Canadian Ultra Low Cost carrier Lynx Air will terminate all flight operations February 26, 2024. The Calgary based airline began flights in April 2022 with a fleet of nine Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Lynx Air flew a handful of destinations throughout Canada and the United States. They recently had their eyes set on expanding to popular U.S. destinations such as Boston and Orlando. The final flight is scheduled for February 26, 2024.
Contributing Factors
On Lynx Air’s website the airline has outlined contributing factors to the abrupt termination. The airline sites financial pressures such as rising fuel costs and tension in the competitive Canadian Aviation market. In a court filing with the King’s Branch Of Alberta filed on February 22, 2024 Lynx Air Chief Executive Officer and Director Michael Woodward cites factors such as, “COVID-19 related travel restrictions imposed in March of 2020” and “grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in March of 2019, delaying Lynx Air’s first inaugural flight from the first quarter of 2019 until April of 2022.” The document sites that the applicant had to “sustain administrative and operating costs without any significant revenue for three years beyond what had been originally planned.” Simply put, the airline was operating at a loss acquiring debt due to many factors beyond their control.
Solutions For Impacted Passengers
According to Lynx Air’s website, flights prior to February 26,2024 will continue as scheduled. Flights booked after Monday, February 26, 2024 can be refunded by contacting the credit card company. Lynx Air’s contact center will be shut down and will not be able to provide refund assistance. Canadian carrier WestJet is offering discounted flights for impacted Lynx Air passengers. Economy cabin fares can receive a 25% discount when using code WESTJET during booking for travel between February 22,2024 and October 26, 2024. Booking can be made with this code up until February 29, 2024. Canadian repatriation for transborder and sun fares are capped at $250 (plus taxes) on all northbound international routes served by Lynx Air for travel up until February 29, 2024. Bookings are to be made before February 29, 2024. Unfortunately, the Ultra Low Cost Carrier market proves to be a volatile sink or swim environment for many airlines, as demonstrated with Lynx Air’s abrupt shut down.