Flair

[Maverick]

My spidey senses are tingling...

 

Flair Airlines blames maintenance, cancels half its flights and delays others in two-day mess at Region of Waterloo International Airport

 

By Jeff OuthitRecord Reporter

Thu., Dec. 8, 2022timer1 min. read

•  
•  

WATERLOO REGION — Flair Airlines has cancelled half its flights and delayed others in a rough two days at the Region of Waterloo International Airport.

The budget airline cites maintenance problems with up to three jetliners, including the passenger jet that ran off a runway into the grass Nov. 25.

“Unfortunately there have been service disruptions ... due to unforeseen delays with maintenance on two aircraft based there, coupled with the aircraft involved in the excursion,” a Flair spokesperson said Thursday in a statement.

 

 

“The airline anticipates this will be a very short-term disruption and sincerely regrets the inconvenience to passengers.”

Late Thursday afternoon, the airport’s website listed six cancellations among 12 arrivals and departures scheduled by Flair for Thursday and Friday. Five Flair flights were listed as late or delayed. One flight from Calgary arrived two hours late Thursday.

Flights to or from Halifax, Montreal, Edmonton and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. were cancelled.

Passengers have been notified of cancellations, and are reminded to check flight status online before heading to the airport.

 

There were 140 people on board when the Boeing 737 rolled into the grass in a troubled landing last month. The runway it overran is sufficient in length but is the shortest in use among the four biggest cities in southwest Ontario.

 

https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2022/12/08/flair-airlines-blames-maintenance-cancels-half-its-flights-and-delays-others-in-two-day-mess-at-region-of-waterloo-international-airport.html

[CanadaEH]

Jetsgo.

 

There, I said it. 

[Guest2]

Flair Airlines addresses latest increase in flight cancellations at YKF airport

Flair Airlines addressed its recent rash of cancellations Tuesday afternoon

James Sebastian-Scott
about 23 hours ago

•  

File photo of Region of Waterloo International AirportErin Anderson/CityNews

Listen to this article

00:03:35

Flair Airlines have had to cancel 27 flights from the Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF) in about a week. 

Three aircraft had to be taken out of service due to a number of maintenance issues. 

One of those aircraft was the one involved in the runway overrun incident that happened two weeks ago where a Flair Airlines flight coming from Vancouver overshot the runway and landed in the field at the end of the runway. 

Stephen Jones is the President and CEO of Flair Airlines and he said Tuesday afternoon that because of those aircraft being taken out of service, it created pressure on the flight schedule out of the region's airport. 

"We've experienced 27 flight cancellations over the last week or so," said Jones, "we've experienced these cancellations due to a series of issues that have followed on from the runway excursion in Kitchener."

Jones said that there were three aircraft out of service out of the 19 that are in the fleet.

"Losing three of the fleet for a series of different issues has meant we've had real struggles to cover the flying that we got on the schedule," said Jones. 

Aircraft 802, involved in the runway overrun, was the first aircraft taken out of service. 

"As you'll be aware, that aircraft was recovered, taken and serviced in the Kitchener hangar," he said, "last Friday it was flown to Calgary where it still has to undergo work. We are waiting on a part from Boeing and that aircraft will be back in service fully on Friday." 

 

Jones said two other issues involving aircraft were going on at the same time as aircraft 802 being taken out of service. 

"Our ability to cover for the aircraft out of service was really hampered by two other issues going on at the same time," said Jones, "one was a planned maintenance issue which all the aircraft go through a series of structured maintenance checks."

The planned maintenance was something called a "C" check - which was scheduled during this time. 

"That aircraft was also out of service being repaired in the U.S.," he said, "that is back in service now. We also had another aircraft which had an issue with the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), and we hit a servicing timeline problem with that. The piece required on that also took some time. That aircraft is back in the air and I can confirm that we will back fully on our schedule from Kitchener when Flight 814 from Calgary arrives Wednesday. We're restoring service today but fully back in service Wednesday," he said. 

Jones took a moment to apologize to Flair's customers for the 27 flight cancellations due to the three aircraft being taken out of service. 

"Clearly, these 27 flights have impacted a lot of our customers, particularly focused in Kitchener. I wanted to take this time to apologize to each one of them unreservedly. You are the lifeblood of our business and you are what we are here for," said Jones, "to not be able to deliver that service in the way we have promised and contracted to you is deeply disappointing to me, as I'm sure it is to you, and we are doing everything we can to make that right." 

Jones said that all the cancellations had at least 12 hours of notice and many of them had in excess of 24 hours. 

"For people planning those trips for a very long time, that is a very short amount of notice and we apologize for the disruption this has caused," said Jones. 

Jones said he is looking forward to getting back everything back to full schedule and delivering on Flair's promise to customers once again. 

[Tango Foxtrot]

Sounds like Flair should have gotten ahold of Aero Flyer at KF.

 Two 737s ready to go. 

[Airband]

RCMP investigate 'threat' aboard Flair flight that landed at YVR

The aircraft was held on the taxiway until approximately 1 a.m. while the RCMP investigated

Sat Dec 31, 2022  - National Post
by Sarah Grochowski 

It was a tense few hours for airline passengers arriving in Vancouver from Edmonton Friday, as Mounties boarded the plane asking who had used AirDrop to send out an alleged photo of a bomb.

Richmond RCMP Cpl. Dennis Hwang confirmed Saturday that shortly before midnight there was a security breach involving “an individual on this flight receive(ing) electronic communications on their mobile device of a possible threat.”

Police were called out to investigate Flair Airlines flight 2799 landing at YVR.

According to a Row 27 passenger on board, who has asked not to be identified in connection with the alleged threat, the ordeal was “very scary.”

She recalled three Mounties boarding the plane a few hours after it landed on the taxiway around 11:44 p.m.

The officers immediately approached a young man near Row 11, according to Vancouver’s Jesse Boyk, who was also on the flight.

“They were talking to the guy about Airdrop,” Apple’s wireless file-sharing facility, Boyk said. “One of the cops asked him to show them his phone.”

Another officer paced the aisles, asking passengers who had sent or received an AirDrop file about a bomb being on the plane, both passengers confirmed.

Before RCMP cleared the plane and passengers were unloaded at 2:15 a.m., they were told little about the unfolding security concern.

“The pilot came on and told three announcements which were basically all the same,” recalled the Row 27 passenger. “He said, ‘We are investigating a security threat … We need to follow what the RCMP instructs … Thank you for your patience’.”

Mounties eventually told passengers Apple was being contacted to trace the digital correspondence, Boyk said. “It was all very surprising.”

RCMP is still investigating the incident, with the “Number 1 consideration for charges being the uttering of threats,” said Hwang. The maximum punishment for the conviction is five years in prison.

“However, if in the investigation we determine it’s not in the public interest to pursue the charges or there is not sufficient evidence, we will not pursue.”

The officer also pointed to the power that airlines themselves have in penalizing passengers who carry out similar disruptions.

“The airline itself can decide to enact a lifetime ban on a person who is behind the AirDrop threat,” said Hwang. “These things not only put safety at risk, but it also costs companies a lot of time and money when a flight is delayed.”

Similar reports have seen AirDrop used to send unsolicited threats to strangers in Canada since the feature was first introduced in 2011. In March, an Air Canada flight to Montreal was cancelled after some passengers received images via AirDrop, one of which was a cartoon bomb about to explode.

Although the security threat was ultimately deemed non-credible, the messages were enough to cause panic on the plane.

While Apple users can decide to accept or decline an image when it is sent wirelessly, the request includes an image preview that users see before responding.

However, the unwanted sharing of files and pictures via AirDrop can be turned off if users change their iPhone’s default settings to “Receiving Off.”

[mo32a]

landed on the taxiway - hmmmm

[Kip Powick]

1 hour ago, mo32a said:

landed on the taxiway - hmmmm

Again, a rushed report...probably meant ................

She recalled three Mounties boarding the plane a few hours after it landed, and was on a taxiway, around 11:44 p.m.

[Guest1]

Flair grounds Windsor-Montreal flights 'for the time being'

Author of the article:

Doug Schmidt

Published Jan 24, 2023  •  3 minute read

 Join the conversation

 

 A Flair Airlines plane lands at Vancouver International Airpot (YVR) on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. PHOTO BY RICHARD LAM /PNG

Article content

Flair Airlines is suspending its super-cheap Windsor to Montreal airline service effective Feb. 6.

The twice-weekly flight service was only launched last July. As recently as the fall, the budget airline said it would continue the deeply discounted direct flights to Quebec’s largest city uninterrupted into 2023.

 

The Edmonton-headquartered company wouldn’t respond to questions on what the reason might have been for the route discontinuation, but it left open the possibility the bargain flights — advertised for as low as $29 one-way — could be resumed at some future date.

 

“The airline has made the decision to stop its service to Montreal from Windsor for the time being,” a Flair spokesperson told the Star in an email Monday.

 

Meanwhile, the weekly Flair flights between Windsor and Tucson, Ariz., that began Dec. 1 continue, and the previously announced resumption of direct summer flights to Halifax will resume June 7.

 

“Flair is committed to Windsor. We look forward to continuing service from Windsor, at the lowest fares on offer,” the spokesperson said.

 

Passengers who had already booked tickets for flights that are no more “will receive full refunds.” No word, however, on any compensation for disrupted travel plans, like hotel or connecting-flight bookings, due to the suddenly cancelled route.

 

Windsor International Airport CEO Mark Galvin said he was notified last week of Flair’s decision. He said it’s up to YQG’s airline partners to divulge the reasons for any route or schedule changes, as well as to notify the public and its customers about them.

 

Despite the negative news, both Galvin and the company spokesperson said local air travellers will be hearing some good news in the near future.

“Stay tuned, we’ve got something in the works with Flair,” said Galvin.

 

And while it seems that Windsor-Montreal just didn’t work out, at least for now, the opening of direct flights to the East Coast appears to have been a better business decision. Flair Airlines, which announced its presence in Windsor only last spring, will be expanding last summer’s twice-weekly flights to Halifax to a thrice-weekly schedule starting this June.

 

 ‘Committed to Windsor.’ In this April 5, 2022, file photo, Eric Tanner, director of network planning and scheduling for Flair Airlines, is shown during a news conference at Windsor International Airport announcing new YQG routes. PHOTO BY DAX MELMER /Windsor Star

Flair, which bills itself as Canada’s only independent “ultra low-cost carrier,” has been expanding aggressively, in part to address what the airline industry believes is a pent-up demand for more affordable air travel after nearly three years of a global pandemic. This summer, the company will have seven new aircraft enter into service, bringing its fleet to 27 jets.

“Obviously, we want everything to be successful,” said Galvin, adding he’s in constant conversation with the airlines to draw more traffic and new routes to Windsor. “We’re looking forward to new destinations.”

 

The low point was 2020 when, as of the start of COVID-19, YQG was essentially shut down to commercial flights for months.

Currently, two daily flights are offered by both Air Canada, to Toronto Pearson International, and by Porter Airlines, to Billy Bishop Toronto City. Sunwing Airlines offers three resort flights a week to Cuban destinations and a fourth flight to Mexico from YQG. Later in the spring, WestJet resumes its direct-flight summer service between Windsor and Calgary.

 

Pre-pandemic, Air Canada also tried a Windsor-Montreal direct schedule but it too was discontinued. Glavin said it’s not uncommon for airlines to “test markets, see what works.”

 

While there’s pent-up demand, he said the air travel sector is “still in recovery mode” from the COVID-19 global economic blow, including on airline industry staffing, particularly a reduced supply of pilots and flight crews.

[Guest1]

Flair Airlines donates flights to assist Ukrainian Refugees with Travel in Canada

---

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Flair Airlines Ltd. 

Feb 21, 2023, 11:00 ET

---

• 400 flight vouchers provided to CISSA-ACSEI, a Canadian resettlement agency.

EDMONTON, AB, Feb. 21, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Flair Airlines, Canada's everyday low fare airline, announced it has donated 400 flight vouchers to help Ukrainian refugees with their travel in Canada. The donation was facilitated by the Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance - Alliance Canadienne du secteur de l'établissement des immigrants (CISSA-ACSEI), a convening body representing the immigrant settlement sector in Canada.

Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Canada from Europe through charter or schedule airline flights. However, their port of entry may be some distance from family, friends and loved ones who can help them resettle in Canada. The program facilitates follow-on flights within Canada to support reunification with these communities. The 400 one-way vouchers are valid for travel to Flair's Canadian destinations. Baggage, fees, and taxes are also included. The vouchers will be provided to Ukrainian refugees upon arrival in Canada.  

"Flair Airlines is pleased to help Ukrainian refugees with these complimentary flights, reuniting them with family and friends in cities across Canada on our network," said Stephen Jones, President and CEO of Flair Airlines. "We believe they will find a warm welcome, safety and well-being, and good opportunities for them and their families in these Canadian communities."

"We are thrilled that Flair Airlines has offered 400 gift of flight vouchers," said Chris Friesen, Interim co-Executive Director, CISSA-ACSEI. "This act of generosity will help displaced Ukrainians reach their final destinations and start their new lives in Canada. This contribution will make a meaningful impact in the lives of the newcomers we serve."

[Guest1]

Not a good sign.

4 Flair Airlines planes seized amid ‘extreme’ action in commercial dispute

Story by Saba Aziz • 20m ago

 

4 Flair Airlines planes seized amid ‘extreme’ action in commercial dispute (msn.com)

•  

 

A Flair Airlines Boeing 737-8 MAX jetliner (C-FLUT) is airborne on final approach for landing at Vancouver International Airport, Richmond, B.C., on Monday, December 12, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Bayne Stanley© THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Bayne Stanley

Flair Airlines say four of its planes are "not operational" after "extreme and unusual" actions by a U.S.-based lessor to seize the aircrafts amid a commercial dispute.

In an emailed statement to Global News Saturday, a spokesperson for Flair Airlines said a "commercial dispute" with a New York-based hedge fund and lessor had affected four of its planes.

"Flair Airlines is aware of extreme and unusual actions taken by a New York-based hedge fund and lessor of certain Flair Airlines aircraft," the spokesperson said.

 

"The airline is aggrieved by this unprecedented action."

The spokesperson added that the airline was involved in ongoing communications with the company and "payment has been initiated."

"Flair Airlines will continue to engage in a consensual mediation with the lessor to remedy the situation," the statement said.

For now, Flair is activating three spare aircrafts that it had planned to use in the summer.

-- More to come. With files from Global News' Amanda Connolly

[Kip Powick]

Hey Saba Aziz....

The plural of aircraft is aircraft........  not aircrafts 

[Super 80]

Altavair took back C-FLBG and C-FLGD before they entered service. Registered on December 19th and Cancelled on January 18th.

[Airband]

Some additional info..

Flair Airlines has four airplanes seized after failing to pay the leasing company

Sat Mar11, 2023 - The Globe and Mail
by Eric Atkins - Transportation Reporter

Quote

'The aircraft that were being shopped around – 10 737 Max and an older 737 NG – were offered to several airlines, domestic and foreign. Because the aircraft are certified to fly in Canada, they are more attractive to a domestic airline because of the fewer licensing steps required to put them in service. Canadian airlines that fly the 737 Max include Air Canada, WestJet Airlines, Lynx Air and Sunwing Airlines. The airlines declined to comment.'

An aircraft leasing company has seized four planes operated by Flair Airlines for non-payment, causing the cancellation of several of the Canadian discount carrier’s flights at the start of the busy March break travel season.

Working with bailiffs, the leasing company, Dublin-based Airborne Capital Ltd., on Saturday issued lease termination notices to Flair representatives and grounded four Boeing 737s: two at Toronto Pearson Airport, one in Edmonton and one in Waterloo, Ont. Airborne also leases to Flair another two 737s, which have not been seized.

Flair’s chief executive officer, Stephen Jones, said in an interview that the Edmonton-based airline owes about US$1-million on the leases, and decried the seizures as “draconian.”

”We feel pretty aggrieved,” Mr. Jones said. “We think the the impact of these actions on our crews and communities is unwarranted. But we are where we are.”

He said Flair fell behind in its lease payments after a “tough” winter on some routes and has “had to manage cash very closely.”

“Going through the winter, we have at times had to have discussions with them about terms of lease payments.”

Flair leases six planes from Airborne and another five from Bank of China Aviation. Both leasing companies were approaching other airlines to take on the leases for the 11 Flair Boeing 737 passenger jets as recently as February, according to two people familiar with the situation. The Globe and Mail is not identifying them because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Mr. Jones said Flair recently paid its arrears to the Bank of China, but failed to come to an agreement with Airborne on four planes.

The aircraft that were being shopped around – 10 737 Max and an older 737 NG – were offered to several airlines, domestic and foreign. Because the aircraft are certified to fly in Canada, they are more attractive to a domestic airline because of the fewer licensing steps required to put them in service.

Canadian airlines that fly the 737 Max include Air Canada, WestJet Airlines, Lynx Air and Sunwing Airlines. The airlines declined to comment.

State-owned Bank of China Aviation declined to comment. Airborne Capital did not respond to questions.

The Boeing 737 Max sells for about US$50-million, and is leased to airlines for monthly charges of about US$350,000 to US$400,000.

Before the lease terminations, Flair had 19 737s in its fleet.

One of the cancelled Flair flights on Saturday was Casey Green’s. She and her two children had just arrived at Pearson for their flight to Palm Springs, Calif., when she learned in an e-mail that the flight was cancelled.

Flair offered to rebook her flight in a week or give a refund within 30 days, and told here she was not owed any compensation because the cancellation was because of a “maintenance delay.”

“This is the only time I get to travel,” said Ms. Green, who works for a school board, in an interview. “It’s now or never.”

They were going to visit the children’s grandparents for March break: “We were all crying.”

Robert Cannone, a teacher, was also supposed to be on his way to Palm Springs on Saturday. He had tickets to a tennis match, a rental car waiting and plans to visit restaurants. Instead, he is out of all that money and is looking for another way to spend March break: “It is kind of ruined,” Mr. Cannone said.

He describes himself as a frequent flyer, but vows to never take Flair again. Instead, he’ll fly with a bigger airline that has more frequent flights in case something goes wrong, even if it costs more.

“And I’m going to tell my friends this. I wouldn’t risk this for an affordable flight,” he said. “Never Flair, ever.”

Flair plans to fly more than 6,200 flights in July and August, a 46-per-cent increase over the same months in 2022, according to data provided by Cirium. Mr. Jones said in December, when the fleet consisted of 19 planes, that Flair would have enough aircraft by the summer.

Mr. Jones told reporters in a news conference on March 7 that the airline would be adding six planes to its fleet, and made no mention of the possible loss of the aircraft. He said new routes and more flights were on the way.

“Some really great expansion coming into our network,” Mr. Jones said.

His promise of six new planes is fewer than the eight he had previously said were to be delivered. This, he said, is because of “both the aircraft availability and our view of the market and pilot availability for that matter. So was a considered decision, but there’ll be six aircraft.”

“We still have the overall goal of getting to 50 aircraft by 2025,” Mr. Jones said. “So we’ll just pace ourselves towards that.

“But frankly, if we got to 45 or we got the 55, I don’t think it would be that much of a difference because the goal is really to prove out the low cost carrier model in Canada. And that’s to say it doesn’t change on one or two aircraft.”

The Globe reported in December that the airline’s U.S. investor, 777 Partners, sold five new 737 Max 8 aircraft, painted in Flair colours, to leasing company Babcock and Brown Aircraft Management. The planes have since been leased to airlines in Canada and Europe. Flair’s investor, 777 Partners, did not respond to e-mailed questions.

An aircraft lease is usually eight to 12 years in duration, sometimes longer, and is typically only terminated because of non-payment. The ages of the Flair planes shopped around by the leasing companies range from a few months old to less than two years. The one exception is one 737 NG, which is almost 13 years old.

It’s been an eventful few years for Flair, including rapid expansion, a legal battle with a Canadian investor, and a regulatory review that threatened its operating licence.

The U.S. investor, 777 Partners, bought shares in privately owned Flair in 2019. In early 2021, Flair said it would lease 13 Boeing 737 Max planes from 777 Partners, and its fleet that would grow to 50 in five years as the airline added new routes.

The airline last year underwent an investigation by the Canadian Transportation Agency, which had issued a preliminary finding that the airline might not be Canadian because of the control exerted by 777 Partners, Flair’s major lender and provider of leased aircraft that also controlled the board of directors. The Globe and Mail has reported Flair owed $129-million to 777 Partners in late 2020.

The CTA, in its final ruling, said Flair was Canadian and allowed to retain its licence after making changes to its board, leasing arrangement and sources of financing.

No foreign party can own more than 25 per cent of a Canadian airline, and total foreign investment cannot exceed 49 per cent.

The CTA said in a statement on Thursday that Flair’s financial arrangements are confidential and declined to comment.

Shortly after Flair’s expansion plans were announced, Flair and Prescott Strategic Investments Ltd., its large Canadian investor, began a legal battle with each other. The lawsuit, subject to a sealing order and publication ban sought by Flair, includes Prescott’s fight to obtain a court order forcing Flair to buy Prescott’s shares “at a certain value,” according to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia.

[CanadaEH]

This doesn't sound good for Flair. 

[Airband]

Flair Airlines CEO hints that rival pried its seized planes away — and an expert says they’re gone for good

Mon., March 13, 2023 - The Toronto Star
by Kelly Skjerven

Flair Airlines says it has caught up on payments after four planes were seized this weekend, leaving travellers scrambling at the start of the busy March break travel season — but an aviation expert says the airline won’t get the planes back.

The four airplanes were seized from airports in Toronto, Edmonton and Waterloo on Saturday morning after, the discount air carrier says, it fell behind on lease payments. The seizures affected the travel plans of just under 1,900 customers.

The planes were leased to Flair by the Dublin-based company Airborne Capital.

Flair CEO Stephen Jones says they didn’t expect the seizure.

“We were only a few days in arrears and that’s not unusual. We were about $1 million in arrears, which is about half of one day’s sales for us,” Jones told reporters Monday, suggesting another airline played a role in the seizure.

“We do believe that there were negotiations going on behind the scenes between one of the majors and the lessor to hurt Flair, by them offering probably above-market rates for the aircraft,” Jones added, adding he wouldn’t name names or cite evidence.

cont.

[conehead]

11 hours ago, Airband said:

Flair Airlines CEO hints that rival pried its seized planes away — and an expert says they’re gone for good

 

“We do believe that there were negotiations going on behind the scenes between one of the majors and the lessor to hurt Flair, by them offering probably above-market rates for the aircraft,” Jones added, adding he wouldn’t name names or cite evidence.

Facinating!

[Vsplat]

So the Flair CEO thinks that the blame game is their best play right now?

Cue the horsemen.  Things do not look good for that company.

Vs

Edited March 14, 2023 by Vsplat

[dagger]

5 hours ago, Vsplat said:

So the Flair CEO thinks that the blame game is their best play right now?

Cue the horsemen.  Things do not look good for that company.

Vs

And Flair pays the price for such stupid talk. We saw how a simple chat session among Silicon Valley CEOS could tank a bank. Well, this is the equivalent for airlines - making like it's a bad bet to give it money for a future trip. And then making sure to perpetuate the issue.

https://www.thestar.com/business/2023/03/14/flair-airline-jet-seizures-was-a-last-resort-for-missed-payments-irish-leasing-company-says.html

 

The Irish leasing company which had four of Flair Airlines’ planes seized for nonpayment blasted the airline’s suggestion it had done so in collaboration with the Canadian airline’s bigger competitors, and said it had only seized the planes as a last resort.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Airborne Capital shot back at the suggestions from Flair CEO Stephen Jones.

“Airborne Capital strongly rejects the allegations that have been made by Flair Airlines in recent days,” an Airborne spokesperson said in a written statement.

The statement from an Airborne spokesperson said the company only seized the four planes after five months of repeated missed payments by Flair. The most recent payment of roughly a million dollars was the last straw, the spokesperson said.

“Terminating an aircraft lease is always a last resort, and such a decision is never taken lightly. In this case, following numerous notices to Flair, it again failed to make payments when due and Airborne took steps to terminate the leasing of the aircraft,” said the spokesperson.

Edited March 14, 2023 by dagger

[conehead]

Dags! Where you been man? We missed you... 

[dagger]

6 minutes ago, conehead said:

Dags! Where you been man? We missed you... 

 

Thangs aren't as exciting as they used to be, but maybe Flair is about to change that.

 

Here is some more, this time from the Globe and Mail.

 

One source told The Globe that Flair had a history of missed payments dating back several months. The Globe is not identifying them because they are not authorized to speak publicly.

In response to employee questions, Mr. Jones assured them the airline would be able to fulfil its summer schedule, even with the reduced fleet, had the support of its big U.S. investor and had made all outstanding payments on its other leased aircraft. “And we intend to keep it that way,” Mr. Jones said. He said Flair has replaced the four seized aircraft with three spares and another lease plane, and looks forward to a busy summer.

“Everyone’s going to be paid on time,” he assured employees.

Two sources say Airborne and another leasing company, Bank of China Aviation, were in February shopping around a total of 11 of Flair’s 19 737s. The Globe is not identifying the sources because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Seven of these aircraft were recently pulled from the market. Mr. Jones has said Flair’s U.S. investor 777 Partners paid the amounts owing, adding it to the debt Flair owes.

Miami-based 777 Partners did not respond to e-mailed questions.

The Canadian Transportation Agency in 2022 began an investigation of Flair because 777 Partners appeared to be controlling the company in violation of the Canadian rules. The CTA would eventually declare Flair Canadian after the airline agreed to reduce its dependence on 777 Partners for financing and aircraft leases, and add more Canadians to the board of directors.

CTA spokesman Vincent Turgeon said the regulator monitors Flair for anything that might change its Canadian status. This includes its financing “and looking into the information made public over the last few days about Flair’s fleet,” Mr. Turgeon said in an e-mail.

[conehead]

I don't see anything nefarious here. If I don't pay the lease payments on my car, the repo man gonna take it away. That's just the way it is. They should pay their bills on time to avoid such a thing from happening again.

 

[Vsplat]

That comment on the CTA monitoring 777 Partners's stake bears watching.  In the end, too much help from the south trying to keep leases from evaporating might find the CTA tripwire.  Add a licence suspension, or threat thereof to the situation would be a match in a powderkeg.

Vs

[Airband]

Things that go poof in the night...

Flair Airlines  claims skulduggery when one of its jetliners was seized at the airport over an unpaid lease, leading to the cancellation of four flights involving 628 passengers.

That claim is firmly rejected by leasing company Airborne Capital, which says the discount airline is to blame for repeatedly ignoring months of reminders to pay its bills.

Details emerged Tuesday about their commercial dispute, and the mess that unfolded early Saturday at the Region of Waterloo International Airport.

According to Flair, an agent acting for Airborne gained access to a Boeing 737 in the middle of the night by pretending to be a maintenance contractor, then grounded the jet by removing records from it.

This happened with little notice shortly after Flair was told its lease was terminated.

“There was the inappropriate use of airport identification to get access to the tarmac, and that is frankly illegal,” said Stephen Jones, president of the discount airline, at a virtual news briefing Tuesday. “It was just very underhanded and sort of middle-of-the-night skulduggery.”

Jones characterized the seizure as “an outrageous action” deliberately timed “by a New York-based hedge fund manager” to inflict the most pain at the start of peak travel for the March school break.

“We think that our customers have been misused here,” he said.

Waterloo Regional Police were called to the airport over the incident. “We responded to mediate but there is no criminal investigation,” police spokesperson Cherri Greeno said.
 

[J.O.]

Accusations of nefarious interference by competitors; claiming it took a security breach to conduct the seizure; these sound like classic deflection tactics from someone who is unable (or unwilling) to accept their own culpability in what transpired. 

[Specs]

25 minutes ago, J.O. said:

Accusations of nefarious interference by competitors; claiming it took a security breach to conduct the seizure; these sound like classic deflection tactics from someone who is unable (or unwilling) to accept their own culpability in what transpired. 

No matter how outlandish you to have something for the press to use that doesn't crater public confidence?

Edited March 15, 2023 by Specs