Porter Airlines is looking beyond the skies.

President and CEO Robert Deluce said in an interview the five-year-old airline is considering "non-air opportunities" - including packaged vacations.

"Hotel, insurance, car rental partnerships, all of those things, can all be accommodated for sale on a Porter website or through travel agencies," said Deluce.

"They could be on their own, attached to a booking process. They could be packaged. These are the sort of things we're exploring."

Deluce said the move stems from the increased number of "leisure destinations" offered by the business-oriented airline to places like Mont Tremblant, Que., Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Burlington, Vt, with more people travelling for pleasure, especially during the summer and holidays.

"It certainly makes sense now to consider packaged products based on expressions of interest that we've had," he said.

The airline recently upgraded its reservation system, which now has the capacity to facilitate outside bookings. Deluce said the airline plans on making announcements about non-flight initiatives in the first half of 2012.

Porter is also in discussions with mainline carriers to enter into code-share agreements - whereby customers can purchase an itinerary on more than one airline, but it counts as only one transaction - to offer service to North American and international destinations.

Both WestJet and Air Canada offer packaged vacations, which have proven lucrative for airlines.

WestJet launched its vacations - with packages to 44 destinations in 12 countries - in 2006 with "sales growing each year," said spokesman Robert Palmer, although profits are not separated from flight revenue.

Air Canada has had vacations for 31 years, with vacations to the Caribbean, Mexico, U.S., Europe, Central and South America, South Pacific and Asia. The airline also offers cruises to North America, Europe and the Caribbean, said spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick.

"Canadians still love their packaged vacations," said Heather Craig-Peddie, director of operations at the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies. "I believe that there's room for Porter."

She said all-inclusive destinations in warm places are popular with sun-deprived Canadians. But so are niche markets for golf or skiing - places more attuned to Porter's short travel distances.

But Craig-Peddie warned packaged deals can also be expensive for tour operators because of high-risk credit. "Credit card companies are not always kind to the industry," she said.

Deluce said Porter already has most of the technology in place to get vacations started and doesn't see a need for high initial costs. He added that the Porter brand, with its casual business flair, will not be compromised by outside companies.

"We're very careful about our branding and we're very careful about our partners," he said. "I doubt that that will change."

Porter flies 24 aircraft from its base at Toronto City Centre Airport, but Deluce told the Montreal Board of Trade on Thursday the company will add two more planes within the next two weeks, and four more within two years.

The further expansion would allow the carrier to use an additional 16 slots to add new destinations and supplement existing service from the 156 slots it already operates.

The CEO said the airline has exceeded its original plan to use 20 aircraft to service 17 cities within two hours flying time of Toronto.

With files from Canadian Press