(Edmonton) Flair Airlines projects its fleet to number 30 planes by mid-2023, more than double its current size, while the airline targets a fleet of 50 planes within five years.
The ultra-low cost carrier said on Wednesday it will lease an additional 14 new Boeing 737 Max over the next year and a half.
These new planes would be added to the dozen currently available, as well as four others already expected next year.
Flair’s fleet, which numbered just one aircraft last April, will see 20 aircraft flying to Canadian cities ranging from Victoria to St. John’s, Newfoundland by this summer.
The airline, which also serves US cities and, since February, Mexico, is growing rapidly in a sector of renewed competition, despite the headwinds of the pandemic.
Competitor low-cost carrier Lynx – formerly Enerjet – announced last month that it would launch commercial routes next year, while WestJet’s low-cost subsidiary Swoop continues to expand, unveiling nine new routes from Edmonton in November.
Meanwhile, Canada’s airline regulator has said it continues to monitor financial deals between Flair and U.S. private equity firm 777 Partners, which leases the airline its new planes. The Miami-based company owns a 25% stake in the carrier.
The foreign ownership cap on domestic airlines is 49%.
“In assessing whether an airline is in fact controlled by Canadians, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is responsible for ensuring that it takes into account a number of factors, including possible implications leasing assets to non-Canadians, ”the organization said in an emailed statement.