Plane seizures a ‘significant blow’ to Flair as passenger frustrations grow

Flight cancellations by Flair Airlines come amid 'commercial dispute' with a U.S. based lessor that saw four of its planes seized.

March Break got off to a turbulent start for many Canadians who were supposed to fly Flair Airlines over the weekend after the ultra-low-cost-carrier cancelled flights due to what they say they were told was “maintenance” issues.

But those cancellations come amid what Flair has called a “commercial dispute” with a U.S. based lessor that seized four of its planes over recent days. And while it’s not immediately clear if the cancelled flights were due to the planes being seized, one aviation expert says this latest development has heightened the level of risk in buying a Flair ticket.

“This scenario of getting airplanes seized and losing 20 per cent of your aircraft fleet is a significant blow to the credibility and to the brand that is that the fleet is trying to build in Canada,” said John Gradek, a faculty lecturer at McGill University in aviation and supply management.

“You can still get a good deal, but .. you’re taking some chances in terms of buying a ticket with Flair,” he added.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, discount airlines, such as Edmonton-based Flair, Calgary-based Lynx, and WestJet subsidiary Swoop, rapidly expanded across Canada.

Gradek said it’s a “very competitive” market, as the travel industry looks to rebound after pandemic restrictions, including some domestic competitors who may be eyeing Flair’s leases and considering paying more to the lessor to use the planes for their own fleets.

For example, he said that during the pandemic a lease for the kinds of planes Flair was using would likely run around $200,000 each per month amid a “glut” on the global marketplace.

Now, those same planes would lease for around $400,000 a month, and for closer to $600,000 a month in the summer peak travel months amid a market that has become “a very different world.”