Alberta carrier WestJet officially acquired Sunwing Airlines and Sunwing Vacations on Monday, more than a year after the deal was announced.
The transaction, originally announced in March 2022, will allow Sunwing “to continue its expansion in Canada and provide jobs for the new combined company,” the airline said in a statement Monday.
WestJet Group’s new tour operating consortium, consisting of WestJet Vacations and Sunwing Vacations, will be headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and will continue to operate an office in Montreal, it said. This is also one of the Ottawa requirements.
Keep in mind that even though WestJet’s acquisition of Sunwing had been announced in March 2022, Transport Canada decided to review the transaction, particularly to assess the economic impact and competition.
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Ottawa finally approved the operation last March, but made certain conditions. Among these we find WestJet’s commitment to expand Sunwing’s service to new cities and to maintain the leisure airline’s headquarters in Toronto and an office in Montreal for a minimum of five years.
“As we noted in our new strategic course for WestJet Group, investing in leisure and leisure aviation across Canada is a key growth driver,” said Alexis von Hoensbroech on Monday, WestJet Group President and CEO.
“I am delighted to welcome Sunwing, Canada’s largest leisure tour operator, with 18 Boeing 737s and 2,000 employees, and to significantly expand our presence in eastern Canada.”