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Originally Posted by Calgary14
So is Flair vs Air Canada/Westje/etc basically like comparing Public Mobile to Telus? Less service if you ever have an issue but much cheaper prices
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Airlines like Flair and Swoop are what the industry calls low cost carriers (LCC). I wouldn't say it's a given that you will get worse service from a LCC if you have an issue, although I think it's fair to say that has been the case with Flair.
LCCs tend to be new to the scene, which means growing pains as they attempt to compete with regular airlines. I would say the biggest issue that LCCs generally face in terms of customer service is that when something goes wrong (weather, maintenance, or crew issue causes flight cancellation/delay) they have such a small fleet, with relatively few flights (often just once a day, or even just every 2 days on a given route) that they don't have any options to deal with the problem. And cancelled/delayed flights with no options but to wait it out = very angry people.
Whereas a larger airline usually has more capability to get people where they're trying to go when an issue comes up. Or at least get them there sooner.
And you also need to watch out for the bag fees with LCCs. They usually don't even include carry-on in their prices. Here in Canada, add about $60 roundtrip to Flair and Swoop's roundtrip prices for a more fair comparison against regular airlines.
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