Flair goes frugal as 737 MAX buyer plans European-style relaunch

Canada’s tiny Flair Airlines, which made headlines by handing Boeing a crucial order for 737 MAX jets last week, is forging growth plans inspired by the austerity that transformed Hungary’s Wizz Air into one of Europe’s largest carriers. Former Wizz executive Stephen Jones, brought in from Europe to run Flair last year, said the Canadian company had grabbed planes at “a great price” to accelerate a relaunch based on the imported recipe of extreme cost discipline. “In many ways, the future of Flair will be a cookie-cutter of the success of Wizz,” the CEO said. One difference? Flair is basing its growth on Boeing jets whereas Wizz shot up the rankings to become one of Airbus’s biggest customers. In both cases, jet prices were key.<br/>