WestJet to Acquire Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines
- Joe Breitfeller
- Mar 2, 2022
- 2 min read
WestJet and Sunwing have reached a definitive agreement under which the WestJet Group will acquire Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines. Upon transaction closing, the Group will form a new tour operating unit to include Sunwing Vacations and WestJet Vacations.
On Wednesday (March 2, 2022), WestJet Group announced that they have reached a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines. Once the transaction closes, the Group will form a new tour operating business unit encompassing both Sunwing Vacations and WestJet Vacations, which will be run by Sunwing CEO Stephen Hunter. Sunwing’s shareholders will become equity holders in WestJet Group. The new tour operator unit will be headquartered in Toronto, with a Quebec head office in Laval, and the business will continue to market the Sunwing brand alongside WestJet Vacations. WestJet will maintain their head office in Calgary. The transaction is expected to close in late 2022, subject to regulatory approvals.
In Wednesday’s announcement, WestJet’s CEO, Alexis von Hoensbroech, said,
"This is an exciting moment for WestJet, Sunwing and Canada's travel industry. We are bringing together two highly complementary businesses with powerhouse brands to strengthen our successful leisure business and deliver greater value to our guests. This combination brings together Canada's two original low-cost carriers and positions us to accelerate growth in value-oriented travel, already the fastest growing segment of the airline market. It creates new opportunities for our people, our operational partners and supports the recovery from a global pandemic that has been particularly challenging for the Canadian travel and tourism industry including local airports and businesses we work closely with.”
Also commenting on the business combination, Sunwing’s CEO, Stephen Hunter, said,
“We have a very promising future as part of The WestJet Group, which is one of the only airlines in the world that has not issued debt or equity during the pandemic, or accepted sector-specific government aid. The combination of their strong balance sheet and growth trajectory with Sunwing's unparalleled expertise in creating differentiated vacation packages will ensure the success of the new vacation division. My team and I are excited for the future, and we look forward to offering even more vacation destinations to Canadians at affordable prices.”
Celebrating 25 years of service, WestJet has cut airfares for Canadians in half and increased the flying population around Canada by over 50 percent. The airline launched in 1996 with three aircraft, 250 employees and five destinations, and has now grown to more than 180 aircraft and 14,000 employees, offering service to 100 destinations in 23 countries (pre-pandemic). Even during these unprecedented times, the carrier has maintained their rating by Cirium as one of the top ten airlines for on-time performance in North America.
Source(s): WestJet, Sunwing
