Sunwing Travel Group

Sunwing Group is a privately-owned travel company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[2] The group operates an airline, three tour operators, a retail chain, a vacation club[3] and destination management company.[4]

Sunwing Group
TypePrivate
IndustryConglomerate
Founded2002 (2002)
FounderColin Hunter
Headquarters
Toronto, Ontario
,
Canada
Area served
Global
Key people
  • Stephen Hunter CEO, president
  • Andrew Dawson COO
Products
OwnersWestJet
Number of employees
17,000 (2023)[1]
DivisionsSellOffVacations.com
TravelSmart
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.sunwingtravelgroup.com/en

History

Sunwing Group was founded in 2002 by Colin Hunter.[4][5] By 2004, Sunwing had become the second largest tour operator in Ontario.[6] On November 17, 2005, Sunwing Airlines' inaugural flight, a Boeing 737-800, departed from Toronto Pearson International Airport.[7]

In 2009, Sunwing Group announced that it was acquiring the tour operator Signature Vacations and its SellOffVacations.com retail division from the UK-based TUI Travel.[8][9] As part of the acquisition TUI gained 49 percent ownership of Sunwing Travel Group and Stephen Hunter replaced his father as CEO of the company.[10] Sunwing Travel Group acquired Caribbean NexusTours, a tour operator in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, in 2010. The company was renamed NexusTours and remains a separate company within Sunwing Travel Group.[11] In 2011, Sunwing Travel Group announced that it would enter the European market with a seasonal service from Canada to Europe.[12] On December 9, 2011, Sunwing Travel Group acquired the Atlanta-based tour operator Vacation Express for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was the group's entrance to the US market.[13]

In 2015, Sunwing Group announced that affiliate, Blue Diamond Resorts, would open a 600-room resort in Jamaica.[14] Later that year, the company began construction on $400 million resort in Antigua with 500 rooms.[15]

Subsidiaries
CompanySectorNotes
LUXE Destination Weddings Retail Founded in 2005.[16]
NexusTours Travel Operating for over two decades and acquired by Sunwing in 2010.[17]
SellOffVacations.com Retail Acquired from Signature Vacations-TUI Travel 2009.
Signature Vacations Travel Founded in 1972 in Toronto[18] and acquired as a division of First Choice Canada (and itself a subsidiary of UK based First Choice) in 2009.
Sunwing Airlines Travel Founded in 2005.
Sunwing Vacations Travel Founded 2002.[19]
TravelSmart Vacation Club Hospitality Established in 2012.[20]
Vacation Express Travel Founded in 1989 in the U.S. and acquired by Sunwing Travel Group in 2011.
Blue Diamond Resorts Travel Founded 2011.[21]

Controversies

In June, 2012, an unnamed individual and Transat A.T. submitted information to the Canadian Transportation Agency that was believed to challenge Sunwing's ability to operate an airline on the grounds of foreign ownership. In November 2012, the CTA announced that Sunwing operated within foreign ownership limits.[22]

In December 2016 a pilot was removed from the cockpit of a Sunwing flight and charged after it was determined that he was drunk.[23] A police spokesman indicated that it was Sunwing staff that determined the pilot was impaired and implied that his license would be revoked.[24]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-06-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Bonaparte, Anthony (November 25, 2015). "Sunwing's Growth Has Been Nothing Less Than Astonishing". The Suburban. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  3. "TravelSmart VIP Membership Program". Archived from the original on 2017-10-29. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  4. "Company Overview of Sunwing Travel Group Inc". Bloomberg Business. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  5. Infantry, Ashante (October 24, 2010). "Sunwing's Singing CEO". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  6. Savedra, Jen (July 17, 2006). "Sunwing "Does it Differently"". Express Voyage. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  7. "Sunwing Airlines Soars From Toronto Pearson" (PDF). Toronto Pearson Today. February 2006. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 28, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  8. Owram, Kristine (September 29, 2009). "Sunwing, Signature Vacations to Merge". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  9. Jang, Brent (September 30, 2009). "Tour Rival Merger Pressures Transat". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  10. Sorensen, Chris (September 30, 2009). "Sunwing, Signature to Become One". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  11. Dunn, Brian (March 22, 2012). "At The Gate: A Sunny Proposition". Wings Magazine. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  12. Deveau, Scott (March 2, 2011). "Sunwing Joins Transat in European Market". Financial Post. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  13. Baran, Michelle (December 14, 2011). "Sunwing Acquires Vacation Express". Travel Weekly. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  14. Major, Brian (April 23, 2015). "Sunwing Group to Build $150 Million All-Inclusive Resort in Negril, Jamaica". TravelPulse. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  15. Major, Brian (June 2, 2015). "Antigua Enlists Star Power in Pushing 'Aggressive' Tourism Development". TravelPulse. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  16. "Luxe Destination Weddings Inc | Better Business Bureau® Profile". Archived from the original on 2023-01-19. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  17. "Sunwing Vacations - Book Your Next Vacation Today". Archived from the original on 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  18. "Signature Vacations Inc". Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  19. "About us". Archived from the original on 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  20. "TravelSmart VIP Vacation Club-Overview, Competitors & Contact Info | Infotelligent". Archived from the original on 2023-01-19. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  21. "About Us | Blue Diamond Resorts". Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  22. Deveau, Scott (November 6, 2012). "Sunwing Survives Foreign Ownership Challenge by Transat". Financial Post. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  23. "'That's why we're sitting? Because we have a drunk pilot?': Passengers speak out after Sunwing pilot removed from flight". Calgary Sun. January 1, 2017. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  24. "Drunk pilot arrested in Canadian cockpit before take-off". BBC News. January 1, 2017. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
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