Flair Airlines plans cheap, no-frills flights between Canada and US this fall

Canadians and Americans looking to fly across the border could have one more airline to choose from this fall, if coronavirus-related travel restrictions between the two countries are gone by then, as planned. Canadian budget carrier Flair Airlines said Thursday that on Oct. 31 it will begin flying to six U.S. leisure destinations, including Las Vegas; Fort Lauderdale and Orlando-Sanford in Florida; Phoenix-Mesa in Arizona; Hollywood-Burbank and Palm Springs in California. Flair executives suggest that their tiny airline can undercut big Canadian and American carriers on price. Swoop, a low-cost carrier owned by Canada's WestJet, is trying that approach too. "You don’t have to rack up debt or save for months to enjoy travel this winter,” Stephen Jones, president and CEO of Flair Airlines said. One-way fares will start between 79 to 109 Canadian dollars ($63 to $87). Flair officials said they will fly to the US from eight Canadian cities, including Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Calgary, Ottowa, Kitchener-Waterloo and Abbotsford.<br/>The airline is led by a former executive of Hungary’s Wizz Air. It flew charters before converting to a mix of low fares and lots of fees, similar to US carriers Spirit and Allegiant. Flair tried flying to the US once before but ended that service in 2019.<br/>