Flair Airlines’ $60 On-Time Guarantee: What’s The Deal?

Flying on an ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) like Flair Airlines is often an exercise in managing expectations. You accept the tight legroom and the lack of free water because the price is right. But reliability? That’s been the sticky point.

So when Flair announced a new “On-Time Guarantee” promising a $60 voucher if they’re late, I decided to bust out my lacklustre accounting skills and see if it really provides value. Is this a genuine commitment to operational excellence, or is it just a marketing ploy designed to sound good in press releases? 

It is, to my knowledge, the only program of its kind offered by any airline in Canada right now. So, let’s peel back the layers of this onion and see what this benefit is all about and if it makes flying Flair worth it.

What is Flair Airlines’ $60 On-Time Guarantee?

The premise of Flair Airlines’ $60 on-time guarantee is simple enough to fit onto a phone screen-sized targeted social media ad: if your Flair flight is delayed by more than 60 minutes or cancelled within 72 hours of departure, they will send you a $60 e-voucher.

The most interesting part? They claim this applies to delays for any reason. Weather, crew scheduling, mechanical gremlins, natural disasters – they’re all covered.

This sounds like a great deal. It’s clearly designed to address the fact that ULCCs are cheap, and therefore such airlines are seen as both barebones and unreliable. Flair Airlines has notoriously had large amounts of liquidity issues, and so not providing on-time service has hurt its ability to remain competitive.

They need to do something to retain their customers, and it looks like they’ve now put their money where their mouth is. This guarantee is the first of its kind.

Is it actually worth it?

The Flair $60 Guarantee Fine Print

Here is where we need to put on our reading glasses and look at the terms and conditions that usually bury these kinds of offers. The $60 voucher isn’t exactly cash in hand, and using it is subject to some serious terms and conditions.

First off, the clock starts strictly at the 60-minute mark. If you are delayed by 59 minutes, you’ll be getting an apology from the flight crew. Maybe.

Then there is the classic ultra-low-cost carrier gotcha where the voucher applies only to the base fare. This might technically be worth $60, but it applies to the base fare, which is often kept artificially low versus various taxes and fees. This is endemic to the ULCC model, which relies on getting you on the aircraft for minimum fare costs before selling you every single extra, from seating to hand luggage. And you’d better believe you can’t use the voucher on any of those ancillary costs.

Here’s an example fare:

As we can see, this round-trip fare from Abbotsford to Calgary runs at only $52.76 in base fare, and $59.24 in taxes and fees. It also includes no insurance, no seat selection, and only a personal item up to the size of a small backpack or handbag.

Now, the amount of the voucher isn’t the worst issue. After all, Christmas holidays or other peak season travel is guaranteed to get you the full $60 in value.

My issue is that you must use the voucher within 60 days of its receipt. That doesn’t mean you have up to 60 days to book. That means you have 60 days to get it, to redeem it, and then to fly it.

Did I mention that this guarantee only applies to passengers aged 18 and over? I’m sure toddlers don’t care about punctuality, but their parents paying for the seat certainly do. They can’t get a discount on taking their kids anywhere else, though, because the voucher doesn’t apply to them.

Finally, these vouchers are non-transferable, so you can’t give them to a buddy since the name on the voucher must match the traveler. You also can’t stack them, so if you have a stockpile of apologies in voucher form, you are using them one trip at a time.

Basically, I think the utility is pretty limited.

Does the $60 On-Time Guarantee Improve the Flair Airlines Experience?

From a business perspective, this is a brilliant marketing tool. It’s novel in the Canadian space and generates buzz. But is it economically viable for a ULCC operating on razor-thin margins to hand out $60 vouchers like candy?

Probably, because they know most people won’t be redeeming their vouchers. And to my untrained eye, that seems like a design feature and not a bug.

Think about it. To even get a voucher, you have to not only fly Flair, but it has to delay you. You then have to choose to fly the airline that delayed you a second time within a 60-day window. 

Then, to get full bang for your buck, you have to find a flight where the base fare is actually high enough to make the $60 voucher worth redeeming, keeping in mind you still have to pay all the taxes and fees (such as for, say, your carry-on) out of pocket.

So yeah, this is a $60 guarantee, subject to a lot of terms and conditions.

The best use case for this is likely for those living near secondary airports like Abbotsford, Hamilton, or Kitchener-Waterloo who use Flair as their most convenient local option. If you are flying back and forth to Calgary or Halifax semi-regularly, you will actually have occasions to burn these vouchers before they expire. For the casual vacationer taking one trip a year? It’s likely meaningless fluff.

Does the $60 On-Time Guarantee Void the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR)?

This is the most critical question. Every Canadian is covered at all times by the APPR, and we’ve written a handy guide to what APPR coverage entails.

So, does taking this $60 e-voucher waive your rights to federal compensation under the APPR?

The answer is no. Don’t let any emails or customer service reps fool you otherwise. You are entitled to the APPR, and any attempts to tell you otherwise are simply false.

Flair is classified as a Large Airline. This means they are obligated to pay more in the event of delays within the airline’s control. If your flight is delayed by 3 to 6 hours for a reason within the airline’s control (and not for safety), you are entitled to $400 in cash compensation. If it exceeds 6 hours up to 9, you are entitled to $700. And for 9 hours and above?

That’s an easy $1,000.

Flair won’t be handing you stacks of bills Breaking Bad style, but you should receive a $400 e-transfer or cheque in addition to your $60 e-voucher in the event of a 4-hour delay. They may attempt to claim it was due to “safety” or something else unquantifiable, but remember that the $60 does not relieve them of their duty to pay you $400 on the APPR under such circumstances.

Conclusion

So, is the Flair On-Time Guarantee a game-changer? It’s okay.

It is certainly better than a kick in the teeth, which is the usual compensation for delays of any kind here in Canada.

If you are a frequent Flair flyer, this acts as a small loyalty rebate for the inconvenience of irregular operations. It’s a nice bonus toward your next trip, but don’t let the marketing fool you into thinking this replaces your actual rights. You definitely shouldn’t expect it to cover your entire next flight when the base fare is often lower than the price of a checked bag. The 60 calendar day limit from issuance is also a bummer.

At the end of the day, I guess you get what you pay for.