KELOWNA — How many low-cost carriers can the Canadian market handle? Now Flair Airlines says it plans to increase its seat capacity in the ultra-low-cost carrier market by an additional 40%.
The news comes days after ULCC startup Jetlines announced its western hub, Abbotsford, B.C., ahead of its scheduled launch in summer 2018. Jetlines also plans to fly out of Hamilton, but not Waterloo as previously planned.
Meanwhile WestJet is finalizing details for its low-cost carrier Swoop, set to launch in June 2018.
Flair Airlines says it is finalizing a private financing arrangement that will result in the addition of two more B737-400 aircrafts into its fleet. The aircrafts are scheduled to begin service in spring 2018.
“By April 2018 Flair Airlines will be servicing the Canadian ULCC market in earnest with a total of seven B737-400s throughout our existing and future route network, “ said Chris Lapointe, VP, Commercial Operations for Flair Airlines. “Currently we operate between two and four aircrafts in the market, this addition will increase seat capacity significantly.”
Flair Airlines purchased the assets of NewLeaf Travel Company earlier this year, flying more than 375,000 passengers since the beginning of 2017.
Building on what it calls an “aggressive strategic plan”, Flair anticipates flying over one million passengers in 2018.
“We are gearing up for a busy 2018 season by completing maintenance inspections and aircraft rebranding this winter,” says Jim Rogers, CEO, Flair Airlines. “Flair offers passengers excellent value for their money and we are continually analyzing cost-saving measures to keep our prices low.”
Flair also says it will emphasize an increased presence in servicing southwestern Ontario in 2018. The focus will be to connect the region with the rest of Canada and key cities in the U.S.
“This expansion of both capacity and our route structure, may require us to add larger aircrafts to our fleet, such as the B737-800s as they have 189 seats,” said Lapointe. “As we head into the holiday season, we are focused on customer service and lowering airfares for Canadians.”
Lapointe added that he expects to make “exciting announcements” prior to year-end, regarding Flair’s ongoing expansion into the ULCC market.
