Flair Airlines expands fleet, adds 14 new routes in Canada and U.S.

As Canada's largest airlines struggle to pick up the pieces in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, an Edmonton-based discount carrier with ambitious expansion plans has been looking for opportunities amidst the wreckage. Flair Airlines - which bills itself as an ultra-low-cost carrier offering unbundled, bare-bones fares to budget-conscious travellers - announced Tuesday it is both increasing the size of its fleet and expanding its service to new destinations in Canada and the U.S. The airline said it will add four new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to its fleet in the spring of 2022. This brings Flair's total aircraft count to 16, and will allow the airline to expand its route offerings by 33 per cent. Flair will launch service this spring to new destinations including San Francisco, Nashville and Denver. It will also launch service between Toronto and Victoria and to Comox, B.C., for the first time. A privately held company, Flair launched in 2004 as a charter operator and transitioned to regularly scheduled service three years ago. But it's only been in the last 12 months - a period that coincided with an unprecedented collapse in demand for air travel due to the pandemic - that Flair has been aggressively pursuing growth plans, stating publicly that it wants to grow its fleet to 50 aircraft within the next five years. <br/>