(Toronto) Flair Airlines is the Canadian air carrier with the most complaints per 100 flights, according to data from the Canadian Transportation Agency, after a year of post-pandemic travel resumption was marked by several difficulties, particularly in terms of delays and cancellations.
Between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, Flair recorded an average of 15.3 complaints per hundred flights.
In March, Flair saw four of its leased planes seized due to late payments, leading to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
Sunwing Airlines came second with 13.8 complaints per 100 flights, and Swoop took third place with 13.2 complaints per 100 flights.
Meanwhile, WestJet received 6.6 complaints for every 100 flights, and Air Canada received 4.3 complaints. Air Transat had the lowest rate, with 3.3 complaints per 100 flights.
As demand for air travel soars in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines have at times struggled to keep up in the past year, with headlines often reporting delays, delays, and delays. cancellations, and some disorder in crowded airports.
According to the CTA, the average number of complaints was lower for all major airlines between April and June last year, with Air Canada receiving an average of just one complaint per 100 flights. During this same period, Flair received 9.3, Swoop, 6.7 and WestJet, 3.9.
However, as the year progressed, airlines tended to see complaint levels increase. During the peak of the summer travel season, from July to September, Swoop jumped to 18.5 complaints per 100 flights, giving it the highest rate of any airline, while during the October to December, Sunwing Airlines was the most targeted with 20.7 complaints per 100 flights.
Flair peaked at 20.9 complaints per 100 flights between January and March 2023, the period its planes were seized, while WestJet also peaked at 10.7 complaints per 100 flights during the same period. Swoop and Air Canada both peaked between July and September last year, at 18.5 complaints and 6.3 complaints, respectively.
Air Canada and WestJet have also experienced turbulence recently, but after the period covered by the CTA statistics.
Air Canada canceled and delayed flights from last Thursday due to technical issues, while WestJet narrowly avoided a pilot strike over the May long weekend but still had to cancel a number of flights.
