Summary
- Lynx Air, a Canadian ultra-low-cost operator, approved an agreement with Boeing to end their 737-Max purchase contract.
- They began operations on April 7, 2022, operating a fleet of only Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. However, they faced challenges leading to its closure in February 2024 due to the competitive low-cost airline industry, forcing the low-cost carrier to shut down. Other factors cited by the operator included inflation and rising fuel costs.
According to ch-aviation, a judge in Alberta, Canada, has approved an agreement between the defunct Canadian ultra-low-cost operator Lynx Air and American manufacturer Boeing to end their 737-Max purchase contract.
The rise and fall of Lynx Air.
Photo: Tampa Airport
The airline began operations on April 7th, 2022, with the inaugural flight between Calgary and Vancouver.
They adopted a fleet of only the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, and their mission was to break into the North American low-cost travel industry, which was already heavily saturated. They initially announced five routes :
- Toronto Pearson-Halifax: three weekly flights from June 30, 2022. One month later, Lynx increased the frequency to five rotations.
- Toronto Pearson-St. John’s: two weekly flights, which began on June 28, 2022, upgraded to daily rotations a month later.
- Toronto Pearson-Edmonton: Seven flights per week, with the first flight occurring on July 28, 2022
- Hamilton-Calgary: Two flights per week from June 29, 2022, and 30 days later, increasing to four weekly services.
- Hamilton-Halifax: two flights per week. This service started on June 29, 2022.
Related
Lynx Air Announces Five New Domestic Routes In Canada
Lynx Air is looking to increase its presence in Toronto and Hamilton, Canada.
It looked as though the future was promising for the Alberta-based carrier as network expansion continued throughout the following year and well into 2023. Their route map even included the United States, connecting cities in Canada to Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.
If you are curious about what flying with them was like, check out this video.
Unfortunately, they stopped all operations on Monday, February 26, 2024. They explained in a social media post that several factors, such as inflation, rising fuel costs, exchange rates, and regulatory costs, among others, proved too overwhelming for the carrier to sustain operations.
Related
Canadian Airline Lynx Air To Shut Down After 2 Years
Financial pressure related to operational costs proved too much for the airline to overcome.
The airline’s COO, Jim Sullivan, released a memo to staff explaining how various operational costs were too much for the airline to handle, leading to this unfortunate decision. According to the Calgary Herald, it read :
“I know this is a terrible shock for many of you and this was not how our story was intended to play out. While we did our best, the pressures mounted and the risks increased, which has led to today’s announcement.”
On April 7, 2024, the airline would have celebrated two years of operations.
Bottom line.
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
The airline industry can be particularly competitive, especially in the low-cost segment, where it is difficult for carriers to break even. Lynx is now gone, but what they achieved when they were active is remarkable. They expanded exponentially and brought down fares on key routes such as Toronto to Montreal. Now that their assets are being sold, and the contract canceled, little is left of the quirky red-tailed carrier, but their planes will head to new customers, and you may even end up coincidentally on one of their former 737 Max-8s.
Have you flown on a now-defunct airline? How was it? Let us know in the comments
