NEW ULTRA LOW COST CARRIER NewLeaf Travel announces today

Posted on 01/06/2016 | About Winnipeg, Manitoba

A new Winnipeg based air carrier planning to offer "ultra-low-cost travel" will announce its fares, routes and booking details today at airport press conferences in Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Kelowna. NewLeaf Travel Company will offer non-stop flights from those cities to multiple destinations.

NewLeaf's flights will be operated by Kelowna-based Flair Airlines, which owns and operates a fleet of five Boeing 737-400 airplanes. In June, NewLeaf said its long-term goal was to hire 750 people, including pilots, flight attendants, executives as well as people in finance, marketing, information technology, sales and distributions and maintenance. In September, the airline said it had hired two pilots and 24 flight attendants.

CEO Jim Young has mentioned California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida as potential winter destinations but none have been confirmed. That will presumably come later today. Ultra low cost carriers, Ryanair being a prime example, traditionally trim or reduce as many expenses as possible. That usually involves eliminating meals, complimentary snacks and entertainment, baggage fees (though doesn’t everyone do that now) charges for issuing boarding passes and walking or bussing out to the plane on the tarmac.