Flair Airlines says four of its aircraft seized in a ‘commercial dispute’

Flair Airlines says passengers were “impacted” after four of its leased aircraft were seized in Toronto, Edmonton and Kitchener, Ont. in what the company is calling a “commercial dispute.”

Flair issued a statement on Saturday calling the move by “a New York-based hedge fund” to  take the aircraft “extreme and unusual.”   

It says Flair will use “additional fleet capacity” to lessen the effects on passengers and it does not foresee any major disruptions to its route map.
Company spokesman Mike Arnot says a number of Flair flights were cancelled Saturday morning, but the company has three spare aircraft to backfill those flights.

 Arnot says passengers travelling in the next 72 hours will either be accommodated on Flair flights or another airline at Flair’s expense if a Flair flight isn’t available.
A person familiar with the matter but who was not authorized to speak publicly about it said the payments for the affected planes were only a few days behind, and that it was a small amount relative to Flair’s overall revenue.