Canadian ULCCs: Flair and Swoop chase growth targets

Canada's ultra low cost airlines - Flair and the WestJet subsidiary Swoop - still represent just a fraction of the country's domestic capacity, but each airline continues work to attain their growth ambitions. Flair is in the process of adding newer generation aircraft to its fleet, and Swoop remains on track to grow its fleet from six to ten aircraft by the end of 2019.

Flair has had its share of ups and downs during the past year. It secured an important investment from a private equity firm and finished a compete rebranding that has included both a new livery and website. But the airline also abruptly cut some US transborder routes and experienced labour strife with its flight attendants.

Flair has also reportedly accused WestJet and Swoop of predatory pricing, which has spurred an investigation by Canada's competition watchdog. It is not the first time an iteration of Flair has accused the WestJet group of attempting to stymie competition, and the latest episode shows competition in the ULCC space in Canada will only intensify.