Flair Airlines today announced plans to substantially increase flight frequency between B.C. and Alberta airports, specifically Vancouver International Airport, Abbotsford International Airport, Calgary International Airport and Edmonton International Airport.
The Edmonton-based airline plans to have a peak frequency of 33 flights per week between Vancouver and Calgary in 2025. That is up 57 per cent from peak season in 2024. Between Edmonton and Vancouver the peak number of weekly flights is set to be 24 in 2025, up 50 per cent from 2024.
The substantial flight-frequency increases also involve Abbotsford.
Flair next year plans to fly a peak of 24 times per week between Edmonton and Abbotsford, up 50 per cent from its peak in 2024. Between Calgary and Abbotsford, Flair plans to have a peak of 21 flights per week, up 50 per cent from 2024, according to the airline.
Abbotsford International Airport general manager Parm Sidhu told BIV that he was "grateful" for the additional traffic.
"More importantly, it's about the consumer," he said. "The passenger is going to be able to take more trips because of Flair's low air fares That's what ultra-low-cost carriers have."
Sidhu said his airport set a record of 1.275 million passengers last year. He expects to have only about one million passengers this year, because WestJet shut down its Swoop subsidiary in late 2023, and Swoop previously flew many flights out of Abbotsford.
He anticipates passenger growth rising by about 10 per cent next year to 1.1 million passengers in part due to more flights from Flair.
Flair counted up to 340 additional monthly flights across those routes to Vancouver and Abbotsford in summer 2025, compared to summer 2024. The airline credited cooperation between it and airport representatives for being able to provide this increase.
“The interconnectivity between Alberta and British Columbia is only getting stronger and more economically essential,” said Eric Tanner, Flair's vice-president of network planning and revenue management.
“Flair is empowering passengers to do day trips between Alberta and British Columbia with affordable, convenient flight options in the morning and evening.”
