'Exciting day' as Windsor airport welcomes inaugural Flair Airlines flight

There’s a new discount airline in town and Thursday marked the first inbound and outbound flights through low-cost carrier, Flair Airlines.

The first direct flight from Montreal to Windsor landed on time Thursday morning at Windsor International Airport, with the same plane departing back to Montreal 40 minutes later.

Advertised as a low-fare option, the airline is offering direct flights from Windsor to Montreal and Halifax for as low as $29 each way.

It’s a price point which company executives say is here to stay.

“We're really about sustainable, low fares. You know, we want to keep bringing those low fares to Windsor, year in year out,” said Garth Lund, Flair’s chief commercial officer.

A quick search of the online flight booking portal, however, no longer shows any flights advertised for $29. The lowest-cost booking available for a return flight from Windsor to Montreal, with taxes and airport improvement fees included, is $77. When coupled with a return fare, the cost is roughly $177.

Company officials tell CTV News the first flight into Windsor was about half-full, a number chief commercial officer Garth Lund calls a good start, but it hopeful demand will pick up as word of mouth travels and a targeted advertising campaign is launched.

“We're looking to be able to run that around 90 per cent load factor, so we want the planes to be 90 per cent full and I think with the demand that we're seeing at the moment, we should be running at that level,” said Lund.

Air travel nightmares are at the forefront right now, with passengers at major airport hubs like Pearson Airport in Toronto experiencing long delays and missed connections, leaving some travellers stranded for days.

Flair’s business model bypasses the hubs and flies direct from smaller airports, which according to Lund, saves passengers both money and time.

“It's a much simpler, more streamlined experience,” said Lund. “Particularly with what's going on going on in some of the major airports. I think these smaller, more convenient airport options are great for people in the summer.”

Lund says add-ons like baggage check, seat selection and early boarding are extra, but promises it’s still more affordable than flying with a big airline.

”You only pay for what you want,” he said. “Typically we are less than half of the competition. So I think it's you know, it's a very affordable cost effective option for our customers.”

YQG has been a quiet place over the past two years, but Windsor International Airport CEO Mark Galvin said the addition of these flights brings hope of a travel rebound.

“To see the vibrancy and the terminal and people with their bags and going to see loved ones to do business to travel to see Canada and to see the world, it's an exciting day for certainly for YQG,” said Galvin.

Galvin calls the Flair offerings a “beta-test” for the airport, noting before any more flights are added, these Flair flights to Montreal and Halifax must prove to be sustainable.

“People want to fly to these places and that's it's obviously easier when we get that word of mouth and people say you know, you can fly from you know, try Windsor,” said Galvin.

The inaugural flight to Halifax takes off Friday, July 8, with direct flights to Tucson, Ariz. starting in December, 2022.