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MONTREAL, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Flair Airlines has seen bookings slow-down in the weeks following a strong holiday travel season due to the Omicron variant, but the small Canadian budget carrier’s expansion plans remain on track, Chief Executive Stephen Jones said on Wednesday.
Airlines, hard hit by last year’s slump due to the pandemic, had seen a rebound in travel. But the new variant is setting back the recovery of international flights as governments introduce new testing requirements and restrictions.
Canada’s government implored residents on Wednesday not to leave the country as provinces ramp up vaccinations to combat the fast-spreading variant.
“There’s no doubt that Omicron has been a setback,” Jones said in reference to international flights. “But like Delta and like the first wave we will get through this.”
Alberta-based Flair will grow from 12 jets to a fleet of 30 aircraft by mid-2023, a time when traffic is expected to further recover, said Jones, a former executive at European budget powerhouse Wizz Air.
While holiday bookings “are very good,” questions remain on how travel will look during the second half of January and February.
“We’ve certainly seen a drop off in bookings for those months,” he said, adding that the slow down was linked to news about the variant’s emergence.
Jones, who is still targeting a fleet of 50 aircraft by 2025, said it’s important to reserve delivery times now for the Boeing BA.N 737 MAX aircraft the carrier is leasing as demand rises.
“There’s definitely a firming of interest in the MAX,” he said.
Despite turbulence from Omicron, airlines globally are looking past the pandemic to renew fleets.
Jones said he expects international travel will rebound by summer as vaccinations increase.
“I’m actually very confident that by next summer we’re going to have a very busy and very happy bunch of leisure travelers.”
(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal; editing by Diane Craft and David Gregorio)
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