cabin category, Air Canada scores 3/10.
Porter Airlines
Porter only flies two aircraft types: Embraer modern jets and a fleet of Dash 8 turboprop planes. What I love about Porter is that you always know what you’ll get. There’s never any surprises, and I can avoid the Dash 8s without worry that I’ll be forced into one like Air Canada “Rouge’s” me.
In the consistency of the economy cabin category, Porter Airlines scores 10/10.
WestJet
While WestJet’s pilots certainly appreciate Swoop’s merger so that everyone gets paid the same, I certainly dislike the experience of flying on a Swoop plane. WestJet is in the process of retrofitting these planes, but booking a major carrier and getting a low-cost carrier cabin experience is disappointing. That said, they are more consistent than Air Canada, and the experience doesn’t vary as much.
In the consistency of the economy cabin category, WestJet scores 6/10.
Flair Airlines
While Flair lacks a great economy experience, you know what you’re getting when you buy a ticket. Flair only operates 737s with slight variations in two of their planes that most passengers won’t notice.
In the consistency of the economy cabin category, Flair Airlines scores 10/10.
Check-in Experience
Most of the time, I want my check-in experience to be completely automated, but the times I do need to check a bag, it’s nice to have a good experience with employees.
I will judge this section based on the ability to skip lines with priority service, how often you need to stand in a line, or any annoying things like checking the size of carry-on baggage.
Air Canada
While you need to have an expensive premium Aeroplan credit card that offers several priority benefits on Air Canada, one of the benefits of paying the higher annual fee is priority check-in. There are four premium Aeroplan cards available in Canada that offer this benefit:
| Credit Card | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
85,000 Aeroplan points and $125 FlyerFunds Estimated value: $1,910 |
|
 |
90,000 Aeroplan points Estimated value: $1,890 |
|
 |
85,000 Aeroplan points Estimated value: $1,785 |
|
 |
85,000 Aeroplan points Estimated value: $1,785 |
|
If you’re flying out of major hubs like Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal regularly, this can be a huge time saver. The priority security lane 1 at Pearson is also a nice touch for their most loyal flyers.
I find most baggage and check-in agents to be pleasant and quite knowledgeable if you have a question about your itinerary. That said, the manual process of checking a bag using the automated machines at some airports can be a pain.
In the check-in experience category, Air Canada scores 9/10.
Porter Airlines
Porter has really stepped up since the launch of the BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard.
The BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard offers benefits including VIPorter Venture membership and the opportunity to earn an annual round-trip companion pass through spending.
Earn when you apply through Frugal Flyer.
70,000 VIPorter points
$18,000
$1,175+
$199 (FYF)
Yes
Jan 31, 2026
One of the benefits of the card is instant VIPorter Venture status within the VIPorter loyalty program, which allows for priority check-in along with free carry-on and a checked bag. While you won’t feel the same warm and fuzzies at Pearson Terminal 3, getting these perks for a much smaller annual fee has to earn Porter some credit.
In the check-in experience category, Porter Airlines scores 9/10.
WestJet
WestJet does have its ever-popular co-branded WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard, but the flying experience perks stop after giving you a free checked bag.
The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard offers a WestJet companion voucher on approval (with the ability to earn one each anniversary year through spending), plus a first free checked bag on WestJet flights.
Check out our WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard review for more details.
70,000 WestJet points
$5,000
$700+
$139
Yes
Feb 4, 2026
One of the longest check-in lines I had to stand in last year was at Vancouver Airport when WestJet couldn’t process my online check-in. I had booked the flight with Flying Blue miles, so maybe that was part of the issue, but I’ve never had this problem with any other Canadian carrier.
If you have WestJet status, you can get priority access, but that requires a minimum of $4,000 CAD spent on WestJet flights.
In the check-in experience category, WestJet scores 7/10.
Flair Airlines
Flair still requires passengers to check in at the airport unless you want to pay a fee for online check-in. At the check-in desk, you must size all your bags, then you’ll get a colored tag based on what the bag is “approved” for. If you’re planning to fly Flair, ensure that your carry-on luggage follows the sizing requirements; otherwise, you’ll be charged an extra fee to check it.
In the check-in experience category, Flair Airlines scores 3/10.
Value of Ticket
Not all the airlines on this list are equal in terms of what they offer customers, and for good reason, they’re all targeting a different set of customers. The question to answer here is how much of a premium do you pay for an ‘elevated’ experience, and is it worth it? Looking at some major routes, 3-4 months out, the landscape is competitive.
For example, here are some of the options from Vancouver (YVR) to Toronto (YYZ):
And here’s a pricing comparison of flight options from Calgary (YYC) to Toronto (YYZ):
Air Canada
Air Canada has the opportunity to offer the most elevated experience of our airlines in Canada, but how much of a premium do you pay to fly with them? Looking at the results above, they are actually one of the least expensive options.
That being said, these prices are all for Basic fares, which won’t help you accrue Air Canada Aeroplan status. However, if you only care about lounge access and priority services, your premium Aeroplan credit card will provide all those benefits regardless of your Air Canada fare class.
In the value of ticket category, Air Canada scores 9/10.
Porter Airlines
Unfortunately, Porter Airlines didn’t fare well in the search results, being the most expensive carrier, but I’ve seen instances where they are the cheapest by a wide margin.
I think Porter provides a consistently premium experience; they even serve their drinks in glassware compared to plastic cups on every other airline. You could argue that you’re paying a small premium to avoid a middle seat as well.
In the value of ticket category, Porter Airlines scores 7/10.
WestJet
WestJet has the least impressive cabin experience in my opinion, and they commonly come in 3rd place for the price of a ticket. That doesn’t bode particularly well to pay more for a product that is less impressive, but I’ve also flown on WestJet flights that took me from Toronto to Dublin for only $198 CAD. For this ranking, I have to give them the lowest grade.
In the value of ticket category, WestJet scores 6/10.
Flair Airlines
Flair is the one constant in the searches, as they are always the cheapest option! At least when looking at the flat ticket price in a search engine. Obviously, you must go through and add all the checked or carry-on bags to see your final price and compare that to what you get with Air Canada.
The main takeaway I have from writing this is that if you fly a lot, holding a co-branded credit card will save you a TON of money.
In the value of ticket category, Flair Airlines scores 8/10.
Value of Your Loyalty
If you’re going to be flying a lot, having loyalty to one airline or alliance is the way to maximize your return for spending. But do all airlines deserve your loyalty? I’ll break down what each airline offers in return for choosing to fly with them.
Air Canada
Air Canada is one of the few major airlines in North America that still awards points and status in their Air Canada Aeroplan loyalty program based on distance flown. Many US airlines (and even WestJet) now award frequent fliers based on how much they spend on a ticket. This model of rewards can work well if you’re flying long distances, but flyers who only do short hops would be better off with a revenue-based system.
That said, earning valuable eUpgrades and Priority Rewards is unmatched in the Canadian loyalty landscape. Not to mention Star Alliance Gold recognition if you’re flying a lot!
In the value of your loyalty category, Air Canada scores 10/10.
Porter Airlines
Porter’s loyalty program is based on revenue, meaning you’ll get a fixed return of 5-8 points for every dollar you spend. Porter points vary greatly in value, but when I did a deep dive into the program, I found some examples of 4 cents per point, while other examples are often found a less than 1 cent per point.
If you opt to get a BMO co-branded Porter credit card for the status benefits, you won’t be able to earn Atmos Rewards points on your booking, but any travel companions are still able to! Atmos Rewards points (formerly known as Alaska Airlines Miles) are super valuable and hard to earn in Canada now. In my household, I always have my player 2 earn Atmos Rewards points while I rack up Porter points, as I already have a small stash.
You’ll earn Atmos Rewards points based on distance, so it’s always important to check and see how many miles you’ll earn, but on the Classic fare from Winnipeg (YWG) to Newark (EWR) we earned nearly 1,400 miles, which is worth about $30 in value from a $420 flight.
A 7% return isn’t super great, but I think it’s better than earning 2,000 VIPorter points ($400 spent X 5 points per dollar).
In the value of your loyalty category, Porter Airlines scores 8/10.
WestJet
WestJet doesn’t reward flying activity at any meaningful rate. Earning 1 point for every $1 spent is a fixed 1% return on your spending with them, and their points are only worth 1 cent towards their fares. Even if you spend $3,000 with the airline, you’ll only get back $30 of value.
I tend to credit my WestJet flights to the Delta SkyMiles program, and occasionally you’ll get a full mileage credit, as you can see from the Toronto (YYZ) to Vancouver (YVR) segment below.
At least with Delta miles, you can transfer in from Membership Rewards points earned with American Express US and American Express Canada to make a redemption. If you do spend a significant amount with WestJet and may accrue status, it’s worth looking into their WestJet Rewards loyalty program, but I find it to be underwhelming.
In the value of your loyalty category, WestJet scores 5/10.
Flair Airlines
Flair loses this battle easily as they don’t have a loyalty program. Even worse, Flair doesn’t accept American Express as a payment method or appear on the Amex Travel portal, so you can’t maximize earnings. Your main value of loyalty is saving on the fixed cost of a ticket if they are consistently significantly cheaper than the other airlines.
In the value of your loyalty category, Flair Airlines scores 1/10.
Final Results – The Best Airline in Canada
I want to preface this by saying that I only added up the scores at the end of all my rankings, so I had an idea of where the airlines would land, but I didn’t want to be biased during the ranking process. Let’s find out who wins the award of “The Best Airline in Canada”.
| Air Canada | Porter Airlines | WestJet | Flair Airlines | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amenities | 10 | 6 | 4 | 1 |
| Comfort | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Onboard Service | 7 | 10 | 7 | 5 |
| On-Time Arrivals | 6 | 9 | 5 | 7 |
| Entertainment & In-Flight WiFi | 7 | 10 | 6 | 5 |
| Route Schedule | 9 | 6 | 8 | 5 |
| Consistency of Economy Cabin | 3 | 10 | 6 | 10 |
| Check-in Experience | 9 | 9 | 7 | 3 |
| Value of Ticket | 9 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| Value of Loyalty | 10 | 8 | 5 | 1 |
| Total Score | 78 | 84 | 61 | 51 |
We can see that Air Canada and Porter trade punches for the top spot, but ultimately, Air Canada’s inconsistent product did them in. Another takeaway from this is that WestJet didn’t win a single category, proving my point of them being “perfectly average”.
I had a feeling that Porter Airlines could come out on top, but I am happy to see my favorite economy airline backing up my suspicions!
Conclusion
Canadian airlines are an eclectic bunch, but in recent years, Porter Airlines has become a major player, and I think they’re tasking Air Canada with improving their onboard service.
While there’s work to be done to usurp Air Canada in all facets, Porter has done a great job of establishing themselves as the best economy class for travel within Canada, and I’m excited to see where this airline goes in the future.
Do you think I missed the mark on any of my rankings? Let me know in the comments!
Daniel Burkett
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