Flair Airlines says it is “raising the bar” with the country’s only On-Time Guarantee (OTG). Passengers booking through flyflair.com will receive a $60 travel voucher if their flight is more than 60 minutes late or cancelled within 72 hours of departure.
“Our commitment to passengers has never been stronger,” said Maciej Wilk, the low-cost carrier’s Interim CEO.
“With the OTG, we’re raising the bar in Canadian aviation. The guarantee is simple: if we don’t get you there on time, we’ll compensate you. No other airline in Canada offers this level of accountability. We’re confident in our operations, and we’re putting it all on the line for our passengers.”
Here are the details of the Flair offer
· Flair says the OTG travel voucher will be emailed to impacted passengers within 48 hours of delays or cancellations.
· The e-voucher can be redeemed on the passenger’s next flight. The voucher applies only to the base fare, and only one e-voucher can be used when booking a one-way or roundtrip flight. It can’t be used for extras like baggage fees or seat selection.
· The $60 e-voucher is only valid for 60 days. In addition, e-vouchers are non-transferable, and passengers under the age of 18 aren’t eligible.
Full details of the Flair On-Time Guarantee can be found here.
The Flair OTG is separate from the Canadian government’s Air Passenger Protections Regulations (APPR), which mandate cash payment compensation for delays and compensation.
“This in no way aims to replace APPR; passengers’ rights are in no way impacted,” a Flair representative told online publication The Daily Hive Vancouver. “This is a Flair-run project, a faith-building gesture.”
It’s certainly an eye-catching gesture, but whether it’s enough to build faith among Canadian travellers is uncertain. Flair’s on-time percentage has improved significantly in recent months, but in the most recent statistics released by the Canadian Transportation Agency, the company was ranked second worst with 15 complaints per 100 flights.
The worst was Lynx Air, which went bankrupt in February. It received 18.9 complaints per 100 flights. Porter Airlines received the fewest number of complaints in the period between April 2023 and June 2024, averaging just 1.3 out of 100 flights.
Still, Flair’s Juliana Ramirez, VP of Ancillary & Digital Innovation, is confident the initiative will pay off in customer loyalty: “The OTG is our pledge to deliver the service passengers deserve. We are determined to earn our customers’ trust.”