Canada’s Porter Airlines has named airport official Rob Palmer as its new chief financial officer.
The Toronto-headquartered carrier said Palmer had joined the company as of 7 February, after most recently working as CFO of the Calgary Airport Authority.
Palmer’s experience also includes time as vice-president and controller of Calgary-based WestJet.
“Rob has a clear understanding of airport operations and airline finances, and we expect to benefit from his knowledge in these areas,” says Michael Deluce, Porter’s chief executive. “His time at WestJet came during a period when it was quickly expanding, similar to today’s situation at Porter as we develop into a North American carrier.”
Porter’s previous finance chief Jeffrey Brown stepped down in October to take the same role with Canadian company Chartwell Retirement Residences. Brown had worked as Porter’s CFO since 2014.
The carrier flies passengers to more than 30 cities with its fleet of new Embraer 195-E2s and older De Havilland Dash 8-400s. It has been expanding its reach to the West Coast of the USA with recently launched flights from Toronto to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In December, Porter launched an interline agreement with major US carrier Alaska Airlines, through which the carriers offer combined itineraries and coordinate on marketing flights.
Porter describes the deal as a “broad partnership” that connects its own regional network across Eastern Canada to Alaska’s “well-established US West Coast links”.
The carrier also has a business partnership with Montreal’s Air Transat, through which the carriers coordinate flight schedules and routes in an effort to expand their respective networks, and compete with Air Canada and WestJet.
