Flair Airlines is revamping its ultra-low-cost brand in a bid to attract more business travellers, despite a lack of frills on board.
In a phone interview this week, CEO Maciej Wilk said Flair is attempting a strategic shift away from a pure-play budget airline and toward what he dubbed a “value carrier.”
The goal is to attract more work travellers — mainly from small businesses — via affordable fares and by plugging into networks linked to travel agents, booking sites and hotels.
“We’re just ignoring this enormous corporate opportunity and simply abandoning this highly — potentially — profitable segment for us,” Wilk said.
“We need to consciously deviate from the textbook.”
The Edmonton-based company won’t be unfurling first-class accoutrements any time soon.
“No silverware, no free catering, no lounges, no red carpets unrolled in front of the customers,” Wilk said.
Instead, Flair is offering express treatment to all guests who pay more for the privilege of add-ons like carry-on luggage, granting them priority status at the check-in counter and gate.
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They will enjoy greater leeway with bag size, too.
More importantly, the airline plans to tap into one of a handful of global distribution systems, which form the digital back end of commercial air travel.
Platforms such as Amadeus and Sabre connect travel agents and online agencies to airlines, hotels and car rental companies, comprising a central marketplace that can distil complex bookings from multiple providers into a single purchase.
Flair has yet to partner with one, though it hopes to within months.
“They don’t see Flair in the systems because we’re not a part of it,” Wilk said of travel agencies.
“These are the gaps that we’re filling.”
Shorter layovers and more flights from Atlantic Canada — mainly to Toronto or Ontario’s Waterloo Region — also aim to broaden the carrier’s catchment area and make its one-stop cross-country trips more appealing.
The changes don’t quite amount to an overhaul.
“Of course, the fundaments of the low-cost model remain,” Wilk said. By that he means strict cost controls, a pay-for-service plan — carry-on bags, meals and seat selection all cost extra — and squeezing as many hours as possible out of its 20 aircraft and as many passengers as it can on board.
That leaves no room for business class seating.
Wilk said Canadians’ turn away from U.S. travel has been tough for a company that staked its expansion on that market — particularly sun destinations — less than two years ago.
But Flair’s handful of routes to Mexico and the Caribbean, along with its first bundle of vacation packages mean it hasn’t lost out on sun revenue, he said.
The push for more business clients on top of its base of budget leisure travellers comes as the line between low-cost carriers and legacy airlines blurs, with Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat all adopting aspects of the discount model.
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