Flair Airlines to Launch New Quebec City Routes

Flair Airlines has announced the upcoming launch of two routes that will serve Quebec City. Beginning in July 2023, Flair will operate thrice-weekly flights between Quebec City and Halifax, as well as twice-weekly flights between Quebec City and Edmonton.

This announcement marks the latest expansion of the ultra-low-cost-carrier’s network, to which Flair has added a number of other routes in the past year.

Flair Airlines to Begin Service to Quebec City in 2023

Flair Airlines will become the first ultra-low-cost-carrier to service Quebec City. The new routes will link Quebec City with two provincial capitals, one close to the Rocky Mountains in the west and one on the Atlantic Ocean in the east. 

Flair Airlines will launch thrice-weekly flights to Halifax beginning on July 6, 2023. The flights are already loaded into the airline’s website, and a one-way flight between the two cities can be booked for as little as $49 (CAD). 

At the outset, Flair intends to fly between the cities on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with the following flight times:

• F8985 Halifax (YHZ) to Quebec City (YQB), departing 5:45pm and arriving 6:30pm
• F8984 Quebec City (YQB) to Halifax (YHZ), departing 7:15pm and arriving 9:50pm

Similarly, Flair Airlines will begin direct service between its home base in Edmonton and Quebec City as of July 7, 2023.  The flights are set to fly on Monday and Friday each week, and can be already be booked for as little as $59 (CAD) per direction.

The flight times are as follows:

• F8762 Edmonton (YEG) to Quebec City (YQB), departing 2:45pm and arriving 8:55pm
• F8763 Quebec City (YQB) to Edmonton (YEG), departing 9:40pm and arriving 12:15am+1

Both routes will be served by Flair’s expanding fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, with a single economy cabin. Recently, Flair Airlines indicated its intention to double its fleet size by 2023, which will surely play a role in the airline’s expansion strategy. 

Following the standard ultra-low-cost-carrier model, passengers will have to pay extra for everything, including checked luggage, onboard food and drink, and larger carry-on baggage.

The Latest in a Series of New Routes

Flair Airlines has been very busy adding new routes and increasing its capacity lately. What began as a humble ultra-low-cost-carrier based out of Edmonton has now expanded to operate a number of flights within Canada and to a handful of destinations in the United States and Mexico.

While the demand for a direct flight between Edmonton and Quebec City may not be as high as from Edmonton to Toronto, it certainly makes visiting other parts of the country for work or leisure much more convenient and affordable. 

Perhaps someone from Quebec City wants to fly to Edmonton to spend some time in the city before heading out to the Rocky Mountains next summer. By choosing to fly with Flair, they’ll benefit from both a cheaper airfare and a direct flight, potentially avoiding missed connections and delays at major airports.

The same is true for a Haligonian who wishes to spend some time in Quebec during the summer. What used to be a 10-hour drive or require a connecting flight through Toronto or Montreal could now take less than two hours and cost less than $50.

In just the past year, Flair has also launched routes from major and secondary Canadian airports to Cancun, Tucson, Puerto Vallarta, Chicago, Nashville, Los Cabos, and New York City. While the routes to warmer destinations undoubtedly target the leisure sector, especially with direct flights from smaller markets such as Prince George, Flair’s routes between major business centres like Toronto and New York JFK add to an already crowded market.

For example, Flair’s fare for a one-way flight from Toronto to New York can be half of the base fare charged by major American and Canadian airlines.

Granted, you’ll have to pay for checked bags and other “nice-to-haves”, which can bring the price in line with or even above full-service airlines in some situations. However, if you’re just looking to get from point to point with no frills, the price is definitely right.

Conclusion

Flair Airlines has announced two new routes that will connect Quebec City with Halifax and Edmonton beginning next summer. The Halifax pairing will run three times per week, and the Edmonton route will operate twice-weekly.

This is just the latest announcement in Flair’s expansion across Canada and into the United States and Mexico. In tandem with the plan to double its fleet size in 2023, I imagine this isn’t the last route announcement we’ll hear from Flair. 

While ultra-low-cost-carriers aren’t for everyone, if you can keep your baggage to a minimum and don’t mind spending a few hours in economy, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better price to get to where you want to go.