George Nugent Travels

I know what you are probably thinking, who on earth are Lynx Air? and how did you find out about them?

Well, Lynx Air is an Ultra-Low Cost Airline that was founded in its current iteration in November 2021, however, they originally began life as “New Air & Tours” in 2006 before rebranding as “Enerjet” in 2008. When the airline decided to shift focus and become a scheduled airline they finally settled on Lynx Air.

I found out about them through Twitter (or whatever its called this week) and decided to try them on a day trip from Calgary to Kelowna in May 2023.

Flight Details

Flight Origin – Toronto (I boarded in Calgary, i’ll explain)

Flight Destination – Calgary or Kelowna (Kelowna for me but again i’ll explain)

Flight Number – Y9 536

Aircraft Type – Boeing 737 MAX 8

Seat Number – 22F

Price Paid – CAD $55.78 (£33.03 approx)

Before the rest of the review, I should probably explain how this particular flight operates as it is something that is not very common in the UK.

This flight operates as a direct flight from Toronto to Kelowna with a stop in Calgary to allow passengers off the flight from Toronto, as well as allowing people like me to join and fly only between Calgary and Kelowna. For those passengers flying from Toronto to Kelowna they will remain on the aircraft in Calgary.

This flight uses the same flight number on the Toronto to Calgary flight as well as the Calgary to Kelowna flight. Flights that operate between Toronto and Kelowna without stopping are officially known as “non-stop” flights.

Checking In Experience

Lynx have a very straightforward check in policy. Simply visit their website and check in online to get your boarding pass, from here you can either print it or store it on your device.

Bag drop desks open 3 hours before departure and if you have any issues they will be able to help you.

Unlike Flair, LYNX actually have an IT system that works and I was able to check in without issue the night before.

First Signs of Trouble

I was aiming to arrive at Calgary Airport approximately two hours before my flight, so I took the bus from the city centre just after 08:00, aiming to arrive at 08:35.

At this moment I decided to check Flightradar24 to see where my aircraft was. It turns out that it was still on the ground in Toronto. It turns out the first leg of the flight from Toronto to Calgary had a delay of 3 hours and 24 minutes.

Despite this LYNX did not email me to inform me of this delay until the aircraft departed Toronto, if I had this information sooner I could still have been in bed.

Calgary Airport Experience

My flight was using the A gates in the domestic terminal in Calgary which was the same part of the airport I had arrived at the night before.

I did not have a bag to check, so I made my way upstairs to security. Here I was stopped for a random bag check before even getting into security. The staff doing this search were very friendly and explained what they were doing at every stage.

As a thank you for my time they allowed me to use the priority lane, which was nice of them but utterly redundant in my case.

I sat myself down and began scrolling through my phone, regretting the choice to leave my iPad in Scotland.

As my scheduled departure time of 10:50 rolled by I checked Flightradar24 again to see where my aircraft was.

As the above image shows it was just north of Winnipeg meaning it was still 91 minutes away from Calgary. I eventually got bored and started walking around the terminal until the aircraft landed.

Boarding

Despite the fact that there was 50 people boarding the flight the gate staff still insisted on the use of boarding groups, in this case organised by seat numbers.

As I was in row 22 I was the second group to board. Upon boarding a member of the crew was greeting every passenger as they boarded the aircraft, apart from that no other crew were visible.

I quickly found my seat onboard this Boeing 737 MAX 8 and made myself comfortable. This particular aircraft (C-FULI) was delivered directly to Lynx Air in March 2022.

The aircraft still felt new inside and the interior well looked after, by that I mean there was little sign of wear and tear on the seats and overhead bins.

I had the entire row to myself and as it turns out there were 56 people flying to Kelowna. We pushed back from the gate and eventually departed Calgary at 1401, giving us a delay of 3 hours and 11 minutes.

The Inflight…Service?

This was a challenging section to write. Unlike most low cost airlines that offer snacks and Wi-Fi for an insanely inflated price Lynx do things differently.

On their flights LYNX do not offer;

• Snacks for sale
• Drinks for sale
• Wi-Fi
• Power
• Inflight Magazines (digital or paper)

Essentially, bring stuff with you or get reading that safety card. My guess is they do not offer anything onboard to save time on turning flights around on the gound, ironic considering the lengthy delay on my flight.

This level of service is fine on my flight, which took just 43 minutes, however, the airline offers the same lack of service on its longest flight from Montreal to Vancouver which is scheduled to take 5 hours and 30 minutes.

With so little onboard it is clear Lynx are hoping that low fares will be enough to make you fly with them, especially as Air Canada, Flair and Westjet all offer much more onboard, and Flair is very similar in price!

Would I Fly Lynx Air Again?

In all honesty I am struggling to justify flying with Lynx Air again. If the delay to my flight had just been a one off occurrence then I would be more inclined to fly with them again, however, a quick check of Flightradar 24 reveals that this flight is susceptible to long delays.

Below is the breakdown of delays for the week after my flight;

• 11th June – Flight departed at 14:08
• 13th June – Flight departed at 14:11
• 15th June – Flight departed at 11:32
• 17th June – Flight departed at 11:11

Thanks to the long delays and lack of clear communication from the airline I would suggest, particularly for those travelling with more than a backpack, to book a flight on this route with Westjet who offer multiple daily flights and more onboard services at a slightly higher price.

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