Flair started direct flights to Vegas from Ottawa. I have heard so many bad things about the airline but my first experience was fantastic.
I would usually take checked luggage but I was worried that luggage would get lost. I have a Solgaard check in suitcase and couldn’t imagine traveling with anything else anymore so I splurged on a carry on closet. I hope to do a lot more traveling in the future and now I have luggage for it.
Flair does charge for carry on but the flights are still much cheaper than other airlines. My interest is in the direct flight but I have no issues paying for some extras. I buy seat selection because I want a window seat to take videos. I have short legs so leg room is not an issue for me. There was a lot of room under the seat for bags and feet. I saw complaints about not having reclining seats but I never recline my seat and I don’t like it when the person in front of me reclines. Even with extras my round trip flight was $300 and the majority of the price is taxes.
You can see my YouTube videos of window views from the flight YouTube livingottawalocal
The app was no problem to use to check in they even text to tell you it’s time to check in. The flight view app didn’t give me notifications about the gate boarding time like it normally does but I had no issues getting this info. The US terminal in Ottawa is small. If you don’t check in online you will have to pay to do it at the airport but many airlines are doing this now. I really like having everything on my phone and not worrying about anything else
Ottawa airport is small so there is no need to arrive more than two hours in advance. I have flown domestic from YOW in the past but this was the first time going from the US terminal. There was a sign no line at all a couple of checks and quick immigration. It was super easy and quick. I hadn’t eaten breakfast expecting to get Starbucks and a veggie burger as I usually do in the domestic terminal. The US terminal only has an express Tim Hortons that doesn’t have non dairy milk the sign says they do but they don’t. No bagels either so nothing vegan available there. The one sit in restaurant didn’t have a veggie burger I didn’t see anything that was vegan on the menu except fries. At least the store sells some vegan snacks and I had brought a protein granola bar with me so that an espresso shot from Tim Hortons will have to last me through this almost 6 hour flight.
They do sell food on this flight but vegan bites I think are energy balls and I think veggie Mr noodles is accidentally vegan I don’t want either but it’s an option. A can of pop will cost you more than $3. It was really hot with the sun coming through the window but I poured some water in my yeti bottle before the flight so I have nice cold water.
My flight was on time I had chosen a seat towards the back as I heard they board from the back first. This was not the case but I was one of the first to board in my zone. I had a hard time fitting my carry on in the luggage section as it was a little high for me but someone offered to help me and that was nice. I was expecting the bag I had to put under the seat to be too big but the seating area is much wider than Air Canada or Westjet flights I have been on.
If you have not read my previous posts I usually choose a seat and pay for it when I buy my flight. When check in happens I might change my seat to an empty row in the hopes I get lucky and nobody is beside me it’s an advantage of solo travel or in my case if I am with people I don’t care if I sit with them. It’s a big plane and a pretty full flight I wasn’t expecting so much demand for an Ottawa to Vegas flight. This is definitely an Ottawa style flight people are nice and polite it’s really calm the only noise is people laughing or chatting with each other. Flair tends to separate people travelling together if they don’t pay for seats. The person that was beside me in the middle switched with someone else before take off. After takeoff the flight attendant said they will do their best to have people move seats but they don’t want people to change seats on their own for weight balance. The person beside me went somewhere else so now I have the middle seat empty in my row.
The seats are really big compared to what I’m used to and I’m very comfortable. I got a small bag that fits my water bottle from Amazon and the sun is coming through the window is making the bag really hot but it’s nice feels like I’m at a nice warm location. It’s much later in the flight now and I had to take a break from the bright and heat of the sun by closing the window it’s still bright from the other side of the plane. This is with my sunglasses and hoodie over my eyes. It’s such a clear day though I can see so much I usually can’t see but the sun glare is blocking the pictures.
There is a place to keep your phone and watch entertainment in the seat. There should be wifi to connect to flair’s app to watch entertainment but it doesn’t seem to be working. It gives me time to catch up on my social media like this blog post that I am writing this on my notes app. It has only been 1.5 hours so far but I’m really enjoying this flight so far. There is very little turbulence it’s one of the smoothest flights I have been on.
It’s later in the flight but my phone time keeps changing back to 2:30 so I have no idea how much time is left in the flights. I’m guessing a little over an hour based on where we are at. After the food and alcohol service people got loud but still just talking and enjoying. I only have three songs on my phone so I’m enjoying listening to the conversations. I’m at the point where I wish I had decent food earlier or angry with myself for not bringing more snacks and I’m starting to get a headache. I have been to the bathroom twice it’s big and clean. I have taken a bit of a nap and wrote this post otherwise looked out the window and people watched.
They announced we are starting our descent a little less than an hour left. The plane goes really slow in this direction. We just past the grand-canyon. I smelled a smoke smell just for a little bit and I wasn't sure what we were flying over.
We just landed a little rough not up bad but there was clapping and cheering. The flight attendants were good with handling situations ie loud people, people getting up during landing. They had some good soft skills. I will definitely fly flair again it was a great experience.
The flight back was a slightly different experience. If you haven’t travelled before this airport might be confusing. You have to check the screens to find your gate. Go through security they only check ID not boarding passes. In my case there is a tram to the gate. I use to fly allegiant from Bellingham and this was the gate I used to go to.
When I arrived at the airport I went to a diner and got an impossible burger. It cost $30 I was so hungry it was worth it. On the way back I got the same impossible burger at Burger King for much cheaper. I asked the airline attendant if they needed to tag my bag and she just made me put it in the sizer. It fit. The flight was delayed by an hour for a maintenance issue. While boarding they told me I needed a paper boarding pass so I had to step out of line and get a boarding pass. No issues otherwise no one told me I needed a paper boarding pass until I got to the boarding line.
The flight wasn’t as full as it was on the first flight. At first I had the entire row to myself but I fell asleep at my window seat and two guys kept switching to sit in my row. One had long legs he used both the middle and aisle seat. The other one kept sleeping so I had to force him to let me out to go to the bathroom. Other than that was a good flight I slept the whole time and it went really quick. The return flight was much shorter around four hours.
Customs at Ottawa airport is simple you fill your form out at a kiosk take it to an officer they didn’t ask me anything and then exit.
I definitely recommend Flair flights were great. Seats were roomy and any minor issues happen on all airlines.
Thank you for reading. For more vegan food follow me on Instagram @LivingOttawaLocal and @VeganCanadianfinds
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