Jun 11

Jun 11 Flair Airlines Flight Review - Vancouver to Toronto

So, the question comes up for everyone, should I fly Flair Airlines? It’s cheaper than the competition, but is it a safe, reliable way to get across the country? I decided to take one for the team and fly Flair Airlines from Vancouver to Toronto.

Booking Flair Airlines

If you’re looking for a flight in Canada right now for the summer, the price difference between flights on Air Canada / WestJet and Flair Airlines is significant.

Furthermore, there is usually a discount code available on Flair Airlines that doesn’t show up on Google Flights. In my case, I was able to use a 50% discount code to further reduce the price of my last-minute flight. That said, Flair Airlines is a discount carrier, so when you see the price of the flight on Google Flights, that is just for the seat, and not even the check-in is included! For the example above, there is another ~$100 if you want to bring a bag on board, get a carry-on (you likely do) and check a bag.

If you’re just looking to fly carry-on, Flair still requires you to buy a carry-on bag for $61. Unlike some Europe flights in Europe (especially Wizz Air), it didn’t appear that they were weighing bags at the gate.

Beyond this, you also have to pay for your seat, much like the big carriers. Personally, booking the front seat for $51 on this cross-country journey was well worth it. I booked priority seating, a carry-on, a seat in the first row, and travelflex.

Flair Airlines offers “travelflex”, which is basically an additional $10 fee for the ability to change your flight. Available only at the time of booking, it may be worth it booking last minute. If you book a flight well in advance, and try and change it, you’re still responsible for any price differences, so it may not be worth it on a cheap fare.

The Airport and Boarding

I arrived at the airport about 90 minutes before my flight because I already checked in for my flight. Flair Airlines makes it clear, that if you check in for the flight at the airport, you will pay a $25 fee. It’s so clear, they even post a note in the check-in line at the airport. Additionally, they have baggage allowances in the check-in area, which, interestingly enough, they didn’t have in the boarding area. As I didn’t have any bags to check, I took a picture of their check-in area and proceeded to security.

If you don’t have NEXUS, then you’re in trouble, expect to wait a while at security in YVR. I have Nexus, which meant that the C gates at Vancouver International were wide open for my use, and it took 5 minutes to pass through to the secure area of the airport.

After arriving to the gate, I noticed that they were calling everyone to the gate to check their vaccine. To be honest, it’s a pretty annoying process, but it appears they just checked me against their boarding list and told me to sit until they called boarding.

After the previous flight finished de-boarding, they immediately called for pre-boarding, which included families and those who had priority boarding. Unfortunately, it meant that everyone, their sister, and their colleague decided to board. There were no signs, nor any organisation, which is quite frustrating if you’re paying $10 for priority boarding. That said, I was near the front, and they checked my boarding pass, didn’t even look at my luggage (which is good if you’re just looking to buy the cheapest option), and I boarded the plane.

We were onboard C-FLKJ, a leased 8-month-old 737-Max for the trip. Flair is quite efficient at using this plane, as it did a round trip to NYC from Toronto, before the round-trip to Vancouver, which meant that it was only sitting on the tarmac for 6 hours at night, which is quite efficient for Candian Airlines standards. That said, in the summer, during thunderstorms, there could be problems for them during irregular operations.

Unfortunately, because of the chaos at boarding, I wasn’t able to get a good picture of my seat 2F, but the front seats on the other side were open for pictures. Then, so kindly when I went to load my bags, the flight attendant barked at me for trying to load it there, asking me where my seat was. After confirming my seat was there, I was asked to put my bags a row behind as the front storage was being used, which, yet again, is annoying if you’re paying for baggage.

As you can see, the legroom on the front seat is optimal, but as are the crumbs left over from the three previous flights that day. As the last flight of the day, the plane was straight up not clean. You can see my seat was messy as well.

But overall, the upgraded seats on Flair are worth it, as the leg room is impressive, and even better when you consider that these seats recline!

That’s as good as it gets, as Flair didn’t even add charging ports to this plane, even though the YYZ-YVR legs get as long as 6 hours, so remember to bring a portable charger if you fly on Flair.

Additionally, unlike European airlines, there were vents on board.

The bathrooms were very much like any 737-Max, not spacious and not particularly clean, but at least they worked?

The Flight

I think this may be the first time ever, but we pushed back on time, with a load of 128 (the advantage of the first row, right?). It was so unbelievable that the flight attendants said “that was fast” when we closed the door, pretty funny! We pushed off and managed to see Lufhtansa’s beauty of a 747 moving along the taxiway.

Lufthansa 747 with the mountains of YVR in the background

When it’s semi nice in Vancouver, the takeoff is pretty over Howe Sound.

Other than that, the trip was pretty uneventful. There is no TV, nor internet, nor plug on Flair Airlines, so be prepared! Additionally, there are no full meals for purchase, only simple things, like Ramen and Chips were available. The fully Flair Airlines menu can be found here.

They did have an app that you could use to order food, or even upgrade your seat. Imagine if you’re next to someone who doesn’t smell great, would you pay $35 bucks to change your seats? I can think of many times that I would!

That said, the flight was pretty uneventful. We landed in Toronto on time, although there was no one to welcome us at the gate when we got there, which meant we were waiting around for a while. Additionally, as low-cost carriers aggressively negotiate their landing fees, Flair typically lands at the farthest gates, which means a long walk to leave the terminal.

The Point.

So, is Flair Airlines a good airline? No, not really, but that’s not what you’re paying for. Flair Airlines is a safe way to get from point a to point b within North America at a reasonable rate. Flair Airlines offers constant sales, and if you’re aware of all the up charges, and annoying things about flying a low cost carrier, it’s going to be fine. That said, if there are delays, due to weather or otherwise, well, you get what you paid for.