Flair beefing up fleet to 30 planes by mid-2023 amid rapid budget airline expansion

Flair Airlines plans to expand its fleet to 30 aircraft by mid-2023, more than double the current size as it strives for a 50-plane fleet within five years.

The ultra-low-cost carrier says it will lease an additional 14 new Boeing 737 Max jetliners in the next year and a half.

The new planes would come on top of the dozen currently on hand as well as the four already slated for arrival next year.

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Flair says the fleet, which was effectively down to one plane last April, will see 20 aircraft flying to Canadian cities ranging from Victoria to St. John’s, N.L., by this summer.

The budget airline, which also flies to U.S. cities and as of this February to Mexico, is growing rapidly in a sector of renewed competition despite pandemic headwinds.

Ultra-low-cost carrier Lynx — formerly Enerjet — announced last month it will launch commercial routes next year while WestJet budget subsidiary Swoop continues to bulk up, unveiling nine new routes out of Edmonton in November.

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Meanwhile, Canada’s airline regulator says it continues to monitor financial arrangements between Flair and U.S. private equity firm 777 Partners, which is leasing the airline its new planes. The Miami-based company holds a 25 per cent stake in the carrier.

The foreign ownership ceiling on domestic airlines is 49 per cent, raised by the Liberal government from 25 per cent in 2018.

“In assessing whether an airline is in fact controlled by Canadians, the CTA is tasked with ensuring that considers a number of factors, including any implications that may arise from the leasing of assets from non-Canadians,” the Canadian Transportation Agency said in an email.