28 Days to Take Flight: Launching What Became Flair Airlines

How would you tackle a 28 Day Countdown??

28 days. That’s all the time I have to launch a start-up airline across eleven Canadian cities. NewLeaf Travel Services, soon to be officially named Flair Airlines, needs to go live in less than a month as Canada’s first ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC). Inspired by the Spirit Airlines model, the CEO has big ideas, but I’m left to figure out how to make it all happen.

The list of tasks is daunting. I need to work with marketing to define the ULCC concept and figure out how we’re going to sell it. At the same time, I’m building an operational plan that covers everything from passenger safety and check-in to boarding, below-wing services, and even ancillary revenue streams. In Canadian aviation, ancillary revenue is new territory, and getting frontline staff to buy into the concept won’t be easy. We need to hire the right people, settle on aircraft operations, and develop operating procedures. It feels like a whirlwind, but here we go: we’re starting an airline!

I connect with Flair Airlines, based in Kelowna, BC, to align on operational procedures since they’ll be wet-leasing us aircraft and crew. But we’re on a tight budget, so managing ground operations in eleven cities with limited resources is a massive challenge. I meet with third-party service providers in each location, and I quickly realize we’ll need a training plan for them—but we haven’t even built one yet. I need trainers, too. And what about IT? I’m told we’re working with a system that currently doesn’t function in Canadian airports. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

At headquarters in Winnipeg, I meet the new head of marketing. She knows little about aviation beyond “cheap flights” but is sharp and quick to pick up the essentials. Then, I meet Bob in IT, who reassures me they’re “working on it.” But for now, there’s no guarantee our system will work by launch. Flair’s operations team, understandably, has concerns. They’re wary of such an aggressive timeline, but they soldier on, despite their reservations.

With 21 days left, I’m on a plane to each of the eleven cities, meeting with airport authorities, local security leaders, and ground handlers. My industry connections help speed up contract negotiations, but I can sense some skepticism—they’re interested but doubtful we’ll actually pull it off. Still, by the end of these meetings, I’ve secured ground handlers in eight of the eleven cities and scheduled frontline training sessions. Things are starting to come together.

Then, with two weeks to go, the CEO drops a curveball: we’re hosting a “test flight” for investors and executives. Not only do we need to be fully operational by day 25 instead of day 28, but this test also has to be flawless. Failure isn’t an option. IT still isn’t ready, but I’m reassured that it will be. Deposits are in, contracts are signed, and training is underway. I deliver a talk to the new staff on the importance of ancillary revenue and managing passenger flow—key to our ULCC model.

Three days left. Test flight day. Hours before passengers arrive, the IT team finally gets the check-in system running. As people start showing up, the Hamilton (YHM) staff kick into gear, handling check-ins and overcoming each challenge we’ve set up for them. Executives, board members, and even some friends are checked in smoothly. But just as boarding is about to close, there’s a discrepancy—our passenger count doesn’t match the system. Ten minutes to departure, we’re racing to sort it out. After multiple recounts, we’re finally cleared for take-off.

The flight to Winnipeg goes off with only minor hitches, and the celebration on arrival is a success. We’re almost ready for launch, and it’s hard to believe how far we’ve come in just 28 days.

Lessons Learned:?For me, this experience proves that even the tallest mountains can be moved when you have a plan that anticipates setbacks. Taking it step by step was the only way forward.

What about you? Honestly think about how you would tackle a monumental task like this and share your stories/ideas!

Writer’s note - While this story is mine and my perspective from an airport operations point of view, a lot of credit goes to a great team that I was lucky to be a part of.? Those who were on the team, you know who you are, and you know I love you.