The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) says Flair Airlines is "Canadian" and may continue to operate in the country.
The agency announced Wednesday (June 1) that the Canadian carrier meets the criterion to qualify as "Canadian" as per the Canada Transportation Act, SC 1996, c 10 .
In mid-April, news broke that the airline may be forced to cease its operations because it did not meet the conditions to qualify as "Canadian owned" — at least 51 per cent of a company's voting interests must be owned and controlled by Canadians and no more than 25 per cent of the voting interests may be by any single non-Canadian entity or individual.
On May 3, Flair responded to the agency’s preliminary determination which included "amendments to its Unanimous Shareholder Agreement (USA) and Promissory Note (governs the debt arrangement between Flair and 777)," explains the CTA in a news release.
The CTA found that Flair addressed its concerns and that Canadian shareholders "have the right to appoint no less than half of the Board, and no less than half of the members of the Board must be Canadian."
Additionally, the agency found that the airline has demonstrated that it can lease new aircraft without having to rely on 777.
Flair Airlines: The Canadian Transportation Agency decision
Prior to the announcement, Flair Airlines President and CEO Stephen Jones told V.I.A. in a phone interview on April 18 that customers should "absolutely be comfortable" in keeping the flights that they'd previously booked with the airline.
Jones had stressed that the airline would not be "grounded as a consequence of [the CTA] review," adding that Flair had been working with the CTA to address the situation.
The low-cost carrier recently announced two new routes to Puerto Vallarta. The new routes will provide service between the Mexican sun destination and Vancouver and Edmonton.
On Nov. 5, once-weekly flights on Saturdays from Vancouver will begin starting at $99 CAD including all taxes and fees.
More to come...
