No word yet from any of Canada’s airlines, but some of Canada’s smaller airports are happy startup Flair Airlines has won its case to continue flying domestic flights as a Canadian operator.
On 01JUN, the CTA determined that Edmonton-based Flair is Canadian.
As Open Jaw reported in APR, the CTA had determined that Edmonton-based Flair may be in violation of the law that requires it to be controlled by Canadians as a result of its partnership with Miami-based investment company 777 Partners LLC.
However, the airline subsequently made changes, including to the structure of its board of directors, amendments to shareholder rights, and demonstrated, according to the CTA, that it can operate without being fully dependent on 777’s financing. That was enough for the CTA.
Its 01JUN decision recognizes Flair as ‘Canadian’ - and allows it to continue to operate domestic flights.
Other Canadian airlines competitors remain silent on the CTA’s decision as of 02JUN.
In APR, through the National Airlines Council of Canada and the Air Transport Association of Canada, they jointly opposed the government giving Flair an exemption it requested - even on a temporary basis - from Canadian ownership requirements.
“These laws ensure that companies make a firm commitment to Canada, protecting the industry’s viability, incentivizing growth and new routes, allowing for expansion and building strong networks across the country and globally that collectively make up a strong ecosystem," their statement said in APR.
In response, Flair accused the other airlines of simply attempting to stifle competition. It’s positioned itself as the scrappy, underdog airline committed to bringing low-cost flights into local markets for Canadians.
There is no indication that any exemption of the rules was given, rather that Flair’s changes were able to meet CTA standards of Canadian ownership.
However, one sector of Canada’s airline industry did immediately applaud the CTA decision to acknowledge Flair’s Canadian status and continued operation of its domestic routes.
Not surprisingly, the ones cheering are those with the most to gain. If the CTA ruling had gone the other way, Flair would have had to cease domestic operations and perhaps pull out of regional airports.
"It's obviously good news for us, with Flair starting in early July with two flights a week to Montreal and two to Halifax," Windsor International Airport CEO Mark Galvin told local CBCNews.
"So it's something that we've obviously been monitoring and always supported Flair working with the CTA to resolve any issues they might have, and it's obviously a favourable result for us."
It’s also good news for another small regional airport, down the road from Windsor in Western Ontario.
Waterloo signed an exclusive agreement with Flair Airlines to begin flying out of the Region of Waterloo International Airport in 2021, which - maybe counter-intuitively - actually became busier during the pandemic.
"In 2021, the Region of Waterloo International Airport was ranked the 6th busiest in the country and the number of passengers moving through our airport has increased 245% since 2019," said Region of Waterloo Chair Karen Redman in an email to CBC News.
She credits Flair Airlines with that growth and said the company continues "to respond to the growing demand of our community members."
Flair currently flies to 13 destinations in Canada, the United States and Mexico from YKF.
Marion Joppe, a professor at nearby University of Guelph's School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism, says Flair's win is also good news for Canadian pax, and not just because of the options ultra-low-cost-carriers provide to the travelling public.
She told CBC that, "We really should be using regional airports to a greater extent."
"Pearson is already overused, we see that right now with the endless lineups. There are no line-ups when you go to Waterloo Regional Airport," she said.
