Flair Airlines (F8, Kelowna) is leaving Abbotsford due to intense competition from low-cost carrier (LCC) rival and WestJet subsidiary Swoop. Its network from the British Columbia airport will terminate in June. In 2019, Flair opted to leave Hamilton, ON for Toronto Pearson, just months after Swoop arrived at the smaller airport.

According to The Canadian Press, Flair's CEO Jim Scott cites a bloody price war, particularly on the sector to Edmonton International, resulting in a surplus of low fares in the market, as a critical factor in the LCC's decision to leave Abbotsford. Swoop released an aggressive sale earlier this month, offering up to 100,000 seats for a base fare of CAD1 (USD0.76).

According to the ch-aviation schedules modules, Flair currently flies from Abbotsford to Calgary (6x weekly), Edmonton (5x weekly), Toronto Pearson (5x weekly), and Winnipeg International (4x weekly). It also offers a 4x weekly service to Kelowna via Edmonton.

Swoop offers competing services to Edmonton (15x weekly), Winnipeg (3x weekly) and Hamilton (6x weekly) for the Toronto market. Also, it flies to London, ON (6x weekly), Las Vegas Harry Reid, Mazatlán, and Puerto Vallarta (all 2x weekly).

Flair presently has a fleet of seven aircraft, consisting of four B737-400s (one inactive) and three B737-800s.

The removal of two B737-400s from Abbotsford has allowed the LCC to launch new services from other airports on its network: