Low-cost airline Aptitude is launching Ottawa-Kelowna routes this summer time

Low-cost airline Flair Airlines announced Tuesday that it plans to add twice-weekly flights between Ottawa and Kelowna, BC to its growing list of routes to return to service this summer.

The company announced that the route will start on August 4, offering flights on Wednesdays and Saturdays. One-way rates start at $ 59, including taxes and fees.

The Edmonton-based airline expects to fly to 19 destinations by the end of the summer. Flair is adding 13 aircraft to its fleet this year as air travel is expected to pick up again as vaccinations are introduced and people feel more comfortable flying.

“We know that once we can travel safely again, the demand for family visits and affordable vacations will increase,” said Stephen Jones, the airline’s president and CEO, in a statement.

Flair originally planned to fly to Calgary last summer on routes connecting Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax and Toronto with the capital. However, these plans have been postponed due to the pandemic.

Falling passenger numbers

A spokesman did not immediately respond Tuesday when asked if more flights inside and outside of YOW would be added to the airline’s flight schedule this summer.

The renewed demand for air travel and additional routes would be a welcome relief for officials at Ottawa Airport, where passenger traffic has declined since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.

Mark Laroche, CEO of the Ottawa International Airport Authority, told OBJ last month that only one million passengers are expected to pass through the terminal in 2021, up from 1.4 million last year and 5.1 million two years ago.

He said the nonprofit, which generates virtually all of its revenue from airline landing fees, passenger terminal and airport improvement fees, and concessions and parking fees, is losing $ 70 million this year and needs federal aid to run projects like a planned LRT Fund station.