Flair prioritizes agents with GDS comeback, commission, packages, partner portal, connections and more

Flair Airlines CEO Maciej Wilk says the ultra-low-cost carrier is actively prioritizing the travel trade by rolling out a number of agent-friendly initiatives.

“We’re building relationships, particularly among travel agents, and this is an example of how we transform our business from a textbook ultra-low-cost carrier as you might see in Europe like Ryanair or Wizz Air into a tailor-made solution for the Canadian market,” Wilk told TravelPress Today. “We operate in an enormous country in terms of size, but with only 40 million people in it, we need to pursue every potential way to get those clients. We cannot depend only on selling tickets through Expedia and our own website while there are whole segments of customers that are using travel agents to book… we need to fill this gap urgently.”

In addition to a GDS comeback, which is slated to be in place within the next few months, and a newly launched agent portal, Wilk noted that Flair is seeking to roll out connections across its network.

“This is a big change. This will allow us to get much more potential customers, broaden the reach,” he added.

Notably, Flair offers a commission of three per cent credit on agent’s accounts that can be used for future flights to improve their margins. There’s also a lot of opportunity for agents who book charter flights.

With the likes of Lynx Air and Canada Jetlines going out of business and Swoop operations integrating into WestJet, Wilk believes their approach of shifting the business model beyond being an ultra-low-cost carrier sets them apart for success.

“I think there’s been many challenges in the past, entering the market with the simple premise that we will do exactly the same as Ryanair and we will succeed. But no, in this particular geography, in this particular jurisdiction, you really need a tailor-made solution for the specificity of the market,” he explained.

Next week, Flair will be revealing details about Flair Vacations, a bundled vacation product for air and hotel packages in partnership with HBX Group. The airline also recently introduced Flair Express, a priority airport experience that gives passengers who purchased a carry-on access to Zone 1 boarding and a faster, smoother check-in and boarding process.

“We’re open for business,” he shared. “What we can offer is more agility and flexibility than any operator in the country. I like to think that what others would do in a year, we will do in three months in terms of adaptation, introducing tools, new procedures. We’re very nimble and we really want to make this our strength. Also in our relationship with travel agents and travel advisors.”

As for reliability, Wilk noted that Flair achieved the best airline on-time performance and completion factor in Canada for 2025.

“We’re happy to be officially called the most reliable airline in Canada in terms on-time performance and completion factor,” he said. “It’s not be bragging about it, I refer to a report published just recently by Cirium, which clearly states that we had 75 percent on-time performance in 2025 and 99 percent completion factor, and these are the best matrix in the market.”

For more on Flair Airlines and our interview with Wilk, stay tuned to the next edition of Travel Courier.