This brings Flair's total aircraft count to 16, and will allow the airline to expand its route offerings by 33 per cent. Flair will launch service this spring to new destinations including
It will also launch service between
A privately held company, Flair launched in 2004 as a charter operator and transitioned to regularly scheduled service three years ago. But it's only been in the last 12 months — a period that coincided with an unprecedented collapse in demand for air travel due to the pandemic — that Flair has been aggressively pursuing growth plans, stating publicly that it wants to grow its fleet to 50 aircraft within the next five years.
In an interview, Flair chief executive
“We think it’s a great time to be expanding," Jones said. "You have to take the view that demand will return, and that people want to travel. And when you take that view, the question is when will they do that, and how are you going to be ready for it?"
Jones added the pandemic, along with the two-year grounding of the 737 MAX aircraft worldwide due to deadly crashes in
In addition to the destinations announced Tuesday, Flair will also start service to six
Ultimately, Jones said Flair hopes to expand its route offerings all over
“I think anywhere there is good demand for Canadians to fly to, we should be able to service those markets," he said.
The ultra-low-cost carrier model — whereby passengers pay a low base fare and then pay extra for add-ons like checked bags, cancellations and changes, and seat selection — has taken off in
"There are two 400-pound gorillas in the cage that generally smash the heck out of any new entrants," he said.
That's why Flair's expansion move is so interesting, Erickson added, in that it takes advantage of a period in time when both
"The timing of this tells me these guys (Flair) are shrewd operators," Erickson said. "There's an opportunity here, as both
Flair has also done a good job of "stepping around" the major airlines, Erickson said, by flying into secondary airports. For example, Flair flies to
"Everything I see from them tells me someone is really thinking. There's definitely a plan here," Erickson said. "There is a possibility this could turn into a pretty significant airline."
Flair says the addition of the new aircraft will create 150 new jobs for flight attendants, pilots and operational support staff. Flair is currently recruiting for 100 pilot jobs to meet the needs of its growing fleet.
This report by
© 2021 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved., source