Ultra-affordable Lynx Air ready for takeoff Fly to Toronto and back for less than $165; don’t forget to pack a lunch By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 19, 2022

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This article was published 18/04/2022 (885 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lynx Air has landed in Winnipeg.

The new airline, which touts itself as “ultra-affordable,” first touched down at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport Tuesday morning.

“We did the numbers and decided this was a good place to come to,” said Merren McArthur, Lynx Air’s CEO and one of the passengers on Lynx’s first flight into Winnipeg (from Calgary).

“It’s a really busy hub — the centre of the prairies, the gateway to the west… It’s got a lot of cultural attractions.”

Winnipeg fares begin at $59. To start, Lynx is offering twice-weekly flights to both Calgary and Vancouver.

Beginning May 5, it will launch twice-weekly flights from Winnipeg to Toronto and will double its Calgary-Winnipeg connections.

The Calgary-based company began designing its network around October last year, McArthur said.

“We’re going where airfares are too high, or where there’s not enough services,” she said. “The combination of those drove our decision to fly to Winnipeg.”

Still, Lynx Air joins lower-charge carriers like Swoop and Flair Airlines by stationing in the prairie city.

“A lot of our business model is about keeping things really simple, and airlines are very complex operations to run,” McArthur said.

This means no food, coffee or tea for purchase on board. Water is available.

Instead, travellers are encouraged to bring their own food or buy in the airport, McArthur said. People flying within Canada can bring foods like sandwiches, granola bars and apples in their carry-ons and checked luggage. They can also bring up to 3.4 oz. of non-solid foods — think yogurt and peanut butter — in containers in a clear plastic bag.

“The more you keep it simple, the less complexity and costs you have,” McArthur said.

Customers choose their flight services à la carte style, paying extra for priority boarding and advanced seat selection.

Lynx Air currently has three planes and will add two more before summer, McArthur said. The company plans to grow its fleet to at least 46 Boeing 737 aircrafts through the next five to seven years.

The carrier will hit 10 Canadian destinations, which also include Victoria, Kelowna, Edmonton, Hamilton, Halifax and St. John’s. None are currently available via direct flight from Winnipeg, but the city will likely see more Lynx traffic in the future, McArthur said.

“We don’t have any plans for fuel surcharges,” she said, regarding the recent spike in oil prices.

Such costs fluctuate all the time, and it’s a constant challenge for airlines, she added.

“(Ticket) prices are going to go up… as you get to summer, because it’s such a high demand period,” McArthur added.

The Winnipeg Airports Authority has noticed plenty of bookings for the upcoming months, according to Nick Hays, the organization’s CEO.

“I think what we’re seeing is just so much pent-up demand for travel since the pandemic,” he said. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Restrictions continue to roll back. Several American carriers aren’t requiring face coverings on domestic and some international flights; the change follows the U.S. transit authority saying it won’t enforce mask wearing.

Travellers are still required to wear masks on Canadian flights.

Hays called Lynx Air coming to Winnipeg “exciting” and said the city will “see a lot more connectivity and options going forward.”

In March, WestJet announced a plan to resume near pre-pandemic service levels in the city. The Calgary-based business owns Swoop.

Lynx Air isn’t hiring in Winnipeg, but it has outsourced a local company to handle its check-ins and aircraft management, McArthur said.

The airline began as Enerjet, a charter business that announced in 2018 it’d transform into a commercial discount carrier.

Lynx Air’s services started April 7 in Calgary and Vancouver.

— with files from The Canadian Press

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com