Canadian low-cost carrier Flair Airlines (F8, Kelowna) aims to raise around USD150 million of senior debt, unnamed sources close to the matter have told Bloomberg. This follows recent reports that the operator had been looking for would-be investors willing to take on a "slightly higher-risk investment.”
According to the sources, the airline is working with Vancouver-based financial planning firm Haywood Securities on the deal. A Flair Airlines spokesperson declined to comment on the report. "Flair is a privately held company; we do not disclose financial details," the spokesperson said.
Flair flies to 50 destinations across Canada, the United States, Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic with a fleet of eighteen B737-8s and two B737-800s. In August, an airline spokesperson told ch-aviation that Flair was always open to new strategic equity partnerships that may fuel growth.
“In order to give us breathing space and comfort to continue restructuring the company, I think we would be very happy if we received like CAD100 million dollars [USD71.5 million],” said interim CEO Maciej Wilk around the same time.
Two of Flair's local low-cost competitors, Lynx Air (Calgary) and Canada Jetlines (AU, Toronto Pearson), filed for creditor protection earlier this year while US low-cost operator Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale International) filed for Chapter 11 protection earlier this month. Wilk says Flair has an opportunity to capitalise on the local low-cost vacuum created by the demise of Lynx and Canada Jetlines. "The business case for any investor considering Flair as an investment target is much more compelling," he said.
