Flair Airlines has officially appointed Maciej Wilk, who served as interim chief executive officer over the past year, as the permanent head of the budget carrier.
Wilk, who first joined the company as chief operating officer in 2023, has been at the helm of the Edmonton-based airline while it searched for a replacement for former CEO Stephen Jones, who retired last June.
“It is definitely a great recognition of my skills as a manager, as a person, as a leader, but I think it’s also a recognition of everything that the team has achieved during the last 12 months,” said Wilk, who was born and raised in Poland, and previously worked for LOT Polish Airlines.
Under Wilk’s leadership, Flair Airlines introduced an on-time guarantee policy last fall, offering passengers a $60 voucher if their flight was delayed by more than 60 minutes or canceled within 72 hours of departure. The airline also launched a new customer service platform, Flair FWD, in April.
Wilk said he has spent the past four months reshaping the team, introducing new procedures, and setting a renewed vision for the company’s future.
Rather than being seen as a low-cost carrier, the new CEO said he wants the airline to be recognized as a value carrier — “a solution for all Canadians, providing affordable and reliable air travel.”
“People kept asking if we were still looking. The truth is, we had looked — and it turned out our best candidate was already doing the job,” said Jim Young, Chair of Flair Airlines’ Board, in a press release.
“Maciej has spent the past year steering through weather disruptions, organizational shifts, and economic headwinds, all while sharpening our focus on reliability, affordability, and performance,” Young said.
The discount airline, which operates a fleet of 20 aircraft, has faced financial headwinds in recent years amid fierce competition from carriers such as WestJet and Porter Airlines.
In November 2023, the federal government obtained a court order for the seizure and sale of the carrier’s property over $67.2 million in unpaid taxes. The airline later reached an agreement to repay the amount owed.
Last January, Jones suspended the airline’s expansion plans — which aimed to grow its fleet to 26 Boeing 737 Max aircraft — citing delays in aircraft delivery and financial performance concerns.
That is no longer the case for Flair Airlines this year, Wilk told the Star, adding that the company’s financial performance has improved significantly month over month over the past year.
He expects 2025 to be “first profitable year” in terms of EBITA — the earnings of a company before interest, tax, and amortization expenses are deducted — for Flair as an airline flying a commercial, scheduled network.
“We’re very excited about it. I think this is a tremendous achievement for the whole team,” Wilk said.
Wilk said his goal is to grow the carrier’s fleet to 40 to 50 aircraft in the next couple of years, noting that the real challenge now is the tight availability of aircraft in the aviation industry.
“We won’t get there overnight, but this is definitely the direction we’re heading — and also an opportunity that exists in the market.”
