Flair Airlines is at risk of having its operating license suspended or cancelled as the Canadian Transportation Agency reviews US investments in the low-cost carrier to determine whether it meets Canada’s limits on foreign ownership. The Edmonton-based airline disputes the CTA’s preliminary ruling filed in March that states “Flair may not be controlled in fact by Canadians and may, therefore, not be ‘Canadian’”. Canada has a 49% foreign ownership limit and a 25% limit for an individual foreign entity. The CTA states that in addition to these equity limits, Canadian ownership “in fact” can be determined by whether an owner or financial group has the direct or indirect power “whether exercised or not” to control or influence strategic decisions. Flair says that it is “a Canadian airline and is controlled by Canadians both in law and in fact”. “Flair Airlines, at all times, operates its business in compliance with the laws and regulations governing air transportation in Canada,” the airline says. Concerns about whether Flair is majority-controlled by Canadians both in law and “in fact” revolve around investment by Miami-based 777 Partners. The US investment firm owns a 25% stake in the carrier and leases aircraft to it. The low-cost carrier has 10 Max jets in service and three 737NGs, fleets data shows. Five of those Max jets are owned by 777 Partners, along with three firm orders for additional Max aircraft. 777 Partners also has firm orders for 58 additional Max aircraft with options to purchase 60 more. The investment firm could expand its leasing partnership with Flair to help the airline with its ambition of operating a fleet of 30 Max aircraft by mid-2023 and 50 Max jets by 2025.

Massachusetts-based Cape Air on 15 April announced it has signed a letter of intent to purchase 75 all-electric Alice commuter aircraft from Eviation. Through this deal with the start-up based in Israel, Cape Air states that deploying Alice aircraft on its routes in the USA and the Caribbean would “significantly reduce carbon emissions, as well as maintenance and operational costs for the airline, and provide a smoother and quieter flight experience for passengers”. The start-up is conducting ground tests of the Alice aircraft and plans to begin test flights of a prototype model in summer 2022, Eviation’s interim chief executive Gregory Davis tells Cirium. Designs of a production-scale model of Alice are in development. A search for a full-time chief executive of Eviation is ongoing following the departure of co-founder Omer Bar-Yohay in February. Alice aircraft are intended to carry nine passengers. They have two propellers powered by a 920kWh lithium-ion battery pack, and promise a 440nm (815km) range and 220kt (407km/h) cruise speed.

The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has advised SpiceJet to restrict 90 of its pilots from operating Boeing 737 Max aircraft until they undergo retraining. SpiceJet says that the 90 pilots will “undergo training to the satisfaction of DGCA” but will “continue to remain available for other Boeing 737 aircraft”. The Times of India reported on 13 April that the DGCA had uncovered anomalies in simulator training for these pilots at a facility in Noida in Uttar Pradesh. Indian authorities have cleared the Max for operations to and from its airports since August 2021, after grounding the variant in March 2019 in the wake of two fatal accidents. In late November, SpiceJet resumed 737 Max operations, after reaching a settlement with Boeing over the Max grounding. Data indicates that SpiceJet currently operates 11 Max 8s and has two in storage. The airline stresses that DGCA’s restriction on the 90 pilots “does not impact the operations of the Max aircraft whatsoever” and maintains that trained pilot strength “is much more than the current requirement”. SpiceJet has trained 650 pilots on the Max, and the remaining 560 pilots “continue to remain available”. It requires 144 pilots to operate the 11 Max jets currently in service. Data shows SpiceJet also has a further 114 Max 8s on order and options for another 50, as well as orders for 20 Max 10s and options for 20. Other than SpiceJet, no other Indian carrier currently operates the Max, although start-up airline Akasa could potentially begin operating the type. In November, it placed orders for 72 737 Max aircraft, covering both the Max 8 and higher-capacity subvariant 737-8200.