Canadians thought they were finally getting a break from high airfares with the emergence of lower-cost airlines like Flair, WestJet subsidiary Swoop, Lynx Air and the latest entrant Canada Jetlines.

But the seizure of about 20% of the Flair fleet over what the airlines calls a “commercial dispute” with a lessor is likely to make some Canadians think twice about booking an attractive airfare.

The seizures took place at a terrible time – on the eve of the busy March Break travel period. Flair says it was only a few days behind on lease payments, and had no warning of what was to come. Two planes were seized in Toronto, one in Edmonton and the other at the Region of Waterloo International Airport.

A statement from Flair said it would use "additional fleet capacity" to lessen the impact on passengers, and did not anticipate major disruptions. Several flights were cancelled on March 11, but the airline vowed to accommodate passengers on its own planes or another airline at its expense. It also promised to refund affected pax within seven days.

Flair launched in 2004 as a charter airline and began offering regularly scheduled service in 2018. It struggled initially, but after getting an injection of cash from U.S.-based backers and winning a fight over whether it had sufficient Canadian ownership and control, the airline began pursuing an aggressive expansion. Flair announced plans to expand its fleet to 30 aircraft by the middle of this year, increasing to 50 by 2025.

Based on limited available information, it’s difficult to assess Flair’s current situation and future prospects. A Flair spokesperson called the seizure of the aircraft “extreme and unusual,” says it has been in ongoing communications with the leasing company and that “payment has been initiated.”

It may come out of this problem, but it won’t be unscathed. And the optics of the situation are bad for all Canadian airlines – low-cost or otherwise -- after a year of much-publicized disruptions caused by staff shortages, airport issues and unfortunately-timed weather events.

As John Gradek, a faculty lecturer at McGill University in aviation and supply management told Global News: “This scenario of getting airplanes seized and losing 20% of your aircraft fleet is a significant blow to the credibility and to the brand that it is trying to build in Canada.”

Aircraft lease prices plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic, but have soared again with the return of demand. There’s some question whether the low fares Flair is offering are sustainable.

This writer’s son recently booked return Toronto-Calgary flights in April for $130. I told him it was a hell of a deal for the distance involved, but it also raised red flags in my mind. Canadians want the kind of low airfares enjoyed by European and U.S. budget travellers, but our distances are vast, our population is thin outside of a few major urban centres, and our weather is fickle and often ferocious.

Canadians have also seen many airline, tour operator and charter carrier failures over the past few decades. There’s a sense that this is a movie we’ve seen before, but there’s still hope that the ending will be different this time.