TORONTO — NewLeaf will take to the skies July 25 with an expanded network of 12 destinations, including five new additions: Edmonton, Victoria, Kamloops, Fort St. John and Moncton. The other seven destinations are Abbotsford, Halifax, Hamilton/Toronto, Kelowna, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

Launched earlier this year, NewLeaf was ready to begin flights Feb. 12 but bookings ground to a halt after air passenger advocate Gabor Lukacs raised licensing concerns.

NewLeaf is not an airline but rather a re-seller of airline seats, for airline partners Flair Airlines and Enerjet, says NewLeaf CEO Jim Young. NewLeaf doesn’t have its own operating license because as a re-seller, it doesn’t need one. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) ruled in NewLeaf’s favour, although Lukacs has filed an appeal.

Asked about the appeal at a press conference today, Young said “we’re not going to sit around waiting for a single individual to decide if we fly. We have the legal right to fly. … This is one individual who claims to have the moral authority to speak for all Canadians. We have a business to run. We have Canadians who want to fly.

“Any rumours of our death have been greatly exaggerated … We’re back, exactly the way we said we would be. We’re just a little late.”

NewLeaf is focused on smaller airports currently underserved by the competition. “Almost all of our routes are a nonstop service that our competitors do not currently offer,” he said.

Like most ultra low-cost carriers (or in this case, re-sellers of ultra low cost carrier fares), NewLeaf isn’t exactly courting the retail travel industry. But NewLeaf isn’t  anti-travel agent, said Young earlier this year. “If we’re anti-anything, we’re anti-GDS,” he said. Agents can book the airline directly for their clients, he added. “We’re anti-cost. We have to have the lowest operation costs we possibly can.”

Introductory fares available until Oct. 2 start at $79 all-in for a one-way fare between Edmonton and Kamloops. Young said he expects the promotional fares to sell out during the busy summer season, and added that the airline is focused on the short-breaks leisure market, on 156-seat planes. Flights run two to three times a week and Young said he’s hoping to ramp up frequencies soon. The airline’s website is gonewleaf.ca.

Also at the press conference, Young announced that Ben Baldanza, former CEO of Spirit Airlines, has joined NewLeaf’s Board of Directors.