Porter Airlines is doubling its weekday service between Toronto and Montreal to nine round-trip flights from four, effective immediately.

The independent airline will also make six round-trip flights between Toronto's island airport and Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport on the weekend: two on Saturdays and four on Sundays.

Porter Airlines plans to expand its service to as many as 17 short-haul flights to destinations in Canada and the U.S. within a 500-kilometre radius of Toronto.
(CBC)

Company president and CEO Robert Deluce said Monday the airline is exploring expanding its service to other destinations, including Thunder Bay within the next three years.

"Thunder Bay has certainly been one of the destinations we identified right from the beginning as being a location that had a fair bit of origin and destination traffic," Deluce said.

Other plans include adding as many as 17 short-haul flights to destinations in Canada and the U.S. within a 500-kilometre radius of Toronto.

Porter Airlines opened for business in late October amid protests from Toronto Island residents, saying the airport detracted from efforts to revitalize the city's waterfront. 

Mayor David Miller, who in 2003 campaigned to block building a bridge to the island, also vigorously opposed the launch of the new airline.

In December, Deluce noted that the company is on track to turning a profit in its first year.