Sunwing Travel Group

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

Sunwing Travel Group
TypePrivate
IndustryConglomerate
Founded2002 (2002)
FoundersColin Hunter
Headquarters
Toronto, Ontario
,
Canada
Area served
Global
Key people
  • Stephen Hunter CEO, president
  • Andrew Dawson COO
Products
OwnersTUI Group (49%)
Hunter Family
Number of employees
1,710 (2014)[1]
DivisionsSellOffVacations.com
TravelSmart
SubsidiariesSunwing Airlines, Sunwing Vacations, Signature Vacations, Vacation Express, LUXE Destination Weddings, NexusTours
Websitewww.sunwingtravelgroup.com/en

History

Sunwing Travel 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 airport.[7]

In 2009, Sunwing Travel 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 Travel 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
CompanySector
LUXE Destination Weddings Retail
NexusTours Travel
SellOffVacations.com Retail
Signature Vacations Travel
Sunwing Airlines Travel
Sunwing Vacations Travel
TravelSmart Vacation Club Hospitality
Vacation Express Travel
Blue Diamond Resorts Travel

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.[16]

In December 2016 a pilot was removed from the cockpit of a Sunwing flight and charged after it was determined that he was drunk.[17] A police spokesman indicated that it was Sunwing staff that determined the pilot was impaired and implied that his license would be revoked.[18]

References
  1. "Sunwing Travel Group". Profit Guide. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  2. Bonaparte, Anthony (November 25, 2015). "Sunwing's Growth Has Been Nothing Less Than Astonishing". The Suburban. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  3. "TravelSmart VIP Membership Program".
  4. "Company Overview of Sunwing Travel Group Inc". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  5. Infantry, Ashante (October 24, 2010). "Sunwing's Singing CEO". Toronto Star. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  6. Savedra, Jen (July 17, 2006). "Sunwing "Does it Differently"". Express Voyage. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  7. "Sunwing Airlines Soars From Toronto Pearson" (PDF). Toronto Pearson Today. February 2006. p. 7. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  8. Owram, Kristine (September 29, 2009). "Sunwing, Signature Vacations to Merge". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  9. Jang, Brent (September 30, 2009). "Tour Rival Merger Pressures Transat". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  10. Sorensen, Chris (September 30, 2009). "Sunwing, Signature to Become One". The Toronto Star. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  11. Dunn, Brian (March 22, 2012). "At The Gate: A Sunny Proposition". Wings Magazine. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  12. Deveau, Scott (March 2, 2011). "Sunwing Joins Transat in European Market". Financial Post. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  13. Baran, Michelle (December 14, 2011). "Sunwing Acquires Vacation Express". Travel Weekly. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  14. Major, Brian (April 23, 2015). "Sunwing Group to Build $150 Million All-Inclusive Resort in Negril, Jamaica". TravelPulse.
  15. Major, Brian (June 2, 2015). "Antigua Enlists Star Power in Pushing 'Aggressive' Tourism Development". TravelPulse.
  16. Deveau, Scott (November 6, 2012). "Sunwing Survives Foreign Ownership Challenge by Transat". Financial Post. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  17. "'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. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  18. "Drunk pilot arrested in Canadian cockpit before take-off". BBC. January 1, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
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