A Flair Airlines airplane. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
The head of the Kamloops Airport Authority Society is lamenting the loss of an air link to and from the city.
Kamloops Councillor Bill Sarai tells Radio NL the decision by Flair Airlines to cancel its direct flights to Edmonton on September 6 is disappointing, saying the promotion likely just wasn’t enough.
“We could have done a bit better as a city, as residents and promoted and rolled it out,” Sarai said. “I think a lot of people in our city and our region didn’t even know that flight had started up.”
The Edmonton-based ultra low-cost carrier began the twice-weekly flight on June 18, with flights running on Wednesday and Sunday mornings. It was initially scheduled to operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, but those plans were changed prior to the inaugural flight.
Sarai, who urged Kamloopsians to support the flight earlier this month, suggests the Airport Society and the City should have taken more steps to promote tourism in Kamloops within the City of Edmonton.
“Maybe we need to connect with the community that we are connecting with, where that flight is coming in, and maybe team up with their marketing team and really showcase what Kamloops is all about,” he said.
Sarai says Flair Airlines had always intended to reevaluate the Kamloops to Edmonton flight in October. The airline told Radio NL it is basing its decision to cancel the flight on other routes it operates that have more passengers.
“Looking at the airline, when they say they are flying 40 per cent passenger load, that will not sustain any airline,” Sarai said, suggesting perhaps there could also be other factors involved in the cancellation.
“Are they using too big of airplanes? I’m not sure. Is that the only planes in their inventory? I’m not sure.”
Flair is using Boeing 737s MAX 8s that seat 189 passengers on the Kamloops to Edmonton route. Those planes have more than twice capacity of the 78-seat Q400s used by WestJet and Air Canada to service Kamloops. Its business model though means the planes need to be filled to capacity as Flair makes much of its revenue on optional fees by charging for things like baggage, seat selection, and priority boarding.
“The door is always open for routes from Kamloops,” a Flair Airlines spokesperson told Radio NL Tuesday when asked if the airline will ever return to the Tournament Capital.
– With files from Victor Kaisar and Abby Zieverink
