Sunwing Airlines

Sunwing Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
WG SWG SUNWING
Founded 2005
Commenced operations November 17, 2005
Operating bases
Fleet size 36
Destinations 73
Company slogan "Fly Better"
Parent company Sunwing Travel Group
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people Mark Williams, president
Employees 1,500 (2015)

Sunwing Airlines Inc. is a Canadian low-cost airline headquartered in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sunwing Airlines offers scheduled and charter services from Canada and the United States to destinations within the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, South America. During the summer months, the company offers domestic services across Canada as well as services to European cities.[1][2] It is a subsidiary of Sunwing Travel Group and its main Canadian bases are Toronto Pearson International Airport and Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. The company also operates seasonal flight services from over 30 local Canadian gateways including Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport, Calgary International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, and Edmonton International Airport.[3]

History

By 2004, the Sunwing Vacations had become the second largest tour operator in the Ontario area. That year, a former employee of Skyservice, Mark Williams, approached the CEO of Sunwing Travel Group, Colin Hunter and asked if he wanted to start an airline.[4] A few weeks later official plans to launch the airline were in place. In November 2005, Sunwing Airlines flew its inaugural flight, a Boeing 737-800 that departed from Toronto Pearson airport.[5] In November 2006, the company flew its first flight out of the Montreal-Trudeau airport.[6] By 2008, Sunwing Airlines grew its operations to include 29 cities.[7]

In 2015, it was announced that Sunwing had finalised a deal to acquire two Boeing 737-800 and four Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft from Air Lease Corporation in a $350m contract. The aircraft are due to be delivered over a four-year period from early 2016.[8]

Destinations

Sunwing Airlines flies to a wide range of vacation destinations across the Caribbean, Mexico, Cuba, Central and South 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.[9][10]

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 Stephenville, Gander and St John's from Toronto.[11]

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.[12]

Fleet

Sunwing Airlines Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 (C-FEAK) of Sunwing Airlines at Bristol Airport, England (2016)

The Sunwing Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2016):[13]

Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
E Total
Boeing 737-800 36 — 189 189
Boeing 737-8 MAX — 4 TBA
Total 36

References

  1. ↑ "Sunwing Airlines". CAPA Centre for Aviation. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  2. ↑ Dixon, Guy (January 25, 2016). "How to Prevent the Sinking Dollar From Grounding Your Vacation". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Sunwing Airlines Reaches Tentative 3-Year Labour Deal With Its 150 Pilots". The Toronto Star. February 8, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  4. ↑ Savedra, Jen (July 17, 2006). "Sunwing "Does it Differently"". TravelHotNews. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Sunwing Airline Soars From Toronto Pearson" (PDF). Toronto Pearson Today. February 2006. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  6. ↑ Chiasson, Uguette; Beauregard, Chantal (November 6, 2006). "Sunwing's Inaugural Flight Out of Montreal to Punta Cana". TravelHotNews. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  7. ↑ "New Carrier, Renovation for Windsor Airport". The Windsor Star. May 28, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  8. ↑ "MAX for Sunwing". Airliner World: 13. February 2015.
  9. ↑ "U.S. Visitors to Cuba Will Accelerate With 12 Categories For Licenses". TravelWeek News. December 18, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  10. ↑ Csanady, Ashley (December 17, 2014). "It's About to Get a Lot More Crowded and Costly on Cuba's Beaches". Canada.com. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Sunwing Ups Domestic Schedule, Offers Daily Toronto-Vancouver Flight". TravelWeek. January 22, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  12. ↑ Smith, Kendea (June 2, 2015). "Sunwing Airlines connects Houston Texas to Freeport Grand Bahama". The Bahamas Weekly. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2016): 9.

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