Flair Airlines Four-Planes Seized in Canada
A New York-based hedge fund and lessor seized Flair Airlines' four planes over commercial disputes.
A New York-based hedge fund and lessor seized Flair Airlines' four planes over commercial disputes.
DALLAS — Canadian ultra-low-cost carrier Flair Airlines (F8) has had four of its aircraft seized. The airline was a few days behind in the payments to its lessors, leading to a dispute with a New York-based hedge fund and lessors.
Flair said that a commercial dispute resulted in the seizure of four leased aircraft in Edmonton, Ontario, Toronto, and Waterloo, which has impacted its passengers.
The Edmonton-based carrier operates a fleet of 22 Boeing 737s. It serves close to 35 destinations, across Canada, the US, and Mexico. The airline was founded 17 years ago as Flair Air and was renamed Flair Airlines (F8) in 2017.
The Canadian ULCC issued a statement in which it condemned the move to take back the aircraft as "extreme and unusual." However, the statement also reads that the airline plans to utilize its extra fleet capacity to mitigate the impact on passengers and expects no significant disruptions to its route networks.
Airline spokesperson Mike Arnot said that following the aircraft seizure, various flights were canceled on Saturday, but the airline has three spare aircraft to fill those slots. He added that passengers traveling within 72 hours would be accommodated on their flights or another flight, and F8 would pay for it.
As cited by Global News, the F8 spokesperson told them that "This unprecedented action aggrieves the airline." They further added that the F8 was in communication with the lessor, and they had already initiated the payments. "Flair Airlines will continue to engage in a consensual mediation with the lessor to fix the situation," the report read.
The airline is trying to negotiate terms with lessors. Meanwhile, they are arranging spare planes to lessen the impact on its valuable customers. They are also looking to arrange other flights if they fail to deploy their aircraft. “We are truly very sorry passengers were impacted today, and are taking steps to get them on their way with minimal disruption,” a spokesperson added.
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Feature Image: Flair Airlines Boeing 737-8 (C-GFOF). Photo: Brandon Siska/Airways.
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