(Calgary) Lynx Air flies its maiden flight on Thursday, becoming the latest addition to Canada’s increasingly crowded low-cost airline market.
Posted at 2:42 p.m.
The ultra-low-cost carrier’s Boeing 737 Max jetliner was scheduled to take off Thursday from Calgary and land in Vancouver later in the morning.
Lynx chief executive Merren McArthur said the Calgary-based carrier, formerly known as Enerjet, wants to operate nearly 90 domestic flights per week on nine routes by June, and has the intends to almost double its number of flights by August.
Several ultra-low-cost carriers have been preparing since last summer for a clash with Air Canada and WestJet Airlines — and each other — especially for domestic flights and sun destinations.
Flair Airlines was down to just one plane a year ago but now expects to have 20 737s in its fleet by the end of June as the Edmonton-based airline adds flights from Victoria , in British Columbia, in Saint-Jean-de-Terre-Neuve.
Meanwhile, WestJet’s economy subsidiary Swoop continues to expand, unveiling nine new routes from Edmonton in November.