Airline commits to Charlottetown
Flair Airlines adding flights to Halifax, Charlottetown this spring
Halifax and Charlottetown are among the Canadian cities that Flair Airlines will be adding and expanding flight service to this spring.
"It's going to be a long road to rebuild air access and recovery for the airport, but it gives us a bit of a glimmer of hope that there is some light at the end of the tunnel and there is an airline that's looking to start service at Charlottetown," said Doug Newson, CEO of the Charlottetown Airport Authority, on Wednesday.
"We're excited about it and we're eager to get to the summer and hopefully start to see some restrictions ease and people will be able to move about domestically."
The company says that service to four destinations — Halifax, Saint John, N.B., Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. — will begin in May.
"Canadians have been separated from their families and friends throughout the pandemic, and we are confident there will be demand for a variety of flight options when non-essential air travel resumes," said Joyce Carter, president and CEO of the Halifax International Airport Authority, in a news release.
“We look forward to welcoming Flair back to Halifax Stanfield, increasing choices for our community members to reconnect when the time is right."
Besides Charlottetown, flight service will also be added in June to include Thunder Bay, Ont., and in July to Victoria and Abbotsford in British Columbia.
The expansions and additions will give the Edmonton-based Flair Airlines, an independent ultra low-cost carrier, a presence in 18 Canadian cities.
"Providing affordable air travel within Canada is the first step in restarting travel and tourism, and Flair is uniquely positioned with the efficiencies of our lowcost model," said Stephen Jones, Flair's president and CEO.
For Charlottetown, the plan is for Flair to offer a Charlottetown-Toronto flight twice a week beginning June 4. Newson said Flair had intended to offer flights last summer, but the pandemic delayed those plans.
He said he's pleased to have some positive news for a change after a year of bad news with major airlines temporarily suspending service.
The Charlottetown airport is currently down to only one daily passenger Air Canada flight to Montreal.
"We believe that all of our carrier partners are certainly confident in the market, it's just a matter of timing and when they'll be able to come back and add some services.
“But it's great to have some good news to share with Islanders and our staff and tenants, as opposed to the bad news that we've gotten used to over the past 12 months."