Flair Airlines seeks investors to ‘restructure’ finances and grow fleet

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VANCOUVER — Flair Airlines says it is looking for partners to inject fresh capital into the budget carrier in order to “restructure” its finances and build out its fleet.

Eric Tanner, vice-president of revenue management and network planning, said in an interview the company is seeking out equity partners as a way to deal with pandemic-era debt and allow the company to acquire jets beyond the 20 planes it has currently.

He says the investor hunt is not an urgent one and the business itself is not undergoing restructuring, having turned a profit in July and August.

Tanner says the airline’s preference would be for Canadian financial partners.

Flair, whose inaugural flight took off in 2017, suspended expansion plans in January as it contended with plane delivery delays and significant debts, including tens of millions of dollars owed to the federal government.

Last year, Flair saw four of its planes repossessed after an aircraft leasing manager claimed the company regularly missed rent payments that amounted to millions of dollars.