r/flairairlines

Managed to make the "final boarding call." I showed my ID to the gate attendant and at the last second they wanted to check if my backpack fit in their luggage sizer. In the middle of trying to make it fit they recommended I pay for it. I declined and said it'd fit and after arranging a few items that gravitated to the bottom of my bag it worked just fine. I showed the attendant and they told me it was now too late to get on the aircraft despite there being 25 minutes left before departure.

It would have taken longer to process a payment than to rearrange items in my backpack. I think they just wanted to stick it to me for not paying for carry-on.

Traveling Vancouver to Toronto- 2 adults and 2 children. Children are 2.5 and 8 months old. We have 3 paying seats and 1 infant in lap.
What are the chances we will be placed together?

I had a flight from YVR to YZZ, while in line to board, they asked me to size my backpack (no problem, I had like nothing in it). I had a neck pillow in my hand, and I placed it on the ground to stuff my bag in their sizing containers. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the flight attendant who asked me to size my bag bend down and pick up the pillow. At the time the flight was boarding, so I thought she was helping by holding it. NOPE. I turn around to rejoin the line and it's gone. The stewardess wasn't holding it anymore. I asked her where it went and if I could get it back, and her response was, "It's gone." Like what?! Where did she put it? In the trash?? The worst part is that it was an 11 pm flight and I had just bought the pillow at the airport as I forgot mine.

My neck still hurts :(

TLDR: hold onto your neck pillows at all times!

I am hoping to get any advice on the best course of action while also providing a consumer warning to anyone considering booking with Flair Airlines. Simply put, I cannot stress enough how negligent and deceptive their customer service and reservations team members are...and if you place any trust in them you are putting yourself and your hard earned money at risk.

Our issue stemmed from a booking on Flair Airlines #81888 on October 10, 2025 where I made a booking for our family as we needed to urgently travel to the US for a family emergency. We have never flown with Flair, so I decided to phone into reservations to confirm the booking and to ensure that we had our small dog added as a pet-in-cabin (we have travelled 20+ times with our dog and we have always had to contact the airline directly to do this). The reservations team member pulled up the flight, provided a full quote, and even went so far as to DIRECTLY confirm with us that there was room for our dog to be added as a pet in cabin (although she let us know that we would need to call back into customer service after we made the booking to do this). We were also told that if there were any issues at all, there is a guaranteed refund window within 24 hours of reservation confirmation.

We made the booking and immediately phoned in to add the pet in cabin, but were told that pets cannot travel internationally and that there was no option whatsoever for us to travel with our family dog (other than their suggestion of "just leaving the dog at home for our trip"). I explained to the agent that we were told differently, but they said there was nothing that could be done and our only option would be to cancel and book with another airline. I obliged, to only then find out that we were lied to again and that because our flight was within 72 hours (this was a last minute booking for a family emergency) that we would receive $0 compensation/refund for cancelling the booking. I was transferred to 3 different customer service agents, all of whom told us that our $1000+ reservation was entirely useless. They recommended I cancel the flight and await a call from one of their supervisors, (which they said could take up to 3 days despite me pleading that our flight was only a fee days away), but I said to leave the booking open and waited for a callback...that never came.

Adding insult to injury, Flair cancelled the booking on their end (I received this receipt via email) and despite hours of additional time spent on the phone/hold trying to reach a supervisor, I never received any call back and received absolutely nothing in terms of a resolution to this problem.

To make matters worse, Flair committed fraudulent evidence and incorrect claims in their submitted evidence to Mastercard during a chargeback submission (this was the absolute last resort I wanted to take, but given the inability to speak to any domestic team member/supervisor/corporate employee, I really had no other avenue to pursue).

Long story short - Flair will lie and deceive you through their liaison channels and then hold you hostage to extort you of your money. We have been able to identify that Lawson Lundell may be Flair's corporate legal team and we have engaged a legal team to file suit (even if it can only make it to small claims court), but I hope this helps other consumers recognize the tactics of this company and the associated risk.

The US’s foremost ULCC just ceased operations in-part due to the oil shocks.

Given how much more tenuous airline economics tends to be in Canada, do you think Flair is at risk of a similar fate?

Flying yyc-yvr tomorrow and trying to speak to someone on the phone. What is the average wait time before being connected? Will they answer at this time?

Don’t fly this airline. I’m on flight Vancouver to Toronto- so awful. Good for commuter flight but if you want that extra $100 charge for carry on and an incredibly stressful boarding experience, this is FOR YOU!

Ridiculous personal item sizing for MORE ROOM THAN DELTA!

Not worth it- especially if they force charge u the $100 to make your personal item a carry on.

They should advertise to commuters instead of these more than arbitrary demands.

Also this was overbooked egregiously. Multiple families split up and crying at gates.

Worst experience ive personally had.

I'm sharing this because I want people to know what happened to me at Calgary International Airport (YYC) today with Flair Airlines, and I want to hold the airline accountable.

I was checking in for my flight from Calgary to Vancouver. The gate agent pulled me aside to verify that my credit card matched my identity — which is fine, that's their policy, and I understand it. What is NOT fine is how I was treated during that process.

The agent was passive-aggressive, condescending, and made comments and gestures that I can only describe as discriminatory. I was being profiled and spoken down to in a way that other passengers clearly were not. It was humiliating and unprofessional.

I stood up for myself and verbally responded to the agent's behavior. In retaliation, the agent threatened me and said I "wasn't going anywhere today" — and then proceeded to deny me boarding, not for any legitimate safety or policy reason, but because I dared to push back against discriminatory treatment.

This is what happened:
• I was subjected to a credit card ownership check (understandable)
• The agent was rude, sarcastic, and discriminatory throughout
• I verbally responded to defend myself
• The agent denied me boarding as retaliation

I have missed my flight. I am now stranded at YYC and have had to rebook at significant cost.

I have filed a complaint directly with Flair Airlines. I also plan to:

1. File a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA)
2. Contact the Canadian Human Rights Commission if the discriminatory conduct is confirmed
3. Dispute any additional costs with my credit card provider

If anyone else has experienced discriminatory or retaliatory conduct from Flair Airlines ground staff, please share your experience. Airlines cannot use "security" procedures as cover for discriminatory treatment or to punish passengers who speak up.

Will update this thread as the situation develops.

https://preview.redd.it/epuybpri4w0h1.png?width=554&format=png&auto=webp&s=467018292a30b516ea11425ed715c5469b30dec7

I have been trying to change my flight and when I try to pay for fee to change, i keep getting this error?

I have tried 3 different cards: master credit card, visa credit card, master debit card
Non of them work!

Their customer service line is just an AI bot and can't talk to a real person.

This is very frustrating. I'm at a loss what to do??

Why do they need to add the personal item tag and check the size of it even if it’s small and you can just see that it will fit with the naked eye? And you have no other baggage so it’s obvious….. from Victoria to Calgary on may 11

Does my son’s blanket (he’s 6) count as his personal item or is it under the exception for kids comfort item?
Yqt to yyz.

Like the title says. We are taking a quick trip to Toronto and back and will just be taking a very small backpack to meet the personal size limit. But would like to bring back a dozen of our favourite rolls. Would that just be considered a food item like a bottle of water or a bag of chips? Flying Edmonton to Toronto on May 7th

Just did one leg of my journey from the Praries to Toronto on Flair. Given that most people take to social media on the edge cases, I would just point out my experience was... Perfectly fine. Tight legroom, no recline on flight. I went especially cheap with no luggage or seat selection (though I did get assigned an aisle even though it looked like I was being auto-assigned middle, stay strong my fellow cheapskates). Basically left and arrived on time. Did I mention it was $75? You bet I'm doing that again. Even if I got stranded in the worst case on a cancelled flight home and had to buy an expensive flight home, I'm still ahead over the several flights I'm going to do this year at that price.

Just got this message:

Your Flair Airlines flight from Calgary to Toronto has been cancelled due to a maintenance issue. Your safety is our top priority.

The good news is that we've already rebooked you on a new flight!

You can view your new reservation online at res fyflair dot com

Your new flight is already confirmed!

Click the button below to cancel for a refund or explore other options.

Flight was to leave 130PM tomorrow nd they have put me next on redeye departing after 11hrs .

- should I pursue credit card benefits (not sure if any)

- get refund and rebook myself

- any other compensation eligible from flair on this? Or it will be $60 voucher.

Please advise. Thanks in advance.

As in the text, fed up after almost destroying my carry on. Was thinking maybe something like this exists on Ali Express?

I took a flight with Flair with 18 other individuals back in 2023. The return flight was delayed by over 12 hours with no delay/cancellation email. I only found out that it was delayed by over 12 hours when attempting to check in for the return flight. Many of us had to get back to our originating city because of work, sick relatives, etc. Our flight was delayed for more than 12 hours due to issues that were within the airline’s control, and from the beginning, communication from Flair was inconsistent and confusing.

As the delay continued, it became clear that we were not going to get to our destination in a reasonable timeframe unless we found another solution ourselves. Eventually, 17 passengers were rebooked onto another airline, but only after significant stress, uncertainty, and constant follow-up on our end. 1 individual found a spot on another Flair flight and opted for that. During this process, I specifically spoke with a Flair representative who confirmed that if we booked alternative flights ourselves, we would be compensated and reimbursed for those expenses because of the controllable delay. Based on that information, I moved forward with securing replacement travel for the group.

In total, I spent over $4,000 out of pocket to make sure we could continue our trip. At the time, I trusted that the airline would honor what had been communicated to me. I documented everything—receipts, emails, screenshots, and records of conversations with agents—because I wanted to ensure there was a clear record of what had happened.

After the trip, I reached out multiple times to Flair’s compensation team to resolve the matter directly. Unfortunately, every interaction added to the confusion. Different agents provided conflicting and often contradictory information about my eligibility, the reimbursement process, and what documentation was required. Some acknowledged that I should be reimbursed for the replacement flights, while others later denied responsibility or cited different policies altogether. It became increasingly difficult to understand which information was accurate, and each new response seemed to shift the explanation or rationale for denying payment.

When I filed a claim under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), I believed the process would finally provide clarity and protect passengers in situations exactly like this. Instead, it became another source of frustration. Despite having proof that the delay was within the airline’s control and documentation showing that a Flair agent advised me we would be reimbursed, Flair ultimately argued that because a refund had been accepted for the original flight, they no longer had any obligation to cover the replacement travel costs. In other words, they used the refund as justification to deny responsibility for the thousands of dollars already spent trying to get to our destination.

What has been even more disappointing is that the APPR process itself has felt equally ineffective. Nearly three years later, I am still over $4,000 out of pocket with no resolution. The process has been incredibly slow, exhausting, and difficult to navigate, especially considering the amount of evidence I submitted. What should have been a straightforward case of passenger protection has turned into a prolonged dispute where accountability feels nearly impossible to enforce.

This experience has completely changed the way I view airline passenger protections in Canada. Beyond the financial impact, the emotional toll of having to repeatedly advocate for something that seems so clearly justified has been overwhelming. After years of follow-ups, contradictory responses, extensive documentation, and ongoing delays, I am still carrying the financial burden of a situation that was never within my control to begin with.