Flair airlines announces seasonal route from Palm Springs to Vancouver

Flair Airlines announced Thursday it will add a nonstop seasonal Palm Springs-to-Vancouver route beginning this fall. Flights from Palm Springs International Airport to Vancouver International Airport — located in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada — will begin in late October and operate twice weekly during the Coachella Valley’s tourism season. ‼️NEW AIRLINE ALERT‼️ @FlairAirlines, a Canadian ULCC, is coming to Palm Springs in October with twice-weekly service to Vancouver!!! With the arrival of Flair, PSP will have service from three Canadian airlines.#flyPSP #flyPalmSprings #PalmSprings #Vancouver #Airline #Travel pic.twitter.com/Lbw25tfBXD — Palm Springs International Airport (@flyPSP) July 8, 2021 "Canadians have long appreciated our year-round sunshine, world-class special events and relaxed desert lifestyle," Palm Springs Mayor Christy Holstege said. "We thank Flair Airlines for adding Palm Springs International Airport to their network and we look forward to a long relationship." Flair, which bills itself as a low-cost airline, is the third Canadian air passenger carrier to operate out of the Palm Springs airport. It is sure to be popular with the Canadian snowbird population, who typically migrate to the Coachella Valley for warmer temperatures. The Edmonton, Alberta-based company is one of several carriers to announce new or expanded service to Palm Springs in recent months. It is the 12th airline to operate out of the city-owned airport, accounting for service to 34 total airports during the area’s winter-to-spring tourism season. Allegiant Airlines announced late last month the addition of a nonstop seasonal Palm Springs-to-Nashville route beginning on Nov. 17. Southwest Airlines announced in early June that it was adding flights to Sacramento, Dallas, Chicago and Portland, Oregon this fall. Sacramento will be offered daily year-round, while service to Dallas and Chicago will be offered daily seasonally, and to Portland on Saturdays seasonally. The Dallas, Chicago and Portland flights will be based on the Coachella Valley’s tourism season. The Sacramento route launches on Oct. 7 and will comprise two round- trip circuits each day to and from the state’s capital. The Dallas route begins on Nov. 7, the Chicago route on Nov. 23 and the Portland route on Nov. 20. Southwest started serving the Coachella Valley last November with flights to Denver, Phoenix and Oakland. The Dallas-based airline expanded service to Palm Springs in May with year-round flights to Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines announced earlier this month it will launch seasonal nonstop service from Palm Springs to Austin, also beginning in the fall. The new route kicks off on Nov. 19 and will operate five days a week through next April 18. The airline will fly its 76-seat Embraer 175 back and forth from Austin to Palm Springs International Airport once a day. The new service routes are contributing to the rebound in air travel at the city-owned airport that was impacted due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to officials. Alaska Airlines also previously announced new routes from Palm Springs to San Jose; Reno, Nevada; and Boise, Idaho, which were set to begin service last December but were postponed due to the pandemic. The airline successfully launched its service to Reno but quickly suspended it. The status of those routes was unclear.