![]() | |||||||
| |||||||
Founded | 2005 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commenced operations | November 17, 2005 | ||||||
AOC # | Canada: 15022, [2] United States: U6WF143F [3] | ||||||
Operating bases | |||||||
Fleet size | 18 [4] | ||||||
Destinations | 54 [5] | ||||||
Parent company |
| ||||||
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||||||
Key people | Len Corrado (President of Sunwing Airlines) | ||||||
Employees | 1,500 (2015) | ||||||
Website | www |
Sunwing Airlines Inc. is a Canadian low-cost airline headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. On May 1, 2023, WestJet announced that it had completed the acquisition of Sunwing Airlines. [6]
Sunwing Airlines offers scheduled and charter services from Canada and the United States to destinations within the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America in the winter months. During the summer months, the company offers domestic services across Canada. [7] [8]
It is a subsidiary of WestJet, and its main Canadian bases are Montréal–Trudeau International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The company also operates seasonal flight services from 23 local Canadian gateways, such as CFB Bagotville, Calgary International Airport, Deer Lake Regional Airport, Edmonton International Airport, Fredericton International Airport, Gander International Airport, Halifax Stanfield International Airport, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, Kelowna International Airport, Region of Waterloo International Airport, London International Airport, Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport, Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport, Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport, Regina International Airport, Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport, St. John's International Airport, Thunder Bay International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, Windsor International Airport, and Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. [9]
Sunwing Airlines' boarding music consists of various covers sung by Colin Hunter, the Airline's founder.
By 2004, Sunwing Vacations had become the second largest tour operator in Ontario. That year, a former Skyservice employee named Mark Williams approached the CEO of Sunwing Travel Group, Colin Hunter, and asked if he wanted to start an airline. [10] A few weeks later official plans to launch the airline were in place.
In November 2005, a Boeing 737-800 departing from Toronto to Santiago de Cuba was the airline's inaugural flight. [11] In December 2005, Sunwing flew its first direct flight from Sudbury, Ontario to Varadero, Cuba, making it one of the first international flights directly from the Sudbury Airport. [12]
In November 2006, the company flew its first flight out of Montreal. [13] By 2008, Sunwing Airlines had grown to operate in 29 cities. [14]
In 2015, it was announced that Sunwing had finalized a $350 million deal to acquire two Boeing 737-800 and four Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft from Air Lease Corporation. The aircraft were due to be delivered over a four-year period from early 2016. [15] Seneca College and the University of Waterloo launched a partnership with Sunwing in 2016 to form a cadet program which includes flight training and mentoring through Sunwing. [16]
Sunwing joined the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) expedited screening program, TSA PreCheck, in January 2017. At that time, the TSA PreCheck program was available at 180 United States airports and works with 30 airlines. [17]
Sunwing delivered its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 on May 25, 2018. [18]
In March 2023, Canadian Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra approved the takeover of Sunwing Airlines and Sunwing Vacations by WestJet [19] with the acquisition completed in May 2023. On June 17, 2023, WestJet announced that they would merge Sunwing with the mainline business - the transition could take up to two years. [20] [21]
As of August 2024 [update] , Sunwing Airlines flies (or has flown) to the following destinations: [22]
Sunwing Airlines flies to various vacation destinations across the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. The most popular destinations include Varadero, Punta Cana, Cancun, and Montego Bay. Its parent company, the Sunwing Travel Group, is Cuba's largest travel provider internationally, sending over 700,000 vacationers to the destination each year. [23] [24]
In Canada, the airline operates several domestic routes, including Toronto to Vancouver which operated daily as of Summer 2015, as well as maintaining year-round service to its most popular destinations. Other connections include Deer Lake, Gander, and St John's from Toronto. [25] As of Summer 2015, the airline operated service to Caribbean destinations from Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Houston, Lansing, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Rockford. [26]
In summer, Sunwing Airlines sends many of their 737-800 aircraft over to Europe to operate for the TUI Group and Smartwings during their extremely busy season. The aircraft operate flights all around Europe for the two companies. This is reciprocated during the winter months with Tui and Smartwings sending several aircraft to Canada to operate Sunwing routes.
Sunwing had an agreement with ULCC Swoop that allowed passengers out of Hamilton, London, Edmonton, Abbotsford, and Winnipeg to book Sunwing vacation packages with Swoop flights.
In the past Sunwing offered meals on longer flights, [27] but the current menu (2023) offers light snacks and refreshments from a pay-as-you-go menu. [28]
As of July 2024 [update] , Sunwing Airlines operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet composed of the following aircraft: [4] [29]
Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boeing 737-800 | 9 | — | 189 | 5 leased from Smartwings. | |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 | 9 | — | |||
Total | 18 | — |
Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Boeing 767-300ER | 2 | 2011 | 2012 | Leased from EuroAtlantic Airways |
WestJet Airlines, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, is the second-largest airline in Canada. It began operations in 1996 with 220 employees, three aircraft, and five destinations. It was launched as a low-cost alternative to the country's major airlines. Today, WestJet operates scheduled, charter, and cargo air service, transporting more than 25 million passengers per year. The airline has a significant domestic and international network, which serves over 100 destinations across North America, Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and Central America. WestJet has an average of 777 flights per day, solidifying its position as the eighth-largest airline in North America by frequency.
Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., branded as Copa Airlines, is the flag carrier of Panama. It is headquartered in Panama City, Panama, with its main hub at Tocumen International Airport. Copa is a subsidiary of Copa Holdings and a member of the Star Alliance. The airline is owned by Copa Holdings, which also owns Colombian airline AeroRepública, which operates under the brands Wingo and Copa Airlines Colombia.
Air Transat is a Canadian airline based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1986, it operates scheduled and charter flights serving 60 destinations in 25 countries. Air Transat is owned and operated by Transat A.T. Inc., with 37 aircraft registered with Transport Canada as of September 2023.
CanJet was a Canadian low-cost air carrier headquartered in Enfield, Nova Scotia and based at Halifax International Airport. In addition to initially flying scheduled passenger service, CanJet operated charter flights using its own brand as well as flying contract and ad hoc charters for other tour operators and airlines throughout Canada and the United States. CanJet was wholly owned by IMP Group International and had 572 employees as of March 2007. The airline ceased operations in 2015.
Jet2.com Limited is a British low-cost leisure airline based at Leeds Bradford Airport, England. It offers scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK, behind easyJet and British Airways. Jet2 is also officially the largest tour operator in the UK after overtaking TUI in 2023.
Thunder Bay Airport is an airport in the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. With 108,130 aircraft movements in 2012, it was the fourth busiest airport in Ontario and the 16th busiest airport in Canada. During the same year, more than 761,000 passengers went through the airport.
Nordair was a Quebec-based airline in Canada founded in 1947 from the merger of Boreal Airways and Mont Laurier Aviation.
Region of Waterloo International Airport or Kitchener/Waterloo Airport is an international airport serving the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Woolwich, Ontario, Canada, west of Toronto. It has year round daily flights to Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg, Calgary, Orlando, Halifax, Fort Lauderdale and Kelowna through Flair Airlines and WestJet. It also has seasonal flights to Cancun through Sunwing Airlines and Flair Airlines. In 2022, the airport ranked seventh-busiest in Canada by total aircraft movements and twentieth-busiest by passenger traffic.
Les Investissements Nolinor Inc., trading as Nolinor Aviation, is a charter airline based in Mirabel, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It operates passenger charter and cargo services within Canada and to the United States Its main base is Montréal–Mirabel International Airport. It has 200 employees.
Sault Ste. Marie Airport is an international airport located 8.0 nautical miles west-southwest of the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada at the far eastern end of Lake Superior and the beginning of the St. Mary's River.
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. The airport is named in honour of Lester B. Pearson, who served as the 14th Prime Minister of Canada (1963–1968) and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his humanitarian work in peacekeeping.
Vision Airlines, formerly Vision Air, was an airline that had its operations headquartered in North Las Vegas, Nevada.
Caribbean Airlines Limited is the state-owned airline and flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. Headquartered in Iere House in Piarco, the airline operates flights to the Caribbean, North America and South America from its base at Piarco International Airport, Trinidad. Presently Caribbean Airlines employs more than 1,700 people and is the largest airline in the Caribbean. The company slogan is The Warmth of the Islands.
Flair Airlines is a Canadian ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC) headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. The airline operates scheduled passenger and chartered services with a fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. The company slogan is Plane and Simple. The airline promotes itself as being Canada's leading independent ULCC.
Dubai Aviation Corporation, operating as Flydubai, is an Emirati government-owned low-cost airline based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The airline mainly operates out of Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport, though some flights fly out from Terminal 3. The airline operates a total of 124 destinations, serving the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe from Dubai. The company slogan is Get Going.
Lynx Air, legally incorporated as 1263343 Alberta Inc., was a Canadian ultra-low-cost carrier based in Calgary, Alberta. It previously operated as Enerjet and was rebranded as Lynx Air on November 16, 2021. The first flight under the Lynx Air name took place on April 7, 2022, operating from Calgary International Airport to Vancouver International Airport.
Canada Jetlines, Ltd., operating and branded as jetlines, is a Canadian airline headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario. It operates scheduled and charter flights in the Americas and the Caribbean. The airline launched its inaugural flight on September 22, 2022, from Toronto Pearson to Calgary.
Sunwing Vacations Group, formerly known as Sunwing Travel Group, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, became a subsidiary of the WestJet Group on May 1, 2023. Today, it operates as the leisure division of the WestJet Group; according to its website, the group forms "the largest vacations brand in North America."
Swoop was a Canadian ultra low-cost airline owned by WestJet. The airline was headquartered in Calgary, Alberta and was named after WestJet's desire to "swoop" into the Canadian market with a new business model. It was officially announced on September 27, 2017, and began flights on June 20, 2018. The Airline had bases In Hamilton (ON), Toronto-Pearson, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Abbotsford. However, Swoop’s bases in Winnipeg and Edmonton closed on October 20, 2023; the Toronto base closed a few days later on October 25. Swoop was integrated into WestJet’s mainline operation on October 28, 2023.
GetJet Airlines is a Lithuanian charter airline company founded in 2016.
Sunwing Airlines: SWG, SUNWING