In late 2021 we learned the details of a new Canadian ultra low cost carrier, and the airline has now put tickets on sale for travel as of this spring.
In this post:
Lynx Air, a new Calgary-based ULCC
Lynx Air will be a new Calgary-based ultra low cost carrier (ULCC), and plans to launch flights as of April 2022. The airline is taking delivery of three Boeing 737 MAXs leading up to launching operations, and has firm orders and lease agreements in place to acquire a total of 46 aircraft over the next seven years, to meet anticipated demand.
The airline promises low fares and great customer service. Lynx Air 737 MAXs will have 189 seats, with 28-30″ of pitch, so it’ll definitely be tight.
Merren McArthur has been named CEO of Lynx Air. She has served as CEO of Tigerair Australia, CEO of Virgin Australia Regional Airlines, and founding CEO of Virgin Australia Cargo. Here’s how McArthur describes plans for the airline:
“We are excited to bring competition and choice to the Canadian aviation market at a time when Canadians are yearning for the opportunity to fly again, whether it be to see friends and family or to take a long-awaited holiday. We have created an ultra-affordable fare structure which is focused on simplicity, transparency and choice. Our à la carte pricing will empower passengers to pick and pay for the services they want, so they can save money on the trip and spend where it counts – at their destination.”
Lynx Air isn’t a totally new company
The concept of Lynx Air isn’t coming out of nowhere. Enerjet is the Calgary-based company behind Lynx Air. The charter airline was founded in 2006, and commenced operations in 2008. The airline primarily transported oil sand workers to job sites in Alberta, and also had contracts with tour and holiday operators.
However, for a while the airline didn’t have any planes, and just had 737 MAXs on order, for this new concept. Interestingly this isn’t the first time that Enerjet has thrown around this idea — around five years ago, Enerjet also planned to launch a new low cost carrier, which used the temporary placeholder name FlyToo. The airline had trouble launching due to issues with getting adequately capitalized, specifically due to Canada’s laws against foreign airline ownership.
Lynx Air is the latest attempt by Enerjet to get this airline concept off the ground, and based on flights now being on sale, it looks like it might actually be happening this time around.
Lynx Air routes & fares
Lynx Air will launch operations as of April 1, 2022, with service to the following five airports:
- Calgary (YYC) to all four other destinations
- Kelowna (YLW) to Calgary and Vancouver
- Toronto (YYZ) to Calgary and Vancouver
- Vancouver (YVR) to all four other destinations
- Winnipeg (YWG) to Calgary and Vancouver
All-in one-way fares start at just 39 CAD, and in the longer range markets (like Toronto to Vancouver) fares start at 79 CAD. Those are some incredibly low prices, and that’ll no doubt bring additional choice for Canadian consumers.
The lowest fares only include one personal item, which has to be stored underneath your seat. Virtually everything else costs extra. Looking at a one-way fare from Vancouver to Calgary, here’s how much ancillaries cost:
- A seat assignments costs 10.50-42 CAD
- A carry-on bag costs 31.49 CAD
- A first checked bag costs 41.99 CAD, and a second checked bag costs 62.99 CAD
- Priority boarding costs 10.50 CAD
So as you can see, the cost of a fare will increase significantly if you’re not traveling light and want to select a seat.
Canadian aviation is becoming more competitive
Historically Canadian aviation wasn’t particularly competitive, at least on domestic and transborder routes, with Air Canada and WestJet being the big players. However, there’s no denying that Canadian consumers will benefit from a lot more competition, especially among ultra low cost carriers. In addition to the low cost carriers of Air Canada and WestJet (Rouge and Swoop), you have airlines like Flair, OWG, Porter, Sunwing, and more.
I can’t help but wonder just how much competition the Canadian market can sustain. Canada has a population of just 38 million people, and while it’s a country with a lot of travel (both Canadians trying to leave the country in winter to enjoy warm weather, and foreigners coming to Canada in summer and winter to enjoy the natural beauty), there are still limits to how much total demand there is.
For example, Flair and Lynx Air each plan to acquire roughly 50 Boeing 737s, and offer an ultra low cost carrier business model. Is there really room for that much competition, especially year-round? Time will tell, I suppose…
Bottom line
Lynx Air will soon become Canada’s newest ultra low cost carrier, as the airline plans to launch flights as of April 2022 with Boeing 737 MAXs. While the branding is new, the concept behind this airline has been in the works for a very long time. It’s nice to see this finally become a reality, with tickets on sale.
What do you make of Lynx Air?
I am a land developer. Will Lynx air service Brandon, Man. in future?
Of course, what helps drive up airfares in Canada are high taxes. So, that $39 fare is more like $90... and that's BEFORE adding the ancillaries.
Lol
With Tim Morgan, the founder of Westjet in there, and I believe 3 to 4 of the other original founders ( whom were all forced out years ago because Westjet CEO " Clive " and others were getting greedy and moving away from the low cost agenda that was their success ) They will bring on a big run to the competition... People thought Westjet would never make it. Look out for this one!!!
JetsGo and many others have tried to be #3. It never works in the end.
A la cart means when you add up all the ancillary fees, it will be cheaper, less of a hassle and more comfortable to fly a major carrier.
Interesting how the article omits Swoop which has tried to bankrupt Flair for a number of years now. (and probably coming close) It is of course a subsidiary of Westjet. It is also interesting that these three newish start ups are in Western Canada where there are less passengers to service. I guess we'll see how it plays out.
Phil
Anything that helps Air Canada go out of business is warmly welcomed. Canadian aviation needs to be shaken up big time.
Good luck to them.
Anything that takes market share and/or profits away from the national disgrace that is Air Canada is good.
If you know anything about airlines Air Canada is anything but a disgrace, in fact it is considered amongst the best as is Westjet.
Each have won many global awards.
Air Canada must pay for any accolades it receives. It is terrible.
Seat pitch 28-30 inches?
I have no interest
They will be bought out by Air Canada pretty quickly. Can't have an airline taking business away. If anyone doubts it, remember Canada 3000 ? Or CanJet ? JetsGo ? All low fare airlines that Air Canada killed so they could keep fares higher.
Add in CP Air, Wardair, PWA - all major long term competition murdered by illegal government sponsored anti-trust predatory pricing by a government airline with massive losses.
We need a favorite airline to bussel our butts around. I think I heard, they've got a main player that worked for, West jet, ?!What a great airline!! Air Canada, is a failure. Can't see a rebound for them, for 20years. If not vanished. Terrible service anyways. Fire the works.
Population of Singapore is so tiny but Singapore Airlines amongst the best in the world
How is that relevant?
Canada may only have 38M people, but (1) those people are mostly clustered in like 20-30 cities and (2) those 20-30 cities are mostly scattered really far apart from each other. And then much of the rest of the population not in those 20-30 cities (in other words, all 3 territories + the far northern parts of most of the provinces) is really dependent on air travel for *absolutely everything* since very few paved roads...
Canada may only have 38M people, but (1) those people are mostly clustered in like 20-30 cities and (2) those 20-30 cities are mostly scattered really far apart from each other. And then much of the rest of the population not in those 20-30 cities (in other words, all 3 territories + the far northern parts of most of the provinces) is really dependent on air travel for *absolutely everything* since very few paved roads even exist north of the 55N parallel. So Canada seems like a country that really could support a lot of air travel, more so than a more geographically compact country with similar population.
That said though, I don't know that Canada can support a lot of air travel *competition* especially if it's made up of many low cost carriers.
Karen said: “I got an amazing deal on [INSERT CANADIAN AIRLINE HERE] but they went out of business and I’m never doing that again.”
Choose from:
Canada 3000, Canjet, Nationair, Royal, Roots, Greyhound, Intair, Jetsgo, Odyssey, Air Club, Skyservice, Worldways, Quebecair, Zoom,……
Don't forget Wardair - the best Canadian airline, ever. Wish it would come back.
Lest we forget Legendary Wardair and slightly less legendary Canadian Airlines (CP Air). Both attacked by predatory pricing of AC and the government dominated air transport board that gave the profitable routes to AC and the losers to the others.
I remember those two fondly. I had great flights to Asia on Canadian.
For me, Air Canada is a last resort. Avoid at all costs.
They promise “great customer service”!
That should differentiate them from the other startups that promise “terrible customer service”!
It would certainly differentiate them from other airlines, which have almost universally terrible customer service.
Or from the well established airline with a maple leaf on its tail where terrible customer service just comes naturally.
Thanks for the post. I'll be interested to see how many of these survive! I am surprised to see you reference Porter as a low-cost airline in a few recent posts. My understanding of them is actually more that they are a business-focused airline, given their hub is Toronto Billy Bishop airport, don't charge for drinks, etc.
+1. Porter is an independent airline (not a subsidiary, not in an alliance...) but it's definitely not a LCC, let alone ULCC. It isn't leisure-dominated and its pricing model clearly isn't from the LCC playbook.
Porter is definitely only a small regional airline possibly with aspirations.
Only flies from Toronto.
Porter flies from other airports, Toronto Billy Bishops is it's main hub but it also has smaller hubs in Halifax, Ottawa, and Montreal.