Sunwing Airlines

airline	Sunwing Airlines
fleet size	9
destinations	54‡R1R‡
iata	WG
icao	SWG‡R2R‡
callsign	SUNWING‡R2R‡
parent	Sunwing Travel Group (2005–2023) WestJet (2023–2025)
founded	November 17, 2005
commenced	November 17, 2005
ceased	May 28, 2025
aoc	Canada: 15022,‡R3R‡ United States: U6WF143F‡R4R‡
headquarters	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
key people	Len Corrado (president)
bases	Calgary Montréal–Trudeau Ottawa Toronto–Pearson Vancouver
website	www.sunwing.ca
num employees	1,500 (2015)

Sunwing Airlines Inc, d/b/a Sunwing, was a Canadian low-cost airline headquartered in Toronto, Ontario with its main bases at Montréal–Trudeau International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport. Originally owned by Sunwing Travel Group, from 2023 onwards it was a subsidiary of WestJet,[5] with which it merged on May 28, 2025.[6]

History

Foundation and early years

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.

Destinations

Sunwing offered 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. The most popular destinations included Varadero, Punta Cana, Cancún, and Montego Bay. Its former 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 operated several domestic routes, including a daily Toronto to Vancouver flight, as well as maintaining year-round service to its most popular destinations. Other connections included 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]

During the summer months, the company offered domestic services across Canada.[27][28] 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.[29]

Sunwing flew to the following destinations at the time of its merger with WestJet:[30]

Accidents and incidents

On July 25, 2014, a Sunwing Boeing 737-800, flight 772 from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Scarlett Martínez International Airport, was forced to return to Toronto after a passenger made a bomb threat. The plane was escorted by a United States Air Force plane and it landed safely. The passenger was arrested and was said to be mentally ill after being examined by medical personnel.[34] The same flight was delayed again after a passenger fainted.[35]

On January 5, 2018, a Sunwing Boeing 737-800 (registration C-FPRP), which was being taxied with no passengers, struck WestJet Flight 2425, a Boeing 737-800 (registration C-FDMB) flight from Cancún International Airport to Toronto Pearson International Airport, while parked and on approach to the gate. Fire crews put out a small fire on the Sunwing aircraft.[36]

In December 2016, a pilot was removed from the cockpit of a Sunwing flight and charged after it was determined that he was drunk.[37] A police spokesman indicated that it was Sunwing staff that determined the pilot was impaired and implied that his license would be revoked.[38]

On December 30, 2021, a Sunwing Boeing 737-800 (registration C-FYJD)[39] was operating Sunwing Flight 2283, a charter flight from Montréal–Trudeau International Airport to Cancún International Airport. On board the flight a group of influencers started to become unruly on board the flight and began to consume their own alcohol, use electronic cigarettes, with other passengers alleging that drugs were being consumed on the aircraft[40] as well as non-compliance of orders from Transport Canada surrounding mask-wearing due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. In the aftermath of this event, Sunwing canceled the charter flight back to Montreal with other Canadian airlines, Air Transat [41] and flag carrier Air Canada [40] stating that passengers who were on Flight 2283 would be denied boarding. Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau said that Flight 2283 was, "a slap in the face to see people putting themselves, putting their fellow citizens, putting airline workers at risk by being completely irresponsible". Federal Minister of Transport

Sunwing Airlines

History

Foundation and early years

Development since 2010

Destinations

Fleet

Current fleet

Former fleet

Accidents and incidents

Trivia

External links

References