Month of travel chaos leaves Flair Airlines passengers scrambling

The litany of challenges facing Flair Airlines continues.

This past weekend, the Canadian discount airline had four of its planes seized due to late payments, which has resulted in a $50-million lawsuit against several aircraft leasing companies.

On Wednesday, a plane travelling from Vancouver to Phoenix was cancelled, this time due to a bird strike, which left passengers scrambling to find alternative routes as they watched their Spring Break shrink.

Over the last year, Krystle McGough has flown twice with Flair, most recently on March 3 from Toronto, and both times have resulted in chaos.

“I feel angry because people trust them with their baggage,” said McGough. “I feel like they basically treated me like my things and personal items don’t matter.”

Her bag has been missing for nearly two weeks, and she says it is nowhere to be found.

CTV News attempted to get an update on her bag and has yet to hear back from Flair.

McGough says the airline has provided money to help pay for the missing items, but some are priceless photographs and journals.

“This is my final straw with them,” said McGough.

In June, the Barrie, Ont., native says, she had a connecting flight with Flair in Saskatoon that was cancelled. She says it resulted in three days stranded in Saskatchewan using hotel and food vouchers from Flair until she could rebook her flight to B.C.

“People always say, ‘Why not just fly with Air Canada or WestJet?’ Because I can’t afford their prices,” said McGough.

Discount airlines like Flair and Swoop have significantly impacted Canadian travel for residents coming and going from the Fraser Valley.

Abbotsford International Airport data shows the facility serving fewer than 500,000 passengers per year before the two discount airlines arrived. Six years later, the data shows YXX has doubled its passenger volumes, with this year projected to have 1.2 million people come through the airport.

“We’re coming off a record January and February and busy spring and summer. Flair and Swoop are driving the growth,” said Parm Sidhu, the general manager of YXX.

The airport is currently in the midst of a renovation project as it looks to expand to meet the growing demand.

On Thursday, Flair Airlines vice-president of management and network planning Eric Tanner told CTV News over the phone that about 1,800 passengers were affected by the recent plane seizure.

Tanner explained that the airline will continue with its full schedule of flights and doesn’t expect disruptions from the recent seizure to impact current flights.

When asked what the future of the airline is, he remained certain that Flair will continue operating in Canada and plans to grow.