WestJet to shutter Sunwing in latest blow to low-fare flights out of Hamilton

A low-fare carrier that's long offered tropic-bound flights out of Hamilton looks set to close.

The Canadian Press reported Saturday that WestJet plans to absorb Sunwing Airlines within the next two years as part of a broader strategy to streamline business operations.

WestJet will eventually move to a one jet aircraft operating certificate (AOC) model and Sunwing Airlines will be integrated into WestJet," Sunwing Airlines president Len Corrado said in an internal company memo last Wednesday, according to CP.

This is a long-term move that will unlock greater scale and growth opportunities for our people, and specifically for our airline employees within the group. While exact timelines are still being finalized, the integration is expected to take a couple years."

The move could spell the end of the subsidiary carrier's decade-long run in Hamilton.

Sunwing has operated out of John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport since 2013, offering locals cheap, sun-soaked getaways every winter. Until this past April, it was flying weekly direct trips to tropical destinations in Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

The federal government approved WestJet's acquisition of Sunwing's main airline and vacation divisions in March - despite a warning from the Competition Bureau that the purchase would likely result in higher prices and decreased services.

It's unclear if WestJet will remain committed to selling similar travel rates as Sunwing. Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment.

The winding down of Sunwing marks the latest blow to the future of low-cost flight out of Hamilton.

WestJet announced June 9 it would absorb Swoop under its flagship banner and shutter the carrier's operations by late October.

That came after pilots with West Jet and Swoop ratified a new collective agreement that brings them onto a level pay scale, giving them a 24 per cent pay bump over four years.

A WestJet spokesperson told The Spec all Swoop flights scheduled to depart from and arrive in Hamilton until Oct. 28 will go on as planned. After that, the company will broaden" its ultra-low-cost flight options with affordable premium tickets on each trip, the spokesperson said.

It's unclear how those prices will compare to Swoop's current offerings.

Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com