Would you buy a plane ticket for a loonie? Flair Airlines hopes so.
The ultra low-cost carrier says it has launched a $1 base airfare deal for passengers flying back to Canada from sun destinations — but some experts are skeptical of whether the airline can sustain the promo.
Flair says the one-dollar airfares, currently reserved for northbound flights from Mexico, the U.S., Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, are now offered permanently on its website.
The airline is offering one-dollar flights back to Canada from airports in Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, Orlando and Las Vegas. The deal applies to flights from down south to airports in Calgary, Edmonton, London, Montreal, Saint John, Vancouver, Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo.
Eric Tanner, vice-president of revenue management and network planning at Flair, said the deal is a way to “give back to our customers.”
“We’re coming up on the beginning of our winter season where we stop flying quite as much domestically and we start flying quite a bit more internationally,” he said.
- What do you think of this $1 base airfare deal? Let us know at ask@cbc.ca
He noted that those flights southbound are full, but that the aircrafts are “quite empty” when they come back to Canada — so the deal incentivizes passengers to travel back up north. When the spring season begins, the deal will apply to southbound flights.
“These flights essentially have no opportunity cost. They are flying full south and empty north,” he said. “And so even if we put four people onto that flight who otherwise wouldn’t have taken it, that’s great. We’re happy about that.”
While the deal applies only to select flights, the airline said it plans to offer more routes throughout the year. The company stressed in a news release that the deal is “not a one-time gimmick.”
‘It’s a gimmick’
Others disagree.
“It’s a gimmick,” said Ian Lee, an associate professor of management at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business.
“This is essentially a loss leader. You see this in grocery stores and in retail,” he said. “They’re doing this to try to generate, drive business to the site and get people comfortable with flying on this airline.”
“They won’t be able to sustain it for very long because the operating cost per customer is significant,” Lee added.
Flair, one of the last ultra-low-cost airlines still operating in Canada, has a significant debt. Court documents from earlier this year showed that it owed $67 million to the CRA in import duties.
Four of its planes were repossessed in March 2023 after the company allegedly missed rent payments to an aircraft leasing manager, which amounted to millions of dollars.
The carrier announced on Wednesday that it would be looking for investors to inject cash into the business to restructure its finances, helping to address its debt. It’s also trying to grow its 20-plane fleet.
Flair Airlines acknowledged that the base fare is only one component of the ticket’s total cost.
Other costs to consider include carry-on and checked baggage fees (which won’t change with the promo), seat selection fees and other airport fees that are collected each time you travel.
The company announced on Wednesday that it is seeking investors to restructure its finances and address its debt.
