Ultralow-cost airline titan Indigo Partners is among the investors in a newly planned discount Canadian carrier.
Enerjet, currently a licensed charter carrier, said Thursday that it will transform into a commercial ultralow-cost carrier (ULCC) in 2019, with destinations across Canada and into the U.S.
The venture is backed by a consortium that includes Indigo, as well as Enerjet CEO Tim Morgan, the Canadian private equity firm TorQuest Partners and other Canadian investors. Indigo is the lead investor in Frontier Airlines, as well as Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air and discount carriers Volaris and JetSmart of Mexico and Chile, respectively. Indigo also has a pending deal to invest as much as $75 million into the teetering Icelandic ULCC Wow Air.
"We believe we can significantly increase the size and competitiveness of Canada's domestic and trans-border aviation market by offering an ultralow-cost alternative to the high cost of air travel," Bill Franke, Indigo's managing partner, said in a statement Thursday. "Our goal is to be in the market by this time next year to help more Canadians visit family and friends over the holidays and for years to come."
Enerjet aims to join the young but suddenly burgeoning Canadian ULCC market. WestJet subsidiary Swoop launched service in 2018 and it and the independent ULCC Flair Air introduced U.S. service this fall.
Morgan will stay on as CEO of the transformed Enerjet.