Business

Stephen Jones tells CBC’s Ian Hanomansing why the budget airline industry has such a hard time in Canada

Ian Hanomansing – CBC News


Posted: 8 Hours Ago
Last Updated: 3 Hours Ago

Many budget airlines have tried to and failed to do business in Canada, but Flair keeps flying. Retiring CEO Stephen Jones sat down with Ian Hanomansing to discuss what he’d change to get more competition in Canada’s skies. (Jackie Sharkey/CBC)

Stephen Jones, the outgoing CEO of Flair Airlines, has a message for Canadian air travelers: the country needs viable low-cost carriers. But Jones warns under the current rules, trying to compete with what he calls the Big Two — Air Canada and WestJet — is “a really tough game.”

The 63-year-old airline executive, who’s retiring at the end of the month, dropped by CBC’s Vancouver newsroom for a candid conversation about the future of Flair and the airline business in this country.

“It’s a tough industry globally, but certainly here in Canada, the industry has been dominated by the two big players for decades now,” said Jones.

“We think that Canadians were paying too much for too long and so we needed to come in and disrupt it. And I think we’ve done that.”

Flair promises customers “unbeatable fares every day.” The Edmonton-based company says it operates 20 aircraft, serving 36 destinations operating, on average, 450 flights a week.

But with the demise of Lynx Air earlier this year — joining the list of Canadian discount airlines that couldn’t stay in business, Flair remains the only ultra-low cost airline flying within Canada.


WATCH | Outgoing Flair CEO on why it’s hard for budget airlines in Canada:

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