TORONTO — Flair Airlines and Lynx Air are said to be in merger talks.

As reported in the Toronto Star, the potential merger could be announced as early as today.

Flair’s been making headlines lately for other reasons. According to earlier coverage, Flair Airlines owes the federal government $67.2 million in unpaid taxes, court documents show, prompting the Canada Revenue Agency to obtain an order for the seizure and sale of the carrier’s property.

Last month Flair CEO Stephen Jones said he’s effectively suspending the budget airline’s expansion plans for at least a year as it contends with plane delivery delays and the hefty debts.

Aviation industry expert John Gradek shared his 2024 predictions with Travelweek at the start of the year. At that time he told Travelweek that airlines can only sustain low yields amid price wars for so long, and that he wouldn’t be surprised by the consolidation or closure for one or even two of Canada’s carriers, echoing predictions from Porter CEO Michael Deluce.

Ultra low-cost carrier Lynx first took flight in April 2022, and since then has been building its network including recent announcements about new U.S. destinations Boston and San Francisco, set to start this spring.

With file from The Canadian Press