Adedokun Waliyu 
Flair Airlines Ltd. has the highest number of complaints per 100 flights of all the major airlines in Canada, according to the Canadian Transportation Agency, as airlines have had a rocky recovery year with delayed and cancelled flights.
Between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, Flair saw an average of 15.3 complaints per 100 flights, according to the report published in late April.
Back in March, Flair saw four of its leased planes seized because of overdue payments, causing hundreds of cancelled flights.
Sunwing Airlines Inc. came second at 13.8 complaints per 100 flights, and Swoop Inc. was third at 13.2.
Meanwhile, WestJet had 6.6 complaints per 100 flights, Air Canada had 4.3, and Air Transat averaged 3.3 complaints.
As demand for air travel soars in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines have at times struggled to keep up with the past year, seeing headlines about cancellations, delays and packed, chaotic airports.
According to the CTA, the average number of complaints was lower for all the major airlines between April and June of last year, with Air Canada only seeing an average of one complaint per 100 flights, Flair seeing 9.3, Swoop seeing 6.7 and WestJet seeing 3.9.
However, as the year progressed, the airlines tended to see complaint levels rise.
During the peak July through September summer travel season, Swoop Inc. jumped to 18.5 complaints to have the highest of all airlines, while during the October through December stretch, Sunwing Airlines Inc. was the worst with 20.7 complaints per 100 flights.
Flair peaked at 20.9 between January and March 2023 during the stretch it had the planes seized, while WestJet also peaked at 10.7 during the same period. Swoop and Air Canada both peaked between July and September last year at 18.5 and 6.3, respectively.
Air Canada and WestJet have also both seen recent turbulence, albeit after the CTA report’s timeline.
Air Canada cancelled and delayed flights beginning last Thursday due to technical problems, while WestJet narrowly avoided a pilot strike over the May long weekend but still had to cancel a number of flights.
