The Government of Canada approved WestJet’s acquisition of Sunwing Airlines and Sunwing Vacations on Friday.
“The decision to approve this acquisition was not taken lightly, especially considering the delays and bottlenecks experienced by travellers last summer, as well as the customer service and communications challenges by Sunwing during the recent holiday season,” a press release from Transport Canada reads.
The acquisition comes with some serious terms and conditions meant to protect passengers’ rights, such as:
- Extending Sunwing vacation package offerings to five new Canadian cities;
- Maintaining capacity on routes most affected by the merger;
- Increasing regional connectivity;
- Improving baggage handling for better passenger experience;
- Maintaining a vacations business head office in the Toronto area and a regional office in the Montreal area for a minimum of five years;
- Increasing net employment by 20% over three years in the Toronto office;
- Ensuring better passenger experience by investing in IT technology solutions to improve Sunwing’s communications;
- Supplying airfare data on vacation packages for monitoring of post-acquisition price trends; and
- Gradually ending Sunwing’s seasonal leasing practice to protect Canadian jobs.
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“Today’s decision was not taken lightly, especially in light of everything that happened over the holidays for those who flew with Sunwing,” said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
“After considering the pros and cons, we have made the decision that will allow Sunwing to continue to provide affordable vacation packages to Canadians, create more good jobs, and protect current jobs as well as Canadians who have already purchased tickets. The agreement will also be accompanied by strict terms and conditions to ensure the public interest, including with regard to competition, connectivity and baggage handling.”
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