After 4 planes are seized, Canadian budget airline Flair cancels some Palm Springs flights

A Canadian budget airline canceled multiple flights to and from Palm Springs over the weekend, and not for the usual weather or mechanical reasons.

It was because Flair Airlines had four of its planes seized after it fell behind on lease payments.

However, Flair says it has returned to normal operations after bringing four new planes into service and promises customers can “book new travel with confidence.”

The flights canceled were between Palm Springs and Toronto or Edmonton, Alberta, a spokesperson for the airline said Monday. A total of 12 flights were canceled across the airline’s network, they said.

The Edmonton-based airline began offering what were initially twice-a-week flights between Palm Springs and Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver in 2021. Flair, which bills itself as “Canada’s leading ultra-low-cost carrier,” currently serves about 35 cities in Canada and warm-weather US markets.

The four planes were seized from airports in Toronto, Edmonton and Waterloo, Ontario, according to a Toronto Star article that cited a Flair spokesperson.

A PR firm representing the airline told The Desert Sun it is “aware of extreme and unusual actions taken by a New York-based hedge fund and lessor of certain Flair Airlines aircraft.”

The statement called the situation “a commercial dispute” and said it was “aggrieved by this unprecedented action.”

“Flair Airlines has been involved in ongoing communications with the lessor and payment has been initiated, as they have been previously done,” they said. “Flair Airlines will continue to engage in a consensual mediation with the lessor to remedy the situation.”

On Saturday night, the airline said on Twitter it was sorry to the passengers impacted by the cancellations and was doing everything it could to get customers to their destinations as soon as possible.

Flair said it had “enlisted a dedicated team” to help customers rebook their flights with either Flair or another airline at no additional cost, or customers could rebook their own flights and be reimbursed by Flair within seven days.

The spokesperson said that of the approximately 1,900 passengers impacted by the delays, a quarter were rebooked on a Flair flight within three days and offered accommodation and meal vouchers. However, they did not include specific information about the status of the Palm Springs passengers.

The next scheduled flights between Palm Springs and Edmonton departed Tuesday, while the next scheduled Toronto flights are not until Saturday.

Several customers responding to Flair on Twitter were critical of how it handled the cancellations. One said they were renting a car and driving with their family of five Tuesday to Las Vegas to catch a flight to Toronto after their flight from Palm Springs was canceled Saturday. That meant several more nights of travel expenses, plus extra parking at the airport in Toronto.

“Where do I send the bill?” they added.

The Canadian outlet Global News spoke with multiple passengers who had been scheduled to fly Saturday from Toronto to Palm Springs on Flair.

One family said they were told at the airport the flight had been canceled because of “maintenance issues” and offered a flight a week later, and a couple said Flair could not rebook them until March 25, two Saturdays after the cancelation. Both said they ended up booking much more expensive flights with other airlines.

On Monday, Flair tweeted that it had “returned to normal operations” and there were no cancellations on Sunday.

“We do not anticipate any further disruptions to our route map,” the airline said.

That same day, Flair CEO Stephen Jones told reporters that his airline had been only a few days behind on payments and owed about $1 million Canadian, which is about $731,000 in U.S. money, representing about half of one day’s sales for the airline, according to the Star.

He said he believed that another airline had offered “probably above-market rates” for the seized planes to hurt Flair, although he did not name any airline by name or cite other evidence.

The spokesperson, however, said Flair isn't going anywhere.

“Flair is committed to providing affordable airfare for Canadians,” they said. “We know our presence results in lower fares, and we’re dedicated to continuing to serve Canadians. There are airlines that don’t want Flair to exist. But Flair will fly. And we will thrive. We will continue to deliver the lowest fares on offer to Canadians.”

But while Flair says it plans to press on, its future in Palm Springs is less certain.

The airline’s website only shows Palm Springs flights available through March 25, which the spokesperson explained is because Flair’s Palm Springs flights are seasonal winter flights. The spokesperson added that “conversations are ongoing for next year.”

“As Flair continues to grow its presence, it will continue to invest in existing high-performing routes and expand to new regions travellers in the area want to visit, at the lowest fares on offer,” they said.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Flair Airlines: 4 planes seized; some Palm Springs flights cancelled