The Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled Flair Airlines is a Canadian company, which is good news for Prince George residents looking for cheap flights to Arizona this winter.
On Wednesday, Flair Airlines CEO Stephen Jones announced that the CTA had ruled in favour of the Edmonton-based low-cost carrier. Canadian legislation allows no more than 49 per cent ownership of a Canadian airline by foreign entities, and the CTA had been investigating Flair’s business relationship with Miami-based 777 Partners.
“It’s a fantastic day for team Flair,” Jones said. “We are challenging the status quo that accepts domestic flights are expensive. It should not be that way, it does not need to be that way.”
It shouldn’t be cheaper to fly to Europe than to Halifax, and working class Canadians shouldn’t “have to go into debt to fly to see their mother,” Jones said.
“In 2022 alone, we’ll provide four million Canadians with affordable flights,” he said. “If we keep our costs low, we can keep our fares low.”
On May 29, Flair announced plans to fly directly from Prince George to Tucson, Arizona seasonally from Dec. 2 to March.
The airline previously operated direct flights from Prince George to Edmonton.
On Wednesday, Jones announced the company would offer a 48-hour sale on all their flights between June 1 and June 23.
Flair has made a number of changes as a result of the investigation, including a promise to increase the number of Canadians on its board.
“Flair is a Canadian airline,” Jones said. “We’ve made significant concessions… to make sure that position is without doubt.”
- With files from The Canadian Press
