"Be thankful we're here": Flair touts affordability and denies bankruptcy rumours

Flair Airlines’ president and CEO is refuting rumours about the carrier potentially going belly-up, saying it’s gearing up for a busy summer and is dead-set on making air travel more affordable for Canadians.

Stephen Jones acknowledged his young carrier with a fleet of only 20 planes “isn’t perfect,” in response to recent incidents where passengers were left stranded in Cancun for 48+ hours due to mechanical issues.

But suggestions by some in the industry that the airline may go bankrupt by Thanksgiving are simply not true, according to Jones.

“With the reduction in capacity in the market with the exit of Lynx, there’s a lot of demand chasing fewer seats. And as a consequence, we’re seeing strong loads — so full aircraft. And decent yields,” Jones said. “So we think it’s going to be a very strong summer.”

Flair’s presence in market keeps prices down: CEO

Jones says the airline is on a mission to make air travel more affordable for Canadians. Even if a traveller isn’t a Flair customer, he argued they’re benefitting from Canada’s only remaining ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) being in the market because it’s pushing prices down.

Though not everyone may be happy with Flair, he pointed out prices are more affordable now than in the days of the “duopoly” of Air Canada and WestJet.

Recently, aviation industry expert John Gradek voiced his concern that Flair wouldn’t make it to Thanksgiving, pointing to its financial troubles, including it owing $67.2 million to the Canada Revenue Agency over taxes on planes it purchased and a $25 million legal fight with a financial services company. Jones says the airline has worked out a payment plan with the CRA, and the legal action involving the financial services company has been withdrawn.

As for Gradek’s suggestion that Flair may be undercutting the market by selling tickets that are too cheap to successfully operate an airline, Jones said Gradek doesn’t understand Flair’s pricing model.

Jones said Flair makes 40% of its revenue from add-ons. The base ticket price only gets a customer a seat and a personal item. Customers have to pay extra to use the overhead bins, check luggage, select a seat, or have a soft drink on board.

“We keep our basic offering as cheap and affordable as possible. And then we give people choices,” Jones said.

Flair is a privately owned company and, therefore, doesn’t report its earnings as publicly traded companies do. It’s owned in part by Miami-based private equity firm 777 Partners.

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Flair addresses leaving customers behind

Flair has been criticized this year for skirting its responsibilities to passengers under Air Passenger Protection Regulations.

Daily Hive spoke with several customers who spent two days at the Cancun airport waiting for their flight to take off, as well as a Canadian student whose flight from Calgary to Abbotsford was cancelled day-of who had to find her own alternate flight. A Vancouverite who purchased tickets to Taylor Swift’s Los Angeles concert also missed the show because of mechanical issues with the toilets on board her Flair flight that prevented her from making it to California.

Jones revealed he himself is a Swiftie and said Flair doesn’t want to make anyone miss an important event. However, Flair is a new carrier with a relatively small fleet, so when things go wrong, it doesn’t have as many aircraft to rescue passengers.

“We have 20 aircraft, and we’re flying them all the time.”

He said people flying for important appointments, such as weddings, concerts, and others, should book travel a day in advance — and recognize the risk of travelling with a ULCC.

“You should understand that Flair is a smaller airline than some of the others, and we have fewer recovery options. So plan accordingly. You might want to go in a day early, or you might want to take a different airline. If something is absolutely critical, you’ve got to judge the risk yourself.”

He added Flair does what it can with its limited spare aircraft to get customers where they’re going as quickly as possible.

“We’re certainly not sitting around enjoying the fact our customers are disrupted. Absolutely the opposite. We’ve got a team that cares deeply about our customers.”

But despite Flair’s best efforts and caring, Canadian law says it needs to do more.

Flair was designated a large airline in January 2024, and Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) state that when a flight is cancelled for reasons within Flair’s control, Flair must re-book a passenger on its next flight leaving within nine hours of the original departure time.

If the carrier doesn’t have one of its own flights leaving within nine hours, it’s legally obligated to re-book the passenger on another airline with which it has a commercial agreement leaving within nine hours.

If neither of those options are possible, the carrier must re-book the passenger on any airline as soon as feasible, whether or not there’s a commercial agreement in place. The new flight must leave within 48 hours of the original departure time.

Airlines can also book a passenger on a route that takes off from or lands at a nearby airport to the original itinerary, provided they pay for ground transportation.

Jones maintained Flair is following its APPR commitments, though passengers tell Daily Hive Flair representatives have declined to re-book them on other airlines after their flights were cancelled.

Flair not going the way of Lynx: CEO

Many Canadians are still reeling after ULCC Lynx shut down suddenly this year and left ticket holders high and try — advising them to seek refunds through their credit card companies.

But Jones says Flair isn’t planning to do the same. In fact, he says it’s seen increased demand as Canada’s only remaining budget airline.

To anyone with a Flair ticket who’s worried about future travel, Jones has a simple message: welcome aboard.

“Our role in the industry is important. We’re genuinely stimulating traffic,” Jones said. “Even if you don’t like Flair and don’t fly with Flair, be thankful we’re here because of the impact we have on the industry… The fact that we go into a market reduces prices for everyone.”