Canadian leisure carrier Sunwing Airlines is operating its final revenue flights, as the last of its 18 Boeing 737s will be integrated into WestJet Group’s fleet on 29 May.
Flight schedules showed four Sunwing tail numbers operating on 28 May, with routes between Montreal and Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Cancun, and between Toronto and Cuba.
The ultra-low-cost carrier’s latest-arriving flight is scheduled to land in Montreal just before 21:00 local time, according to flight-tracking platform FlightAware.
The rest of the Boeing narrowbody jets formerly operated by Sunwing have been incrementally introduced into WestJet’s network over the past few months.
Calgary-based WestJet said on 28 May that the final integration milestone, which comes two years after closing its Sunwing acquisition, starts a “new chapter of Canadian air travel”.
“Completing two airline consolidations in just two years — the first with Swoop in 2023 and now Sunwing — was complex and required coordination across every aspect of our business, from operational, labour and regulatory areas to experiential and cultural elements,” says WestJet chief Alexis von Hoensbroech.
WestJet’s airline acquisitions have allowed fleet growth despite a high-demand environment driven by supply-chain and aircraft production constraints.
The company has integrated under a single operating certificate 15 Boeing 737s formerly operated by low-cost subsidiary Swoop and nine 737s operated by now-defunct ultra-low-cost carrier Lynx Air, in addition to the 18 former Sunwing aircraft.
WestJet Group expects to complete cabin reconfigurations on all recently acquired 737s this year. Previously, it has warned that aircraft “branding and cabin layout may vary until all can be repainted and refreshed to align with WestJet’s standard product offering”.
WestJet currently operates about 150 737s.
Von Hoensbroech says that the final integration of Sunwing “is a time to reflect”, adding that the carrier played an influential role in the Canaidan leisure market.
Toronto-based Sunwing launched operations in 2005 with an-all Boeing narrowbody fleet, which it deployed mostly to warm-weather vacation destinations in the Caribbean and USA.
WestJet disclosed its intention to acquire Toronto-based Sunwing in March 2022 and completed the purchase the following May. The deal also brought Sunwing Vacations into WestJet’s portfolio.
Full integration of Sunwing’s fleet was initially expected to be completed in October 2024, but WestJet faced a months-long delay related to training the ultra-low-cost carrier’s pilots and changing measurement units in the cockpits of Sunwing’s 737s.
While the airline has taken its last flight, Sunwing Vacations will continue operating as a vacations provider.
