Flair Airlines (F8, Kelowna) has accused Peoples Trust, a financial services firm, of withholding about CAD25 million Canadian dollars (USD18.5 million) in funds from the company.
The budget airline said Peoples Trust ceased regular transfers to it in February 2024 and now plans to take the matter to court after trying to solve the issue amicably. In a statement sent to ch-aviation, the airline said Peoples Trust has no legitimate reason to withhold these funds.
Stephen Jones, Chief Executive Officer at Flair Airlines, said the company has implemented an alternative payment processing system to avoid disruptions.
Peoples Trust is a branch of Peoples Group, a company that has provided “tailored financial services to the Canadian marketplace for more than 35 years.” The firm told ch-aviation it maintains robust standards around the management of funds. “We set and manage card transaction reserves following standard industry practices to protect consumers who have pre-paid merchants — like airlines — for services they have not yet received.”
Earlier this year, Flair Airlines began a lawsuit against lessors that seized and repossessed four Boeing, and reached an arrangement with the Canada Revenue Agency to pay a CAD67 million (USD49.5 million) tax debt. It was also linked to a failed merger proposal with bankrupt Lynx Air (Calgary), and is interested in acquiring the airline's B737 MAX fleet and orders.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows Flair Airlines’ fleet comprises 20 in-house aircraft, including eighteen B737-8s, and two B737-800s. Additionally, it wet-leases on A320-200 from Canada Jetlines (AU, Toronto Pearson).
