Flair Airlines and Lynx Air to Expand Capacity

Forget the Flames and Oilers, there’s a new Battle of Alberta in town.

It looks like Calgary and my adoptive home of Edmonton are locked in a race between our ultra-low-cost carrier airlines, instead of between our venerable hockey times.

Calgary-based Lynx Air and Edmonton-based Flair Airlines are both massively expanding their fleets and serviced routes in 2023, and your pocketbook might stand to benefit. With record delays at airports this past summer, will the savings be worth the potential suffering? Let’s find out!

New Routes at Flair and Lynx

First up is Flair Airlines, which calls Edmonton International Airport home. Flair intends to acquire seven new aircraft by summer of 2023, which the airline would use to expand operations by a full 50%.

This is exceptionally ambitious for an airline that was, until recently, undergoing some tough questions about its ownership structure.

Regardless, Flair is rebounding with a vengeance, and it intends to increase its fleet size to a total of 27 planes by adding seven more Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. This move indicates the airline’s confidence is unshaken, even after the chaotic summer of 2022’s travel woes.

The airline has also indicated that there will be an additional 10 flights between on its Toronto–Calgary and Vancouver–Toronto routes, as well as increases to its service to Deer Lake, Nashville, and Mexico.

On the other hand is Calgary-based Lynx Air, which made its first flight back in April 2022. The company has placed plenty of aircraft on order, and now feels confident enough to launch four new routes to the United States:

• Toronto–Orlando, four times per week, beginning January 23, 2023
• Calgary–Phoenix, three times per week, beginning February 7, 2023
• Calgary–Los Angeles, three times per week, beginning February 16, 2023
• Calgary–Las Vegas, four times per week, beginning February 24, 2023

These are some of the hottest destinations (in both temperature and desirability) for tourists and snowbirds alike, and will certainly make for a welcoming escape from the clutches of the Canadian winter. To sweeten the deal, Lynx has also released a contest, in which one can enter for a chance to win one of four trips to the United States.

As of yet, there’s been no response from Canada’s larger, more established budget carrier: Swoop….