Global News has reported that an investigation is currently underway by the Canadian authorities as the airline is majority-owned by an American firm 777 Partners.
Flair has a fleet of around 13 Boeing 737 aircraft and flies a number of regional routes throughout Canada and has received more than $11 million in federal grants and support in order to expand its operations. The firm had inked plans to boost its fleet to around 50 please by the end of 2025.
In a briefing to reporters on Thursday, the airline’s CEO Stephen Jones said he was confident the steps the airline has taken will placate the authorities and the airline would continue to be able to operate. Indeed he confidently claimed there was “zero chance” of Flair losing its licence on 3rd May.
The bullish Jones dismissed the investigation saying it doesn’t have a clear point of transgression “It’s not like we could see this line and we consciously walked over it. The control-in-fact test is the sum total of all of the relationships that an airline might have with a non-Canadian. And that’s a judgment call,” he said.
The airline is heavily in debt, with a significant amount to 777 Partners despite refinancing $80 million away from the U.S. company, which could still cause concern for the regulators. However, Jones told reporters “We’re removing all of the corporate governance issues. We’re cash self-sufficient, the leases are at arm’s length. So the only thing that will remain is the fact that we are in debt to a shareholder who provided it to enable us to survive COVID.” It has asked for an 18-month extension to help it refinance that debt.
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