Porter Airlines flight 321 got a big, wet welcome as it pulled into Kelowna International Airport for the first time Wednesday morning.
The salute featured the airport's fire trucks shooting arcs of water over the plane after it landed and approached the terminal.
"When you have a new tail (airplane) in town, you have to celebrate," said Sam Samaddar, Kelowna International Airport director.
Porter's arrival marks the beginning of year-round flights between Kelowna and Toronto, starting at five times a week until June 23 when the flights will run daily.
"The opportunity is also to provide diversity of air service that the consumer can look at when they're planning their destinations, where they want to go next," Samaddar said.
Samaddar says YLW has seen steady growth since COVID, with new record passenger traffic.
"When you look at an airport as an economic driver for its community, providing these kinds of services allows the economies and those regions to grow."
Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas aid the timing of Wednesday's announcement is good as Canadians seem determined to shop and travel Canadian thanks to Trump's tariffs.
"We may see a lot of tourists spend their hard earned dollars in Canada this year, and this provides that option for them to come visit the Okanagan," Dyas said.
The mayor said he hopes tourists will choose to spend their time, holidays and tourist dollars in the Okanagan, "people are able to come and enjoy our wineries, people are able to come and spend time here on our beaches and our parks."
Porter touts 'no middle seats' on its jets and they offer an elevated onboard experience, including food on real plates, free drinks, free wifi and extra leg room.
"Not just in the front of the cabin, where there's even more leg room. I've sat in the back on the way to Florida," said Andrew Pierce, vice president, Porter Airlines.
"I think a lot of carriers have recognized that Porter has had a competitive advantage through that (free drinks) offering, and now they're starting to match us, which is an interesting development," said Pierce.
It's not just free drinks and Wifi, Pierce says travel has become onerous for many travellers.
"We knew we had to compete against Air Canada and WestJet and US carriers into places like New York. We knew we had to be different, and we continue that to this day," Pierce says.
The route is operated on the new 132-seat Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, the quietest and most fuel-efficient aircraft in its class.
"Super quiet, high tech and a beauty to fly, here it is, the future, most modern aircraft that I feel is out there right now, especially for airlines," said Porter pilot Mark Shalovelo.