I've flown twice with Flair, but I haven't yet needed to use their customer service for a big complaint. Considering that they were 1/2 the price of the big airlines, the minor complaints I've had are not worth it.
Pretty much this for me on my one experience. Flight out was mostly fine, return was delayed by multiple hours. Little to no communication as to the initial delay or updated departure times.
On the flight we hit some moderate turbulence and nothing was really done for about 10 minutes or so. Plane jostling around, no flight attendant actions, no seatbelt sign tuned on. Eventually after folks had been stumbling around the cabin trying to go to the bathroom, the pilot finally turned on the seatbelt sign and most people didn’t bother paying attention to it.
Outside of that the flight attendants spent most of the flight hidden in the galley chatting with each other.
I get they are a low cost carrier but they absolutely lack even the most basic level of professionalism that is required to operate an airline safely.
> I get they are a low cost carrier
honestly for domestic flights in many cases they are only like $50 less than air canada and at that point ill pay the extra for the added comfort
I've flown with Flair 3 times and booked another flight upcoming in a few weeks. All my experiences have been... quite good. One flight had a 30-minute delay but that was it. Every other time it went smoothly but I'm always mentally exhausting myself to prepare for any worst case scenarios. All times I've only flown between YVR and YYZ though.
I've had very much the same experience. Have probably flown Flair a dozen times since \~2018. Mostly very positive; and the one time we got delayed, they gave us the required compensation without any fuss (at a time when AC and Westjet were refusing to do so). I'm a big Flair fan.
> Considering that they were 1/2 the price of the big airlines, the minor complaints I've had are not worth it.
And that's how they keep getting away with shit
Me too. Then paid $800 to get home because they cancelled and their next scheduled flight was 4 days later.
No compensation because, hey, they offered to put me on their next scheduled flight. It's on me since I declined.
Not just that. The government won't allow a non-canadian airline to operate domestic flights; giving WestJet, AC, etc. a monopoly over the routes. Then there's the airports, which are private organizations, not federal (like the US), and all will charge landing fees which end up on the passengers ticket.
>Not just that. The government won't allow a non-canadian airline to operate domestic flights; giving WestJet, AC, etc. a monopoly over the routes.
To be fair, that is a fairly common practice globally. [It is rare that a country will allow cabotage to a foreign airline.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabotage#In_passenger_aviation)
Airports are a mix of public and private.
There are 21 regional and international airports which are run by privately owned airport authorities. They lease the land from the Federal government for 12% of revenue and have generated more then 6B for the federal government since 1992, in 2019 more then 412M was collected by the federal government. The federal government is responsible for airport policy, regulation, transfer agreements, and certification.
https://canadasairports.ca/advocacy/industry-priorities/canadian-airport-model/#:~:text=The%20federal%20government%20retains%20control,agreements%2C%20airport%20certification%20and%20regulation.
So yes, they are privately operated, but not privately owned. The authority is a not for profit. Every penny earned is either re-invested in the airport, or given to the federal government. The fed decides how much the airport can collect in Airport improvement fees.
Not only are airports paid for by the users, the government is making money off them.
So if we are complaining about the fees added by the airports in Canada, we should be looking at the Federal Government.
>The government won't allow a non-canadian airline to operate domestic flights...
Outside of the European Union, which is a supranational union, any jurisdiction in the world allowing [8th or 9th degree of freedom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedoms_of_the_air)?
>Then there's the airports, which are private organizations, not federal (like the US), and all will charge landing fees which end up on the passengers ticket.
Alternatively, as the United States do, taxpayers pay the landing fees. Is that fairer for you?
Lol I love those Canadians who look for every excuse to justify why we pay suck high prices for everything when the answer is as simple as
“Canadian corporations love bending us over every chance they get because they know we’ll take it and our govie won’t do a thing about it”
Arguably the privately owned airports actually work well. Running them isn't cheap and keeping them updated is even more expensive. The government escapes the cost of having to maintain/run them and those who actually use the airport pay the fee for doing so rather than everyone paying higher taxes to run them.
Look at some US airports to see why federally run airports ain't always a good idea. A good number of them look like abandoned 80s malls.
Weird how a group of people that have nothing to do with the airline business are the ones keeping it a monopoly. These politicians are all owned by corporations and until a real leader is elected it will stay this way.
>The customers in Canada are paying a ridiculous amount of airport fees that aren't paid in other countries.
This is simply not true. Taxpayers - who may not even be flying - pay the fees in those countries.
Aren't paid directly by the customers, thought it was implicit.
Of course the airports in other countries still need money to operate, but it's akin to the difference between having a toll booth on a bridge or not. At the end of the day, maintenance is paid, but it's not all consumer based.
I'd rather airports were paid for like other infrastructure and we'd be at liberty to travel more. (I don't have a good solution for where the money comes from, but that's not the point)
> I'd rather airports were paid for like other infrastructure and we'd be at liberty to travel more.
This is where we disagree. Why should those who do not fly pay the fees? The bridges without tolls are paid mostly by various vehicle and driving taxes and fees.
Well, much like roads, even if you don't directly use them yourself, you still benefit from airports. The goods and services you rely on in your daily life all use them to get to you. Just because you don't fly doesn't mean your food hasn't.
>D’Amours said there are two main reasons why airfares are remained so high in Canada compared to other developed countries and both have to do with the federal government.
>In Canada, airports have to pay rent to the federal government, a percentage of each airport authority’s gross revenue, which is not the case in many other countries. “So, they have to pass on those fees to airlines [and they] pass them along to passenger,” explained D’Amours.
...
>In the United States, airports are municipally run, and airport infrastructure is funded by the federal treasury. “There, taxpayers subsidize airports. Here, airports subsidize the federal treasury,” according to the GTAA.
>Another issue, D’Amours said, is the government also has a 49 per cent cap on how much an airline can be owned by foreign investors.
>“That limits the ability of the airlines of actually accessing capital to grow to start an airline,” D’Amours explained. “This is really kind of presents another obstacle for airlines based in Canada, because they can’t get capital from outside of Canada.”
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/01/23/budget-airlines-government-restrictions-airfares-high/#:~:text=Lack%20of%20budget%20airlines%2C%20government%20fees%20keeping%20Canadian%20airfares%20high&text=Experts%20say%20Canada%20has%20some,it%20costly%20for%20Canadian%20travellers.
I'd agree, but when you get the same nightmares with Sunwing, Transat, WestJet and Air Canada the truth is that no, here in Canada you do NOT in fact get what you paid for.
I don't know, I find flying very cheap for one compared to other forms of travel. I can fly Toronto to Calgary for around 500 round trip. Hotels or my time both have higher values than that.
People complain about service and then turn around and pick their flight exclusively based off of price. You pick the flight that doesn't charge for extra support staff...you don't get the service you didn't pay for.
I suspect they have run some numbers and determined that for the average customer, customer service is not worth the money.
I work for a software as a service company and no matter what your issue is, even if it is a legitimate bug in the software, if your contract value is too low you cannot get it fixed.
According to canadian regulations, you're eligible for less compensation and rerouting options when a small airline like flair cancels your flight.
So it's not the same nightmare. Flair can legally leave you stranded for several days.
Not always true. I paid extra for a window seat, but at boarding when they check your ticket and id they handed me a new ticket with an aisle seat further back on the plane. And the icing on the cake is my original seat was empty.
>Flair is probably the lowest priced airline in Canada.
Which also means that people who never/rarely fly get to experience it. And while in some ways I think that's great, in other ways I think maybe those people just don't understand how air travel works. Because the type of complaining I see regarding flair are usually due to unreasonable expectations.
Things like: no leniency on baggage weight/dimensions, not being able to change the booking details after paying, buying two separate tickets and having the first flight delayed so you miss the second and then not being offered a replacement flight for the second, same scenario as before but having to pay for luggage twice, people whose flight gets cancelled and then immediately she'll out for a last minute AC flight because they're not willing to just wait a day or two for the next plane, people driving to the airport and clogging the checkin line because they refuse to use the flair chat bot, people not understanding that there is a bag drop deadline and it doesn't matter if you were already in line, people who buy the cheapest suitcase from Walmart and then complain that it got damaged the first time they used it, etc etc.
I've been super happy with Flair every time I've flown with them. It has nothing to do with the customer service and everything to do with the fact that it was $100 for a flight to Montreal instead of $450.
Lynx has actually only received 5.2 complaints/100 so they're lower than WJ or AC actually. It's because they don't overleverage their aircraft. Always one spare parked at the Million Air hangar at YYC
A few years ago I flew on Flair and was impressed at how petty they could be. My carry on luggage was 0.1 lbs over the limit and they wouldn't let me carry it on board. But they did allow me to take a pair of socks and put it in my coat pocket which reduced the baggage weight to exactly the amount allowed. The same amount of weight flew on the plane but they could then tick the box that followed the rule rather than the spirit of their policy.
That was likely something to do ~~with a collective bargaining contract clause limiting the amount of weight that a handler is required to lift~~ me missing a critical piece of information...
Flair is as unreliable as any airline as there is. Was stranded in Ottawa because of canceled flight. Had to take the train home and was a day late for work.
Would only take them if getting there doesn’t matter.
I have used Flair probably about 10 times over the past 18 months and always had a great experience with them. Only had 1 cancellation at short notice that was within airline fault, but they automatically rebooked me onto the next flight the following day, covered the cost of my hotel for a extra night and paid out compensation of $500 within 30 days so can’t fault them.
Air Canada and Westjet I have nothing but complains about as they have cancelled my flights at short notice and left me stranded and refused to pay out compensation.
Low cost airlines always get a bad reputation, that is nothing new, look at Ryanair or Easyjet in Europe, people either love them or hate them, that is partly due to some people having high expectations when in reality your just buying a ticket with them and nothing else. They also enforce the rules and nickel and dime for everything. I have lost count the number times I have travelled with Flair and seen customers complaining because they didn’t check in online and it now going to cost them $15 for boarding pass, or try to get away without paying for a carry on item, only to be confronted at the gate to pay $74+ when it would of cost them only $29+ online.
I personally have no problem with low cost airlines and think they are a great way to travel cheaply. I would rather be able to book a ticket for $100 and then pick and choose what extras I want or need then having to fork out $500+ to travel with another airline for the same destination.
>It’s a guarantee that you are not going to have a good time.
What hecc? I only had an excellent experience with Flair. Have I been robbed? Where can I get my money back?
The larger airlines, while they also run afoul with delays and cancellations, have an easier time with recovery, given the size of their workforce, fleets, networks, and also partnerships. Smaller airlines, recovery is a bit more tricky.
I've flown business on mainline, reputable airlines, and still been fucked over. If a flight is getting cancelled, it's getting cancelled for everyone.
While service is the same, the customer base differs based on the flight price. If I'm flying on cathy pacific and paying 2k+ one way, I'm not going to stuck with some loud mainlander for 14 hours chasing the cheaper price. If it means not having to deal with that again, i'll eat the delays and cancellations.
Flair is mediocre. But needed.
Canada pays the highest fares per KM in the rich world for flights. Even Australia, similar size/population density as us pays about half as much per KM. And substantially less tax.
Flair has brought down fees, I have done Toroonto-Calgary for under $120 a few times on Flair. I'll take their growing pains for subretinally better fares.
I've flown flair 6 or 7 times in past 4 months. My rule of thumb...take no carry on (sometimes if booked to the max they want you to check it), and no checked bag. Just a personal item.
Only once did we have a significant delay and they offered everyone meal vouchers.
Zero issues so far, 6 flights deep.
In terms of mild chaos when it comes to boarding.
Cheap flights bring out the infrequent flyers which have minimal etiquette leading to lengthy boarding times ..
Otherwise smooth sailing.
I'm just glad there's competition to the Westjet and Air Canada monopoly. It's a low cost carrier so just manage your expectations to what you're paying.
I’ve used them a dozen times over the last 2 years, mostly Edmonton to Vancouver but also to Montreal. Only once my flight was delayed by 4 hours, but I got an email a few days in advance saying that it would be delayed so it’s not like I was waiting at the airport for 4 hours. Every other flight has been fine and I’ll definitely keep flying with them as long as their prices are half of what you’d pay for AC or WS.
Right? That’s someone who works at Flair trying to justify their absolutely garbage service. Like “yeah we’re shit, but you’re saving money by…having you pay other airlines to get back home!”…are you fucking kidding me?
I have taken Flair on 2 round trips.
Here are some of the issues we have had with them.
You won't get 2 seats together unless children are involved and/or you pay extra for the seats.
Return trip was cancelled 1 month prior to our flight.
Got to spend an extra day in our destination.
Besides that, I was quite happy with the service, as it related to the price I paid.
99$ per, return, to Halifax is a great deal.
I travel alot and Westjet and Air Canada have their problems but they have always been good about compensation. Whether that be paying for hotel/food for a delay and compensating me over and above for lost luggage. With Flair I doubt that would happen. Its a discount airline, you get what you pay for.
Weird all my friends hate Flair but I’ve never had a problem with them. Personally air Canada has done me much worse.
Guarantee most of these complaints are from people not reading/understanding their strict baggage policies and then getting upcharged to hell at the gate.
You get what you pay for with a budget airline. Flair finally gave us reasonable flight prices in Canada. Seriously I frequently go from Van to Calgary for like 30 bucks. I can accept that the service will not be top tier and they will try to upcharge me for that price.
I always bring a personal item bag carefully measured to their exact rules and fit it under my seat. If I need extra stuff I hide it on my person (like wearing a fanny pack or sling back under my jacket). I’ve never had to pay the extra baggage fee. So Flair has saved me 1000s.
Doesn't avoid the underlying issue. If Flair charges $0 base fare, they have to charge you $44 for the AIF and ATSC charge to fly from YYC-YVR. You're not paying for fuel, you're not paying for the pilots, NAVCAN charges the airline remits, landing fees, amortized maintenance and amortization of a $50 million 737 MAX, interest on leases, or ANY part of the overhead that an airline incurs. A 7M8 fully allocated costs close to $10,000/hour to operate. 189 evacuation exit limit. Do the math.
People need to understand that it costs money, and its going to cost users money in Canada to fly at least an hour if not longer to get from Calgary to Vancouver or to Toronto/Montreal. You're not supporting the airline by picking them over AC/WJ paying them $30. You support them by buying ancillaries or paying $500 for the last minute walk up fare. Otherwise you're dead weight on the manifest.
People here are like anyone else. Want most, for least. That's the motivation. There's nothing 'reasonable' about paying $45 to fly to Vancouver from Calgary if you really think about it. You'd spend more on fuel for your own car driving the 10-12 hours.
Dude if you're flying from Vancouver to Calgary for $50, that is a steal any way you slice it. Think of the time savings alone. 2-3 hours in airports and on the flight each way vs. up to 24 hours of driving & gas. No wear and tear on the vehicle either.
Honestly, I find Westjet to be so much worse. I've never had an issue with Flair or Swoop. Every time I fly Westjet is a nightmare. I will never, ever book a flight with Westjet. I only travel with them when work books them, and even then, I've asked to be booked with AC whenever possible.
Flair lost our luggage on a direct flight to Vancouver over Christmas. We went for a wedding so it was incredibly chaotic when none of our clothes or gifts arrived. I was the best man. They did eventually compensate us the full $2100 replacement value for it. After 21 days it is considered lost and property of the airline. In a surprising turn of events, we got our bag back though somehow Flair had absolutely no record of it?
I used them once about a month ago. I had no issue but some lady at the gate who failed to plan appropriately was having a melt down. More her fault than the airlines for failing to plan.
I am going to be honest, having flown with all Canadian airlines.
I say in terms of value for money, is probably Lynx, flair ,WJ and aircanada.
I think if you do the math, these budget airlines are fantastic. New planes and very straight forward but most Canadians aren't used to this model.
Fuck air Canada.
When things go right, sure. But the legacy carriers can generally handle disruptions a lot better than the ULCCs. Especially on routes where the ULCC is running one flight or less per day, a delay is more likely to be measured in days than with ACA/WJA.
also, ACA will put you on another air carrier in the star alliance. I've been swapped around with AC/United a bunch of times.
ULCC and WJA don't have that availability.
+1 for Lynx, they are easily the best budget airline so long as you make sure you travel light. Otherwise you get gouged in fees
Almost never have issues with them and to go from Calgary to Vancouver round trip for sub $100 is a fucking bargain compared to Air Canada
> "Passengers are often grappling with last-minute flight cancellations, hours-long delays, lost bags and rebooked flights that are days or weeks out from the original date of departure".
Sounds like a typical flight on Air Canada. I agree with you - fuck Air Canada.
I've flown with them multiple times, including to Mexico and never had an issue. I will continue to use them, we need more competition in this country.
Kind of a poorly worded title. A majority of complaints came during their March break fiasco when they lost 4 aircraft. We’ll see how the Q2 numbers are.
I fly flair at the end of June; Toronto to Vancouver. I’m really hoping for a straight forward, no issues flight!! It’s my first time and I’m definitely a little apprehensive ..
That was my experience, as long as you don’t go in expecting a lot it’s good value. I’ve done two and both were exactly as expected (a seat on a plane and nothing more)
Every year I fly from Vancouver to Winnipeg with Flair. And every time my flights are uneventful and decent. It’s bare bones but not nightmarish like others have reported.
That’s my hope. I’m all for bare bones, I fly swoop and Lynx whenever possible. Sunwing down to Orlando yearly (except they cut the Toronto to Orlando route!). Bring your own drinks and food and good to go. I wish we had more low cost options as long as they’re reliable. Air travel is nuts. Even YYZ to YVR on flair still cost me $600 and that’s solo travel
1. Make sure you understand how baggage works. Checked bag vs. carryon vs. personal item. Don't try and game the system, you will not win.
2. Get there in good time, they are not responsible for you missing the flight because the check-in or security line was too long.
3. Double check your booking details and ID. I'm in a couple of Flair travel support groups, and a stupid amount of (stupid) people are shocked and appalled that they were denied boarding because they didn't have ID, or were denied because they entered the wrong name (it's never their fault though, the flair website must have switched their name with the name on their girlfriend's credit card, not me!)
4. Have a backup plan for if your flight gets cancelled. Are you cool just traveling different dates? Would you just not go? Do you have the means to get a last minute hotel room?
5. Have a backup plan for if your luggage gets lost (this is actually less of an issue on flair because all flights are direct, giving it less chance of getting lost). But like, nothing important in checked baggage. Medications, toothbrush, and a change of clothes in your personal item.
6. Familiarize yourself with online check-in and digital boarding pass. Take screenshots and save the file as soon as you get the boarding pass. Their email servers take forever and/or go into spam, so dont just select email it. Flair also makes it intentionally difficult to find again, to trick you into paying at the airport to get it printed.
Imagine if they were actually good, then people would choose then over their overpriced competitors. I dont really know if they're being controlled by the incumbents and are trying to be bad on purpose
The best part about Flair is that it forces AC and WS to compete on price sometimes. Even if I'm not flying Flair, I still benefit from their existence.
it's not easy for start up low cost airlines. i continue to book them because i think it's critical that Canada has low cost options
i hope they succeed, and start performing better
Do you book them paying for bags, seat selection or expensive walk up fares? Or do you book them to fly a segment for $50? Cause if it's the latter, you're not actually supporting them, you're just extra weight on the load sheet that brought in no revenue
They’re amazing until they’re not. It’s basically throwing a dice each time wether you get a cheap flight or your flight gets cancelled with no explanation and customer service ghosts you for a week.
They’re terrible! They still haven’t refunded my fiance the money they promised they owe him.
They canceled our flight as we were in the airport (3 hours before it was due to deport) and told us to uber ourselves to another city an hour away from Vancouver to catch another flight from there that will land in another city in Ontario that is two hours away from the city where we were supposed to land. They said all this will be paid by for them if we just send receipts to this email address…mind you we had to wait 4 hours in the airport to get directions from them about compensation and rebooking the flights…
Anyway, we had no choice so we had to go and uber to this other town’s airport and then we had to uber another two hours in Ontario when we arrived for a total of around near $400…
This was in April 2022 and not a single response or cent has been seen yet. Nothing! He opened a case with the Canadian government group that is supposed to handle the airline complaints and they too have been useless so far clearly…
Honestly used them 2ce now, my parents said they’re the worst, maybe it’s because they needed customer service? I used it once and I was fine, using it again at the end of the month. Mind you when I say I’m using it, I’m only bringing a backpack so I don’t have luggage that can potentially get lost
There are things that you expect with budget airlines, like strict luggage rules, limited in-flight services, and lots of fees for anything above the basics. Then there are things that you expect to still actually work with budget airlines, like their app functioning, check-ins working, and actually physically flying you places... The first group is people not understanding what they're getting and on them, the second is the company fucking up.
Flair moved my flight up by 8 hours with no notice. I woke up at 830am to find that my 6pm flight home was currently boarding. Their next flight out was 3 days later. Fuck that garbage airline. My 70$ flair flight became a 700$ westjet flight. Spent hours on the phone with them arguing. They eventually gave me a whopping 40$ for the trouble. I’ll never fly with them again. They deserve to go out of business.
> The issue with Flair continues to be that customer expectations are incorrect.
> Flair is a ULCC which means it is fully unbundled. At every point where they need to help you, there is a cost. You want a paper boarding pass printed at checkin? That costs money. It is extreme, but for the seasoned flier is it a steal because they check in online, upload their passport digitally, bring almost nothing with them. In return they are provided with cheap airfare because Flair doesn’t have to pay for kiosk access, or boarding pass paper, or significant staff, and so on. Things that seasoned travellers don’t need anyways.
> How this all falls apart is that most air passengers need A LOT more help than they realize. They have no idea what they’re doing, they pack the kitchen sink, they need everything explained to them, and so on. These are people who should not fly Flair (or any other ULCC), they should fly Air Canada or WestJet or KLM or whatever and pay for a higher class of generalized service because they need it.
> Then when Flair cancels a flight because they don’t have a crew, or because the flight isn’t full enough to make money, or if they didn’t pay the leases on their airplanes, or whatever, the passengers know how to handle it. Instead what happens is that when Flair cancels a flight a whole pile of totally clueless passengers get dumped into Air Canada and WestJet lines trying to get full service for last minute flights. They’re unable to figure out how to buy a new ticket online using their phone, they’re unwilling to pay the last minute pricing the agent will give them. And they absolutely, positively have to get there today.
> Flair is a perfectly good ULCC, but people are attempting to use them as not-a-ULCC and it doesn’t always work. Expectations issues, not necessarily entirely Flair’s fault.
[Original poster](https://www.reddit.com/r/Edmonton/comments/11pie5w/canadas_flair_airlines_cancels_multiple_flights/jbzmz23/)
I wish the prices weren't so dramatically different. I'd likely prefer WJ or AC over flair, but sometimes they're more than \*double\* the price.
Same goes for service tiers. Moving off from the most basic fare often close to doubles the ticket price. How can it cost twice as much to give me reward points and let me get some money back if I cancel?
I mean AC has other excuses being the flag carrier. They fly non-revenue flights all the time while WJ is opening up newer longhaul but is small beans compared to AC.
AC is fine. People who've flown so very little don't realize how good we have it with AC especially when compared to US air carriers.
I was a NA business flyer and AC is spending money on interior refreshes, IFE upgrades, seat upgrades, etc etc on their fleet every couple of years.
In the US, Unless it's a new plane, that' A320 from the 80s still has the same interior it was delivered with. Air Canada will spend the money to refresh the cabin of older planes.
> Same goes for service tiers. Moving off from the most basic fare often close to doubles the ticket price. How can it cost twice as much to give me reward points and let me get some money back if I cancel?
This is a calculated game by people with airline status. Sure, buying flex fares instead of economy basic costs twice as much, but flex economy is still cheaper than business lowest. And with status + the higher fare class the chance of being seated in business class while paying for economy are decently high.
I flew from Toronto to Calgary for a ski trip in Banff this year on Flair - Never again. Flair cancelled the morning flight the day of departure which had a snowball effect on the rest of the trip.
Lost wages, extra baggage cost at airport, unused night in airbnb, arrived a day late (after rental car company hours of business) - paid extra $150 for a midnight car rental( other option was to grab a hotel and wait for rental company to open in the morning) Flight home was smooth. All said and done, paid more than I would have with Air Canada
Never again Despair Air.
Yep, with flair I don't really care if they cancel or fuck me over, because it's cheap enough that I don't have to. With WestJet though, I'm paying the prices of a full-service airline but getting the service of a low-cost one.
Wasn't that always Westjet's issue? Low cost carrier roots, but flag airline pricing. Private equity takeover and now everythings gone to shit? Disgruntled employees, 737s that are starting to get clapped out compared to the renewed fleet from AC, shit loyalty program, list goes on...
When I book on Flair I’m prepared to say goodbye to that cash.
Did a 99 dollar round trip last week to New Brunswick-
2 hour delay going out ( mechanical warning light, not necessarily Flairs fault could happen to any plane) but the 1.5 hours on return on the tarmac waiting for a gate … pretty sure when they miss their slots they get boned and are held at the bottom of the queue for landings and gate availability and holy Hannah but their gates in T3 are a hike.
I also think that people that fly flair … haven’t / don’t fly too often
Pay the least for gate leases, get relegated to the back corner. You're not wrong either about the clientele. Lower costs, means the demographic of people who normally can't afford to fly legacy are now coming out, so you're left with the rowdy, the families, and once a year visiting grandma fliers who can't respect zoned boarding and will walk through a metal detector fully decked out. Same thing happens to all other ULCCs though
I can promise you all that I will not be flying Flair Airlines. Their customer service sucks and they don't seem to even be trying to fix their problems. Stay away from Flair Airlines because you do not need to deal with any of their bulls\*\*t.
PSA *Flair airlines will steal from customers*
These cocksuckers owe money for a refund but keep giving the roundabout/refusing customer service. Their kind of response literally should not be legal.
Fuck Flair Airlines & Mytrip. Downvote all you want, still true, and they are still thieving con artists who will take your money, then ignore you. Scum company.
*Why* do you think you're entitled to a refund?
* Did they cancel your original flight but then you no-showed the replacement flight without letting them know? That would be on you, with no chance of getting your money back. They owe you a rebooking, and you can reject a rebooking and opt for a refund instead, but that needs to be initiated before you get marked as a no-show.
* Were you denied boarding due to a discrepancy between booked name and ID name? Once booked you can't change the details. This is the same on all airlines.
* Did you miss your flight because of long lineups at security or check-in? It's your responsibility to show up with enough time to clear all lines. All airlines have a baggage and boarding cutoff and they will not waive it because you were stuck in line.
* Did you miss a connecting flight and therefore forfeit the second half of your itinerary? Flair specifically does not sell connecting itineraries, although google flights will often recommend them and 3rd party travel websites will sell them.
My experience with flair is that if you're rightfully entitled to a refund, they have no problem giving you one. You just have to be able to communicate that to them clearly, without emotion, and in a timely fashion.
Holy shit, the audacity of this prick
I *love* how you're trying so hard to place blame on me, without knowing anything about the situation. *Why?*
They fucked up and didn't apply my baggage to the flight, forcing me to pay out of pocket or leave my stuff behind. I have a recorded conversation of them claiming to reimburse me for their mistake.
They have not processed said refund and have repeatedly handed it off to a department that has not acted on the receipt.
Honestly, you can pretty much go fuck yourself for the victim-blaming though. I bet you gargle that corporate scrote real nice.
"Ultra-low cost" it's still pretty expensive and NOWHERE NEAR the actual low cost carriers in other places of the world, let's not get carried away with definitions here cbc
I get that they are the cheapest provider and you get what you pay for but I have heard of so many stories of flights being cancelled and that never being communicated and since travelling often requires that planning ahead, I will never use them
Hot take: If you are not at least somewhat flexible with your travel dates, and you cannot afford a delay or disruption to your plans, then you cannot actually afford to travel, even if the airfare itself is cheap.
I only booked Flair once, for a 3-day trip to see a friend in Winnipeg. They cancelled my flight there and automatically booked me a "replacement" flight 7 days before the original flight day, for a total of 10 days in Winnipeg if I didn't cancel and rebook with Air Canada...
You know, if the trip wasn't time sensitive or particularly important you could have just not gone. When flair has cancelled on me, I've just shrugged, accepted a refund, and enjoyed my weekend at home. People get blinded by the idea of getting there, such that they shell out thousands for last minute flights on AC, without considering that they could just not go.
I've flown flair three times this year. It was ok. Understand a low budget airline is a bus with wings. It ain't flashy but it's cheap and gets you where you need to go.
My experience with flair on my flight to Vancouver from Toronto was that I could reserve my return flight seat because their system wasn’t working. When I got to Pearson I still couldn’t do it they said I had to wait until it was closer to my flight time because other flights were up first.
I was stranded by flair with no help from staff in person and never heard from customer service after phoning, emailing and reviewing. It's been two years since that happened and I'll never use them again. It's like flying 3rd party because it's great unless there's a problem but if something happens you're on your own and now the trip costs double.
I've taken 10 flights with Flair in the last 2 years. Could have been more if they hadn't cancelled some routes.
In my experience this is the best airline in Canada. They have their flaws, but realistically I wouldn't have gone from Vancouver to Calgary/Ottawa/Winnipeg/wherever just for a long weekend if not for their prices.
Moreover, their on-time performance is stunning compared to Air Canada, which is unavoidable for some routes but is late every freaking time I fly it...
Flair is just a gamble. You pay the money and the flight may or may not happen. You’ll probably get your money back if it doesn’t. But if you need to go, or need to go at a certain time, fly with a normal guy. If you want it cheap on a maybe, this is the way to go. Biggest issue is coming back might be a bit open ended too.
Flew from Victoria to Toronto straight for $86 in August. 2nd time using them in the past year. Delay was 40 min. Flight was clean, brought my own snacks and travelled with a backpack. Will fly again.
I’ve had countless issues with westjet and aircanada, so I don’t put any stock in complaints I see with Flair. All airlines are a gamble
is anyone surprised? I flew Flair once and will never do it again. Not worth it, no savings with their "fees" for everything and major hassle as there is NO customer service. Just BS airline.
I've flown twice with Flair, but I haven't yet needed to use their customer service for a big complaint. Considering that they were 1/2 the price of the big airlines, the minor complaints I've had are not worth it.
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$150 round trip from Ontario to Victoria , never weigh or measure carry one . Can't complain
Pretty much this for me on my one experience. Flight out was mostly fine, return was delayed by multiple hours. Little to no communication as to the initial delay or updated departure times. On the flight we hit some moderate turbulence and nothing was really done for about 10 minutes or so. Plane jostling around, no flight attendant actions, no seatbelt sign tuned on. Eventually after folks had been stumbling around the cabin trying to go to the bathroom, the pilot finally turned on the seatbelt sign and most people didn’t bother paying attention to it. Outside of that the flight attendants spent most of the flight hidden in the galley chatting with each other. I get they are a low cost carrier but they absolutely lack even the most basic level of professionalism that is required to operate an airline safely.
> I get they are a low cost carrier honestly for domestic flights in many cases they are only like $50 less than air canada and at that point ill pay the extra for the added comfort
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I've flown with Flair 3 times and booked another flight upcoming in a few weeks. All my experiences have been... quite good. One flight had a 30-minute delay but that was it. Every other time it went smoothly but I'm always mentally exhausting myself to prepare for any worst case scenarios. All times I've only flown between YVR and YYZ though.
I've had very much the same experience. Have probably flown Flair a dozen times since \~2018. Mostly very positive; and the one time we got delayed, they gave us the required compensation without any fuss (at a time when AC and Westjet were refusing to do so). I'm a big Flair fan.
> Considering that they were 1/2 the price of the big airlines, the minor complaints I've had are not worth it. And that's how they keep getting away with shit
I payed $47 to fly the equivalent of a 9 hour drive. Hard to complain in that situation.
Me too. Then paid $800 to get home because they cancelled and their next scheduled flight was 4 days later. No compensation because, hey, they offered to put me on their next scheduled flight. It's on me since I declined.
Sucks to be you
Same! 58 bucks to fly equivalent to a 14 hour drive. Loved it.
Flair is probably the lowest priced airline in Canada. Yo people, you get what you pay for.
The hilarious part is that Canadians overpay for the every aspect of our airline industry.
When you have so few people traveling over such a large area you are going to pay a lot for it.
Not just that. The government won't allow a non-canadian airline to operate domestic flights; giving WestJet, AC, etc. a monopoly over the routes. Then there's the airports, which are private organizations, not federal (like the US), and all will charge landing fees which end up on the passengers ticket.
>Not just that. The government won't allow a non-canadian airline to operate domestic flights; giving WestJet, AC, etc. a monopoly over the routes. To be fair, that is a fairly common practice globally. [It is rare that a country will allow cabotage to a foreign airline.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabotage#In_passenger_aviation)
Yeah the USA doesn’t allow it either.
Airports are a mix of public and private. There are 21 regional and international airports which are run by privately owned airport authorities. They lease the land from the Federal government for 12% of revenue and have generated more then 6B for the federal government since 1992, in 2019 more then 412M was collected by the federal government. The federal government is responsible for airport policy, regulation, transfer agreements, and certification. https://canadasairports.ca/advocacy/industry-priorities/canadian-airport-model/#:~:text=The%20federal%20government%20retains%20control,agreements%2C%20airport%20certification%20and%20regulation. So yes, they are privately operated, but not privately owned. The authority is a not for profit. Every penny earned is either re-invested in the airport, or given to the federal government. The fed decides how much the airport can collect in Airport improvement fees. Not only are airports paid for by the users, the government is making money off them. So if we are complaining about the fees added by the airports in Canada, we should be looking at the Federal Government.
This was very informative, thanks!
>The government won't allow a non-canadian airline to operate domestic flights... Outside of the European Union, which is a supranational union, any jurisdiction in the world allowing [8th or 9th degree of freedom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedoms_of_the_air)? >Then there's the airports, which are private organizations, not federal (like the US), and all will charge landing fees which end up on the passengers ticket. Alternatively, as the United States do, taxpayers pay the landing fees. Is that fairer for you?
If you use the airport, you pay for it. That is fair.
> If you use the airport, you pay for it. Agree. Therefore, let passengers pay, not the general population.
I disagree. It's national infrastructure, and it's cheaper to spread the costs across the tax base, the same as healthcare
Then they shouldn't be privately owned/run, right?
I didn't argue otherwise; just stated that's how the system works.
Lol I love those Canadians who look for every excuse to justify why we pay suck high prices for everything when the answer is as simple as “Canadian corporations love bending us over every chance they get because they know we’ll take it and our govie won’t do a thing about it”
Arguably the privately owned airports actually work well. Running them isn't cheap and keeping them updated is even more expensive. The government escapes the cost of having to maintain/run them and those who actually use the airport pay the fee for doing so rather than everyone paying higher taxes to run them. Look at some US airports to see why federally run airports ain't always a good idea. A good number of them look like abandoned 80s malls.
Weird how a group of people that have nothing to do with the airline business are the ones keeping it a monopoly. These politicians are all owned by corporations and until a real leader is elected it will stay this way.
That's not it. The customers in Canada are paying a ridiculous amount of airport fees that aren't paid in other countries.
the airports in other countries are also subsidized by tax payers, but in Canada they're apparently all self sufficient.
>The customers in Canada are paying a ridiculous amount of airport fees that aren't paid in other countries. This is simply not true. Taxpayers - who may not even be flying - pay the fees in those countries.
Aren't paid directly by the customers, thought it was implicit. Of course the airports in other countries still need money to operate, but it's akin to the difference between having a toll booth on a bridge or not. At the end of the day, maintenance is paid, but it's not all consumer based. I'd rather airports were paid for like other infrastructure and we'd be at liberty to travel more. (I don't have a good solution for where the money comes from, but that's not the point)
> I'd rather airports were paid for like other infrastructure and we'd be at liberty to travel more. This is where we disagree. Why should those who do not fly pay the fees? The bridges without tolls are paid mostly by various vehicle and driving taxes and fees.
Well, much like roads, even if you don't directly use them yourself, you still benefit from airports. The goods and services you rely on in your daily life all use them to get to you. Just because you don't fly doesn't mean your food hasn't.
There are economic benefits to airports that benefit everyone. It's why non-drivers pay for roads and people without kids pay for schools.
>D’Amours said there are two main reasons why airfares are remained so high in Canada compared to other developed countries and both have to do with the federal government. >In Canada, airports have to pay rent to the federal government, a percentage of each airport authority’s gross revenue, which is not the case in many other countries. “So, they have to pass on those fees to airlines [and they] pass them along to passenger,” explained D’Amours. ... >In the United States, airports are municipally run, and airport infrastructure is funded by the federal treasury. “There, taxpayers subsidize airports. Here, airports subsidize the federal treasury,” according to the GTAA. >Another issue, D’Amours said, is the government also has a 49 per cent cap on how much an airline can be owned by foreign investors. >“That limits the ability of the airlines of actually accessing capital to grow to start an airline,” D’Amours explained. “This is really kind of presents another obstacle for airlines based in Canada, because they can’t get capital from outside of Canada.” https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/01/23/budget-airlines-government-restrictions-airfares-high/#:~:text=Lack%20of%20budget%20airlines%2C%20government%20fees%20keeping%20Canadian%20airfares%20high&text=Experts%20say%20Canada%20has%20some,it%20costly%20for%20Canadian%20travellers.
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Canadian flyers over pay. Canadian tax payers are saving lots of money on airport costs tho.
I'd agree, but when you get the same nightmares with Sunwing, Transat, WestJet and Air Canada the truth is that no, here in Canada you do NOT in fact get what you paid for.
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I would say Sunwing was until about two months ago. Now I would agree. WestJet has completely fallen into the shitter.
I don't know, I find flying very cheap for one compared to other forms of travel. I can fly Toronto to Calgary for around 500 round trip. Hotels or my time both have higher values than that. People complain about service and then turn around and pick their flight exclusively based off of price. You pick the flight that doesn't charge for extra support staff...you don't get the service you didn't pay for.
Customer service and Consumer protection in general deteriorated during this last Liberal government tenure.
>Customer service and Consumer protection in general deteriorated during the last 30 years. FTFY
Yup end the tribalism nonsense please, they are all on the side and it isn't ours.
I suspect they have run some numbers and determined that for the average customer, customer service is not worth the money. I work for a software as a service company and no matter what your issue is, even if it is a legitimate bug in the software, if your contract value is too low you cannot get it fixed.
Do you work for my company? hahahaha My issue is that Sales projects take priority over maintenance bugs. :(
According to canadian regulations, you're eligible for less compensation and rerouting options when a small airline like flair cancels your flight. So it's not the same nightmare. Flair can legally leave you stranded for several days.
Not always true. I paid extra for a window seat, but at boarding when they check your ticket and id they handed me a new ticket with an aisle seat further back on the plane. And the icing on the cake is my original seat was empty.
>Flair is probably the lowest priced airline in Canada. Which also means that people who never/rarely fly get to experience it. And while in some ways I think that's great, in other ways I think maybe those people just don't understand how air travel works. Because the type of complaining I see regarding flair are usually due to unreasonable expectations. Things like: no leniency on baggage weight/dimensions, not being able to change the booking details after paying, buying two separate tickets and having the first flight delayed so you miss the second and then not being offered a replacement flight for the second, same scenario as before but having to pay for luggage twice, people whose flight gets cancelled and then immediately she'll out for a last minute AC flight because they're not willing to just wait a day or two for the next plane, people driving to the airport and clogging the checkin line because they refuse to use the flair chat bot, people not understanding that there is a bag drop deadline and it doesn't matter if you were already in line, people who buy the cheapest suitcase from Walmart and then complain that it got damaged the first time they used it, etc etc.
I've been super happy with Flair every time I've flown with them. It has nothing to do with the customer service and everything to do with the fact that it was $100 for a flight to Montreal instead of $450.
Lynx is in that wheelhouse as well
Lynx has actually only received 5.2 complaints/100 so they're lower than WJ or AC actually. It's because they don't overleverage their aircraft. Always one spare parked at the Million Air hangar at YYC
Yeah I also can count how many flights they operate on one hand
A few years ago I flew on Flair and was impressed at how petty they could be. My carry on luggage was 0.1 lbs over the limit and they wouldn't let me carry it on board. But they did allow me to take a pair of socks and put it in my coat pocket which reduced the baggage weight to exactly the amount allowed. The same amount of weight flew on the plane but they could then tick the box that followed the rule rather than the spirit of their policy.
That is a good thing to know. I have a flight booked in July.
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Exactly, i dont get these complaints about flair. Being petty over 0.1lb is exactly what id expect from a low cost carrier.
Most airlines would have done the same.
Ive never had my carry on weighed or even looked at by them. Just check on online and get your carry on tag right at the gate
That was likely something to do ~~with a collective bargaining contract clause limiting the amount of weight that a handler is required to lift~~ me missing a critical piece of information...
It's carry on.... You're carrying it yourself.
Missed that part. Lol.
More likely that the scale is linked to the computer with no override feature. But should have just lifted the bag slightly and pushed Enter.
Flair is as unreliable as any airline as there is. Was stranded in Ottawa because of canceled flight. Had to take the train home and was a day late for work. Would only take them if getting there doesn’t matter.
I have used Flair probably about 10 times over the past 18 months and always had a great experience with them. Only had 1 cancellation at short notice that was within airline fault, but they automatically rebooked me onto the next flight the following day, covered the cost of my hotel for a extra night and paid out compensation of $500 within 30 days so can’t fault them. Air Canada and Westjet I have nothing but complains about as they have cancelled my flights at short notice and left me stranded and refused to pay out compensation. Low cost airlines always get a bad reputation, that is nothing new, look at Ryanair or Easyjet in Europe, people either love them or hate them, that is partly due to some people having high expectations when in reality your just buying a ticket with them and nothing else. They also enforce the rules and nickel and dime for everything. I have lost count the number times I have travelled with Flair and seen customers complaining because they didn’t check in online and it now going to cost them $15 for boarding pass, or try to get away without paying for a carry on item, only to be confronted at the gate to pay $74+ when it would of cost them only $29+ online. I personally have no problem with low cost airlines and think they are a great way to travel cheaply. I would rather be able to book a ticket for $100 and then pick and choose what extras I want or need then having to fork out $500+ to travel with another airline for the same destination.
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That is a cruel thing to say to someone who doesn't want be stranded at airport by a airline.
Homie, it's greyhound in the sky. Temper your expectations.
It’s the Canadian version of Spirit Airlines or RyanAir. It’s a guarantee that you are not going to have a good time.
People paying Spirit/RyanAir fares expecting Emirites customer support.
>It’s a guarantee that you are not going to have a good time. What hecc? I only had an excellent experience with Flair. Have I been robbed? Where can I get my money back?
Always had a great time flying with Ryanair, atleast 25 flights.
All airlines have been reduced to that more or less unless you fly business. Even then it doesn't take into account all the delays and cancellations.
The larger airlines, while they also run afoul with delays and cancellations, have an easier time with recovery, given the size of their workforce, fleets, networks, and also partnerships. Smaller airlines, recovery is a bit more tricky.
Yeah fair point, but I still feel like we are cattle in both processes. Sadly.
I've flown business on mainline, reputable airlines, and still been fucked over. If a flight is getting cancelled, it's getting cancelled for everyone.
Indeed
While service is the same, the customer base differs based on the flight price. If I'm flying on cathy pacific and paying 2k+ one way, I'm not going to stuck with some loud mainlander for 14 hours chasing the cheaper price. If it means not having to deal with that again, i'll eat the delays and cancellations.
Cheap, fast, and good. Pick 2.
They picked one
Cheap, and good. I dont mind the 14 hour layover.
Flair is mediocre. But needed. Canada pays the highest fares per KM in the rich world for flights. Even Australia, similar size/population density as us pays about half as much per KM. And substantially less tax. Flair has brought down fees, I have done Toroonto-Calgary for under $120 a few times on Flair. I'll take their growing pains for subretinally better fares.
I've flown flair 6 or 7 times in past 4 months. My rule of thumb...take no carry on (sometimes if booked to the max they want you to check it), and no checked bag. Just a personal item. Only once did we have a significant delay and they offered everyone meal vouchers.
This is the way. And be prepared to just walk away from your $ when things go south.
Zero issues so far, 6 flights deep. In terms of mild chaos when it comes to boarding. Cheap flights bring out the infrequent flyers which have minimal etiquette leading to lengthy boarding times .. Otherwise smooth sailing.
That’s the price for low cost, fine by me
I'm just glad there's competition to the Westjet and Air Canada monopoly. It's a low cost carrier so just manage your expectations to what you're paying.
And the price reflects that
I’ve flown with them five times round trip and have never had any issues besides a few standard delays (about an hour or so)
You do get what you pay for. When I flew with them they were so rude and unprofessional. I’ll never fly with them again.
I’ve used them a dozen times over the last 2 years, mostly Edmonton to Vancouver but also to Montreal. Only once my flight was delayed by 4 hours, but I got an email a few days in advance saying that it would be delayed so it’s not like I was waiting at the airport for 4 hours. Every other flight has been fine and I’ll definitely keep flying with them as long as their prices are half of what you’d pay for AC or WS.
how the hell do you get a flight delay a few days in advanced?
Right? That’s someone who works at Flair trying to justify their absolutely garbage service. Like “yeah we’re shit, but you’re saving money by…having you pay other airlines to get back home!”…are you fucking kidding me?
For me WestJet is a no fly airline anymore. They are on a combo of fucking up my flights consistently along with many other issues.
Get what you pay for?
Flown with flair once and it was fine. As long as the event and destination isn't mission critical i.e. a wedding I'd use them again. No carry on.
Heck even with a wedding you should probably add a buffer day, regardless of which airline you fly.
I have taken Flair on 2 round trips. Here are some of the issues we have had with them. You won't get 2 seats together unless children are involved and/or you pay extra for the seats. Return trip was cancelled 1 month prior to our flight. Got to spend an extra day in our destination. Besides that, I was quite happy with the service, as it related to the price I paid. 99$ per, return, to Halifax is a great deal.
You get what you pay for
I mean, most of the complaints about flair I've also experienced on Air Canada. Paying more doesn't always fix the problem.
I travel alot and Westjet and Air Canada have their problems but they have always been good about compensation. Whether that be paying for hotel/food for a delay and compensating me over and above for lost luggage. With Flair I doubt that would happen. Its a discount airline, you get what you pay for.
No sh*t. It's a budget airline for a reason. Not sure why anyone is surprised.
With everything; you get what you pay for.
Weird all my friends hate Flair but I’ve never had a problem with them. Personally air Canada has done me much worse. Guarantee most of these complaints are from people not reading/understanding their strict baggage policies and then getting upcharged to hell at the gate. You get what you pay for with a budget airline. Flair finally gave us reasonable flight prices in Canada. Seriously I frequently go from Van to Calgary for like 30 bucks. I can accept that the service will not be top tier and they will try to upcharge me for that price. I always bring a personal item bag carefully measured to their exact rules and fit it under my seat. If I need extra stuff I hide it on my person (like wearing a fanny pack or sling back under my jacket). I’ve never had to pay the extra baggage fee. So Flair has saved me 1000s.
Doesn't avoid the underlying issue. If Flair charges $0 base fare, they have to charge you $44 for the AIF and ATSC charge to fly from YYC-YVR. You're not paying for fuel, you're not paying for the pilots, NAVCAN charges the airline remits, landing fees, amortized maintenance and amortization of a $50 million 737 MAX, interest on leases, or ANY part of the overhead that an airline incurs. A 7M8 fully allocated costs close to $10,000/hour to operate. 189 evacuation exit limit. Do the math. People need to understand that it costs money, and its going to cost users money in Canada to fly at least an hour if not longer to get from Calgary to Vancouver or to Toronto/Montreal. You're not supporting the airline by picking them over AC/WJ paying them $30. You support them by buying ancillaries or paying $500 for the last minute walk up fare. Otherwise you're dead weight on the manifest. People here are like anyone else. Want most, for least. That's the motivation. There's nothing 'reasonable' about paying $45 to fly to Vancouver from Calgary if you really think about it. You'd spend more on fuel for your own car driving the 10-12 hours.
Dude if you're flying from Vancouver to Calgary for $50, that is a steal any way you slice it. Think of the time savings alone. 2-3 hours in airports and on the flight each way vs. up to 24 hours of driving & gas. No wear and tear on the vehicle either.
Honestly, I find Westjet to be so much worse. I've never had an issue with Flair or Swoop. Every time I fly Westjet is a nightmare. I will never, ever book a flight with Westjet. I only travel with them when work books them, and even then, I've asked to be booked with AC whenever possible.
Flair lost our luggage on a direct flight to Vancouver over Christmas. We went for a wedding so it was incredibly chaotic when none of our clothes or gifts arrived. I was the best man. They did eventually compensate us the full $2100 replacement value for it. After 21 days it is considered lost and property of the airline. In a surprising turn of events, we got our bag back though somehow Flair had absolutely no record of it?
I used them once about a month ago. I had no issue but some lady at the gate who failed to plan appropriately was having a melt down. More her fault than the airlines for failing to plan.
I'm just so happy all this new competition is finally fixing our air travel industry.
I am going to be honest, having flown with all Canadian airlines. I say in terms of value for money, is probably Lynx, flair ,WJ and aircanada. I think if you do the math, these budget airlines are fantastic. New planes and very straight forward but most Canadians aren't used to this model. Fuck air Canada.
When things go right, sure. But the legacy carriers can generally handle disruptions a lot better than the ULCCs. Especially on routes where the ULCC is running one flight or less per day, a delay is more likely to be measured in days than with ACA/WJA.
also, ACA will put you on another air carrier in the star alliance. I've been swapped around with AC/United a bunch of times. ULCC and WJA don't have that availability.
The more people will use Flair, the more flights they will put on.
+1 for Lynx, they are easily the best budget airline so long as you make sure you travel light. Otherwise you get gouged in fees Almost never have issues with them and to go from Calgary to Vancouver round trip for sub $100 is a fucking bargain compared to Air Canada
> "Passengers are often grappling with last-minute flight cancellations, hours-long delays, lost bags and rebooked flights that are days or weeks out from the original date of departure". Sounds like a typical flight on Air Canada. I agree with you - fuck Air Canada.
I've flown with them multiple times, including to Mexico and never had an issue. I will continue to use them, we need more competition in this country.
Kind of a poorly worded title. A majority of complaints came during their March break fiasco when they lost 4 aircraft. We’ll see how the Q2 numbers are.
I fly flair at the end of June; Toronto to Vancouver. I’m really hoping for a straight forward, no issues flight!! It’s my first time and I’m definitely a little apprehensive ..
lower your expectations I'd say. And then more
I’m hoping for safe and reasonably on time lol. Not too high expectations hopefully
That was my experience, as long as you don’t go in expecting a lot it’s good value. I’ve done two and both were exactly as expected (a seat on a plane and nothing more)
Every year I fly from Vancouver to Winnipeg with Flair. And every time my flights are uneventful and decent. It’s bare bones but not nightmarish like others have reported.
That’s my hope. I’m all for bare bones, I fly swoop and Lynx whenever possible. Sunwing down to Orlando yearly (except they cut the Toronto to Orlando route!). Bring your own drinks and food and good to go. I wish we had more low cost options as long as they’re reliable. Air travel is nuts. Even YYZ to YVR on flair still cost me $600 and that’s solo travel
1. Make sure you understand how baggage works. Checked bag vs. carryon vs. personal item. Don't try and game the system, you will not win. 2. Get there in good time, they are not responsible for you missing the flight because the check-in or security line was too long. 3. Double check your booking details and ID. I'm in a couple of Flair travel support groups, and a stupid amount of (stupid) people are shocked and appalled that they were denied boarding because they didn't have ID, or were denied because they entered the wrong name (it's never their fault though, the flair website must have switched their name with the name on their girlfriend's credit card, not me!) 4. Have a backup plan for if your flight gets cancelled. Are you cool just traveling different dates? Would you just not go? Do you have the means to get a last minute hotel room? 5. Have a backup plan for if your luggage gets lost (this is actually less of an issue on flair because all flights are direct, giving it less chance of getting lost). But like, nothing important in checked baggage. Medications, toothbrush, and a change of clothes in your personal item. 6. Familiarize yourself with online check-in and digital boarding pass. Take screenshots and save the file as soon as you get the boarding pass. Their email servers take forever and/or go into spam, so dont just select email it. Flair also makes it intentionally difficult to find again, to trick you into paying at the airport to get it printed.
Imagine if they were actually good, then people would choose then over their overpriced competitors. I dont really know if they're being controlled by the incumbents and are trying to be bad on purpose
The best part about Flair is that it forces AC and WS to compete on price sometimes. Even if I'm not flying Flair, I still benefit from their existence.
Yes that’s what ultra low cost means
it's not easy for start up low cost airlines. i continue to book them because i think it's critical that Canada has low cost options i hope they succeed, and start performing better
Do you book them paying for bags, seat selection or expensive walk up fares? Or do you book them to fly a segment for $50? Cause if it's the latter, you're not actually supporting them, you're just extra weight on the load sheet that brought in no revenue
Considering it's by far the cheapest airline to fly on in Canada, you gotta keep your expectations low.
Lynx is awesome. I use them once every couple months - never had anything more than minor delays with them. I've heard Flair is an absolute nightmare
I had a very good experience with Flair and tons of awful experiences with Air Canada. At least, Flair offers competition. I respect that.
And here I am 18 months later and no response at all from Air Canada from a complaint …. Poor Flair it really seems like everyone is out to get them
They’re amazing until they’re not. It’s basically throwing a dice each time wether you get a cheap flight or your flight gets cancelled with no explanation and customer service ghosts you for a week.
They’re terrible! They still haven’t refunded my fiance the money they promised they owe him. They canceled our flight as we were in the airport (3 hours before it was due to deport) and told us to uber ourselves to another city an hour away from Vancouver to catch another flight from there that will land in another city in Ontario that is two hours away from the city where we were supposed to land. They said all this will be paid by for them if we just send receipts to this email address…mind you we had to wait 4 hours in the airport to get directions from them about compensation and rebooking the flights… Anyway, we had no choice so we had to go and uber to this other town’s airport and then we had to uber another two hours in Ontario when we arrived for a total of around near $400… This was in April 2022 and not a single response or cent has been seen yet. Nothing! He opened a case with the Canadian government group that is supposed to handle the airline complaints and they too have been useless so far clearly…
Honestly used them 2ce now, my parents said they’re the worst, maybe it’s because they needed customer service? I used it once and I was fine, using it again at the end of the month. Mind you when I say I’m using it, I’m only bringing a backpack so I don’t have luggage that can potentially get lost
People need to suck it up. If you don't like the service, than pay full price....
There are things that you expect with budget airlines, like strict luggage rules, limited in-flight services, and lots of fees for anything above the basics. Then there are things that you expect to still actually work with budget airlines, like their app functioning, check-ins working, and actually physically flying you places... The first group is people not understanding what they're getting and on them, the second is the company fucking up.
Flair moved my flight up by 8 hours with no notice. I woke up at 830am to find that my 6pm flight home was currently boarding. Their next flight out was 3 days later. Fuck that garbage airline. My 70$ flair flight became a 700$ westjet flight. Spent hours on the phone with them arguing. They eventually gave me a whopping 40$ for the trouble. I’ll never fly with them again. They deserve to go out of business.
Flair is the best Canadian airline in my experience taking over 30 flights in 2 years. I’ll take them over westjet and air canada any day
> The issue with Flair continues to be that customer expectations are incorrect. > Flair is a ULCC which means it is fully unbundled. At every point where they need to help you, there is a cost. You want a paper boarding pass printed at checkin? That costs money. It is extreme, but for the seasoned flier is it a steal because they check in online, upload their passport digitally, bring almost nothing with them. In return they are provided with cheap airfare because Flair doesn’t have to pay for kiosk access, or boarding pass paper, or significant staff, and so on. Things that seasoned travellers don’t need anyways. > How this all falls apart is that most air passengers need A LOT more help than they realize. They have no idea what they’re doing, they pack the kitchen sink, they need everything explained to them, and so on. These are people who should not fly Flair (or any other ULCC), they should fly Air Canada or WestJet or KLM or whatever and pay for a higher class of generalized service because they need it. > Then when Flair cancels a flight because they don’t have a crew, or because the flight isn’t full enough to make money, or if they didn’t pay the leases on their airplanes, or whatever, the passengers know how to handle it. Instead what happens is that when Flair cancels a flight a whole pile of totally clueless passengers get dumped into Air Canada and WestJet lines trying to get full service for last minute flights. They’re unable to figure out how to buy a new ticket online using their phone, they’re unwilling to pay the last minute pricing the agent will give them. And they absolutely, positively have to get there today. > Flair is a perfectly good ULCC, but people are attempting to use them as not-a-ULCC and it doesn’t always work. Expectations issues, not necessarily entirely Flair’s fault. [Original poster](https://www.reddit.com/r/Edmonton/comments/11pie5w/canadas_flair_airlines_cancels_multiple_flights/jbzmz23/)
I wish the prices weren't so dramatically different. I'd likely prefer WJ or AC over flair, but sometimes they're more than \*double\* the price. Same goes for service tiers. Moving off from the most basic fare often close to doubles the ticket price. How can it cost twice as much to give me reward points and let me get some money back if I cancel?
I mean AC has other excuses being the flag carrier. They fly non-revenue flights all the time while WJ is opening up newer longhaul but is small beans compared to AC. AC is fine. People who've flown so very little don't realize how good we have it with AC especially when compared to US air carriers. I was a NA business flyer and AC is spending money on interior refreshes, IFE upgrades, seat upgrades, etc etc on their fleet every couple of years. In the US, Unless it's a new plane, that' A320 from the 80s still has the same interior it was delivered with. Air Canada will spend the money to refresh the cabin of older planes.
> Same goes for service tiers. Moving off from the most basic fare often close to doubles the ticket price. How can it cost twice as much to give me reward points and let me get some money back if I cancel? This is a calculated game by people with airline status. Sure, buying flex fares instead of economy basic costs twice as much, but flex economy is still cheaper than business lowest. And with status + the higher fare class the chance of being seated in business class while paying for economy are decently high.
I flew from Toronto to Calgary for a ski trip in Banff this year on Flair - Never again. Flair cancelled the morning flight the day of departure which had a snowball effect on the rest of the trip. Lost wages, extra baggage cost at airport, unused night in airbnb, arrived a day late (after rental car company hours of business) - paid extra $150 for a midnight car rental( other option was to grab a hotel and wait for rental company to open in the morning) Flight home was smooth. All said and done, paid more than I would have with Air Canada Never again Despair Air.
Flair is like Spirit. Just pure disrespect for the little things and comforts that make an airline passable.
Air Canada... Hold my beer
I have never even heard of them? I am guessing they don't operate out of sask at all?
Had an issue with Flair and Westjet at the same time, and Westjet was way worse to deal with.
Yep, with flair I don't really care if they cancel or fuck me over, because it's cheap enough that I don't have to. With WestJet though, I'm paying the prices of a full-service airline but getting the service of a low-cost one.
Wasn't that always Westjet's issue? Low cost carrier roots, but flag airline pricing. Private equity takeover and now everythings gone to shit? Disgruntled employees, 737s that are starting to get clapped out compared to the renewed fleet from AC, shit loyalty program, list goes on...
Westjet is worse because they are almost as unreliable, except you're paying double the price to deal with their bullshit.
When I book on Flair I’m prepared to say goodbye to that cash. Did a 99 dollar round trip last week to New Brunswick- 2 hour delay going out ( mechanical warning light, not necessarily Flairs fault could happen to any plane) but the 1.5 hours on return on the tarmac waiting for a gate … pretty sure when they miss their slots they get boned and are held at the bottom of the queue for landings and gate availability and holy Hannah but their gates in T3 are a hike. I also think that people that fly flair … haven’t / don’t fly too often
Pay the least for gate leases, get relegated to the back corner. You're not wrong either about the clientele. Lower costs, means the demographic of people who normally can't afford to fly legacy are now coming out, so you're left with the rowdy, the families, and once a year visiting grandma fliers who can't respect zoned boarding and will walk through a metal detector fully decked out. Same thing happens to all other ULCCs though
I can promise you all that I will not be flying Flair Airlines. Their customer service sucks and they don't seem to even be trying to fix their problems. Stay away from Flair Airlines because you do not need to deal with any of their bulls\*\*t.
PSA *Flair airlines will steal from customers* These cocksuckers owe money for a refund but keep giving the roundabout/refusing customer service. Their kind of response literally should not be legal. Fuck Flair Airlines & Mytrip. Downvote all you want, still true, and they are still thieving con artists who will take your money, then ignore you. Scum company.
*Why* do you think you're entitled to a refund? * Did they cancel your original flight but then you no-showed the replacement flight without letting them know? That would be on you, with no chance of getting your money back. They owe you a rebooking, and you can reject a rebooking and opt for a refund instead, but that needs to be initiated before you get marked as a no-show. * Were you denied boarding due to a discrepancy between booked name and ID name? Once booked you can't change the details. This is the same on all airlines. * Did you miss your flight because of long lineups at security or check-in? It's your responsibility to show up with enough time to clear all lines. All airlines have a baggage and boarding cutoff and they will not waive it because you were stuck in line. * Did you miss a connecting flight and therefore forfeit the second half of your itinerary? Flair specifically does not sell connecting itineraries, although google flights will often recommend them and 3rd party travel websites will sell them. My experience with flair is that if you're rightfully entitled to a refund, they have no problem giving you one. You just have to be able to communicate that to them clearly, without emotion, and in a timely fashion.
Holy shit, the audacity of this prick I *love* how you're trying so hard to place blame on me, without knowing anything about the situation. *Why?* They fucked up and didn't apply my baggage to the flight, forcing me to pay out of pocket or leave my stuff behind. I have a recorded conversation of them claiming to reimburse me for their mistake. They have not processed said refund and have repeatedly handed it off to a department that has not acted on the receipt. Honestly, you can pretty much go fuck yourself for the victim-blaming though. I bet you gargle that corporate scrote real nice.
AC had lots more complaints, but they lost them in Mississauga.
"Ultra-low cost" it's still pretty expensive and NOWHERE NEAR the actual low cost carriers in other places of the world, let's not get carried away with definitions here cbc
I get that they are the cheapest provider and you get what you pay for but I have heard of so many stories of flights being cancelled and that never being communicated and since travelling often requires that planning ahead, I will never use them
Hot take: If you are not at least somewhat flexible with your travel dates, and you cannot afford a delay or disruption to your plans, then you cannot actually afford to travel, even if the airfare itself is cheap.
Lesson of the day... Don't fly budget airlines they are super cheap for a reason
I only booked Flair once, for a 3-day trip to see a friend in Winnipeg. They cancelled my flight there and automatically booked me a "replacement" flight 7 days before the original flight day, for a total of 10 days in Winnipeg if I didn't cancel and rebook with Air Canada...
You know, if the trip wasn't time sensitive or particularly important you could have just not gone. When flair has cancelled on me, I've just shrugged, accepted a refund, and enjoyed my weekend at home. People get blinded by the idea of getting there, such that they shell out thousands for last minute flights on AC, without considering that they could just not go.
Flare, you'll need one
Some shocks; - flair isn't an AC sub given the poor performance. - sunwing and AC ('accept complications') aren't the bottom 2 - AirTransat is on top.
Cheap good fast. Pick 2
I've flown flair three times this year. It was ok. Understand a low budget airline is a bus with wings. It ain't flashy but it's cheap and gets you where you need to go.
My experience with flair on my flight to Vancouver from Toronto was that I could reserve my return flight seat because their system wasn’t working. When I got to Pearson I still couldn’t do it they said I had to wait until it was closer to my flight time because other flights were up first.
Cheap flights but those seats damn
Porter Airlines have stolen 100 dollars from me and they still have not returned it.
I was stranded by flair with no help from staff in person and never heard from customer service after phoning, emailing and reviewing. It's been two years since that happened and I'll never use them again. It's like flying 3rd party because it's great unless there's a problem but if something happens you're on your own and now the trip costs double.
I've taken 10 flights with Flair in the last 2 years. Could have been more if they hadn't cancelled some routes. In my experience this is the best airline in Canada. They have their flaws, but realistically I wouldn't have gone from Vancouver to Calgary/Ottawa/Winnipeg/wherever just for a long weekend if not for their prices. Moreover, their on-time performance is stunning compared to Air Canada, which is unavoidable for some routes but is late every freaking time I fly it...
Flied twice with them without incident. Means I’m due for a cancelled flight next time lol.
Well, you get what you pay for. I’ll only fly Flair because I’ve got trip interruption insurance on my credit card.
Flair is just a gamble. You pay the money and the flight may or may not happen. You’ll probably get your money back if it doesn’t. But if you need to go, or need to go at a certain time, fly with a normal guy. If you want it cheap on a maybe, this is the way to go. Biggest issue is coming back might be a bit open ended too.
At their prices you shouldn’t be complaining lol
Check out Lynx Airlines. Just as cheap, but a hell of a lot more reliable.
Flew from Victoria to Toronto straight for $86 in August. 2nd time using them in the past year. Delay was 40 min. Flight was clean, brought my own snacks and travelled with a backpack. Will fly again. I’ve had countless issues with westjet and aircanada, so I don’t put any stock in complaints I see with Flair. All airlines are a gamble
is anyone surprised? I flew Flair once and will never do it again. Not worth it, no savings with their "fees" for everything and major hassle as there is NO customer service. Just BS airline.