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Flair starts low-cost flights from Victoria to Edmonton

Low-cost carrier Flair Airline will begin direct flights between Victoria and Edmonton on June 15. Further connections from Edmonton to Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton and Toronto will be available. Bookings can be made online now.
Flair Airline
A Flair Airline aircraft at Yellowknife airport. The low-cost carrier will begin direct flights between Victoria and Edmonton on June 15.

Low-cost carrier Flair Airline will begin direct flights between Victoria and Edmonton on June 15.

Further connections from Edmonton to Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton and Toronto will be available. Bookings can be made online now. Edmonton is being developed as a hub for Flair.

One-way flights start at $79 between Victoria and Edmonton.

“We have always had our eye on Victoria,” Julie Rempel, Flair spokeswoman, said Friday.

A Boeing 737-400 will be used for the one hour and 40 minute trip.

Victoria is one of five new destinations announced by the Kelowna-based airline. Others are Prince George, Saskatoon, Calgary and Halifax. It currently has 90 flights per week. Once the new flights are operating, it will offer 208 flights per week.

Rempel said schedules will be watched to see where markets are strong. The hope is that the new destinations will attract enough customers to run year-round.

Geoff Dickson, CEO of the Victoria Airport Authority, said he is pleased to see Flair come to Victoria. The authority makes ongoing efforts to attract new carriers.

“We always welcome new capacity into the market because it is good for overall economic growth,” Dickson said.

Flair had a brief presence in Victoria in 2016. It had worked with Winnipeg-based NewLeaf Travel Co., which ran low-cost flights between Victoria and Kamloops, Edmonton and Winnipeg. NewLeaf began service in July 2016 and suspended it late that year. Flair purchased NewLeaf in mid-2017.

The base price pays for a seat. Passengers can pay more for options such as carry-on or check-in luggage, choosing a particular seat, checking in online or being at the front of the boarding line. Food and snacks are for sale on the plane. Low-cost carriers operating in a similar way are common in Europe, Rempel said.