Flair Airlines seeks investors to ‘restructure’ finances and grow fleet

Flair Airlines is looking for partners to inject fresh capital into the discount carrier in order to "restructure" its finances and build out its fleet. Eric Tanner, vice-president of revenue management and network planning, said the company is hoping for partners to buy into the business as a way to deal with pandemic-era debt and allow the company to acquire jets beyond the 20 planes it now flies. "What we're really looking at is restarting our growth ambitions and finding strategic equity partners who are going to help us get onto that level," Tanner said in an interview. "There’s work underway, amongst investors, to restructure the balance sheet." He was quick to add that the investor hunt is not a "pressing need" and the business itself is not undergoing restructuring, having turned a profit in July and August. "The business is in frankly the best shape that it's been in, from a performance perspective," he said. Tanner attributed the boost in part to a thinning out of competition over the past year. Budget carrier Lynx Air collapsed in February and filed for creditor protection, while WestJet's ultra-low-cost subsidiary Swoop shut down in October last year.<br/>