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Flair Airlines is pausing operations in Regina and other cities, another blow to an industry that has suffered in 2020.
Regina Airport Authority CEO James Bogusz said the authority was told Thursday the low-cost airline that started operating in Regina in August is pausing operations in all areas except major cities beginning in January and throughout February.
“Right now they’re hoping to start on March 4, or in or around (there). All of this is going to be predicated on how things go with travel demand going forward,” Bogusz said.
Passenger demand has been at historic lows during the COVID-19 pandemic due to restrictions in place across the world. Bogusz said in November, the airport was seeing about 15 per cent of pre-pandemic demand. The highest it has been was in August, around 18 per cent.
“Right now, it’s going to be tough to see how Christmas itself goes. I’m not even sure we will be at 15 per cent over December. It’s a little too early to say yet, but it’s not trending well right now,” Bogusz said.
While there haven’t been as many customers in the airport this year, Bogusz said there has been a demand for Flair due to its low prices.
“It caters to an audience that is looking for no-frills, lowest-possible-price travel,” Bogusz said. “It has been doing relatively well. I don’t want to say every plane is chock full, but they’ve had surprisingly strong loads.”
Airport’s future uncertain
Meanwhile, Bogusz said the Regina Airport Authority has had to make cuts in certain areas to ensure its funding reserves last as long as possible. Staffing levels are down about 30 per cent from what they would be in normal years.
“We’ve been able to stretch our cash a little longer than October. We’re now forecasting to be out of cash or nearly out of cash just into the new year,” Bogusz said.
He said the hope is that more information will come out about the federal government’s recent announcement that it will set aside $65 million for airport authorities.
“The big question for us will be how much is available for Regina. It’s a very simple question,” Bogusz said. “In the absence of support, we simply cannot even come close to generate enough income to support our core operation and we’ll be forced to have to start looking at new fees in the new year.
“I’ve been doing everything I can to avoid that. If you raise your fees, it makes it awfully tough to have Flair, Air Canada and WestJet stay in our market, even in the modest way they are doing today.”
