Flair Airlines

Flair Airlines is a Canadian airline[6] headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta.[7] The airline operates scheduled passenger and chartered services with a fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. The airline promotes itself as being Canada's leading independent value carrier.[8]

History

2005–2008

The airline began operations as a privately owned company on August 19, 2005, under the name Flair Air.[9] In January 2006, Transport Canada authorized the airline to operate scheduled all-cargo services between Cuba and Canada, on behalf of Cubana de Aviación

2019 rebranding–present

In February 2019, Flair went through a "top to bottom" makeover, changing its signature colours from purple and red to acid green and black. This reflected the airline's new "Plane and Simple" branding. The brand makeover included a new livery that remains on the airline's 737-800s. New flight attendant uniforms were also rolled out in September 2019.

commenced	2017 (as Flair Airlines)

headquarters	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

key people	Len Corrado (Chief Executive Officer)‡R5R‡

website	www.flyflair.com

In February 2020, Flair offered unlimited travel in the form of a one-time fee 90-day pass valid between February 13 and May 13, 2020.[15] In August 2020, Flair retired their final Boeing 737-400 aircraft in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]

In January 2021, Flair announced an order for 13 of the MAX 8 variant Boeing 737 MAX jet from financing partner 777 Partners, with plans to grow to 50 aircraft within 5 years. The first of these aircraft arrived in May 2021, with a total of 8 scheduled to arrive over the summer months. The remaining five were planned to arrive before 2022.[17] This order came at a crucial time for Boeing, as it restarted MAX operations following a months-long grounding of the type.[18] All future aircraft deliveries to Flair were to be painted in an updated livery, which includes the airline's signature acid green and black colours, as well as subtle highlights of light purple. In December 2021, Flair ordered an additional 14 Boeing 737 MAX 8s.

Regulatory concerns

In March 2022, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) ruled that Flair may be in violation of the law that requires it to be controlled by Canadians, and stated that the airline's operating licence may be suspended. Flair denied that it was in violation of Canadian laws and asked for an 18-month exemption to address regulatory concerns.[19] Jones stated that the company would overhaul its board and refinance its debt to reduce foreign influence on the company.[20] The National Airlines Council of Canada, which represents Air Canada, Air Transat, and WestJet released a statement asking the CTA to reject Flair's request.[21] In a statement issued on April 21, Jones stated that the airline had a "zero chance" of losing its operating licence and criticized the lack of competition in the Canadian airline industry.[22]

airline	Flair Airlines
iata	F8‡R1R‡
icao	FLE‡R2R‡
callsign	FLAIR‡R2R‡
aoc	Canada: 14941‡R3R‡ United States: F8RF148F‡R4R‡
bases	Calgary Edmonton Kitchener/Waterloo Toronto–Pearson Vancouver Winnipeg
fleet size	20
destinations	34
num employees	1,250 (Jan 2024)

History

2005–2008

2008–2019

2019 rebranding–present

Regulatory concerns

Regulatory concerns

Passenger complaints

Aircraft seizures

Destinations

Destinations

Terminated destinations

Interline agreements

Charters

Workforce transportation

Around the world tours

Government charters

ACMI charters

Passenger charters

Fleet

Current fleet

Former fleet

Cabin and services

External links

References

Passenger complaints

Aircraft seizures