On Wednesday, Canada’s low-cost carrier Flair Airlines announced its agility and resourcefulness mitigated the effects of Calgary’s freak hailstorm in August. Despite dealing with significant disruptions from the storm, Flair managed to maintain on-time performance in line with its competitors as it transported 488,969 travelers during the month.

Flair Airlines Boeing 737

Photo: Flair Airlines

Who’s in charge here?

The freak hailstorm on August 5, 2024, left a trail of devastation through large parts of Calgary, with some estimates putting the damage at more than $1 billion, not including damage to Calgary International Airport and losses suffered to airlines like Flair. Talking about the impact of the hailstorm, Flair CEO Maciej Wilk had a very clear idea of who was to blame:

“Mother Nature made it clear who’s in charge. Despite the sudden intensity of Calgary’s hailstorm, we managed to keep up with the rest of the pack. Thanks to our agility and resourcefulness, we kept operations as smooth as possible, minimizing disruptions for our passengers.”

In August, Flair Airlines carried 488,969 passengers and, with a completion rate of 96.5%, ranked second only to Porter Airlines, which completed 97.7% of its flights. While all Canadian airlines faced challenges to a greater or lesser degree last month, Flair was well ahead of both Air Canada (94.5%) and Westjet (93.2%) in the reliability stakes.

Flair Airlines Boeing 737 MAX

Photo: Flair Airlines

The storm and its aftermath wreaked havoc on airline schedules, and Flair ended August with an on-time performance (OTP) of 62.7%, trailing WestJet (63.7%) and Porter Airlines (62.8%) but ahead of Air Canada (61.1%). What is not readily known is that Flair maintained industry standards despite having 10% of its fleet out of service due to storm damage, although there was no sign of hiding behind any such excuses.

Taking ownership of outcomes

Flair recognizes it fell short of its desired expectations for passengers regarding operations. Vice President of Revenue Management and Network Planning Eric Tanner took that responsibility further when he said that while Flair aims to consistently deliver best-in-class metrics, unforeseen events sometimes impact our performance, our commitment remains firm:

“Flair is dedicated to being Canada’s most reliable airline, and we’re focused on improving our On-Time Performance in the months ahead.”

NSF_21_0520_JRA_3817_Large_res_80d232abfd

Photo: Flair Airlines

The storm’s intensity meant that Flair had to conduct detailed 3D scans of two aircraft, which took several days to complete. Those inspections found no major structural damage, but multiple flight surfaces made of composite material were found unserviceable and had to be replaced, with a thorough inspection of the aircraft before returning them to service.

Flair has a growing fleet of 20 Boeing 737 single-aisle aircraft, including 18 latest-generation 737 MAX 8s and two 737-800s. It is the only airline in Canada that publicly shares its emissions data, and in August, it recorded 51.6 g/CO2 per passenger per kilometer, a new record low for the airline.

Flair Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8

Photo: Flair Airlines 

Picking up on the importance of accountability, Wilk said that while it’s not always easy, “being upfront about our performance is key to earning passenger trust, especially when we fall short of our own high standards.” Flair must be doing a lot right as in August it flew nearly half a million passengers at an exceptional load factor of 93.4%.

Its aim is to be the nation’s most trusted low-fare airline and with its expanding fleet, it serves more than 35 cities across Canada, the US, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. This fall, it is unveiling new initiatives to reinforce its commitment to repairing reputational damage from the past while fostering new confidence in the airline’s future.

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