Flair is Canadian, but ‘not perfect,’ CEO admits. What’s next for the airline?

Flair Airlines' licences are safe after the transportation watchdog ruled it is Canadian-owned, but the carrier still faces challenges ahead of the busy summer travel season.

Flair Airlines’ CEO says he’s confident his ultra-low-cost airline is ready to take advantage of the summer travel boom after satisfying regulators that it’s Canadian enough to fly.

But even as its chief executive concedes to Global News there’s room for improvement, analysts say headwinds facing the aviation industry like soaring fuel prices could actually bode well for the embattled airline.

Flair spent much of the spring season trying to prove that the Edmonton-based airline was Canadian enough after the country’s transportation watchdog said in an initial ruling on March 3 that it might be in violation of rules limiting foreign ownership.

But after Flair overhauled its board of directors and made a series of governance changes to limit the influence of one of its major U.S.-based investors, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) ruled on June 1 that the airline indeed met the letter of the law to keep flying.

“Flair is a Canadian airline, full stop,” CEO Stephen Jones told Global News in an interview this week.

While the CTA’s final ruling landed in Flair’s favour, the agency confirmed to Global News on multiple occasions that if its review found Flair did not meet the standards of Canadian ownership, its licences to fly would be revoked.

That led to uncertainty in the eyes of some analysts and consumers as to whether Flair would be able to fulfill bookings for summer travel.

While he maintains Flair’s Canadian status was not in doubt internally, Jones said the months of speculation opened the door for the airline’s competitors to cast aspersions.