WestJet makes post-pandemic play with Sunwing purchase

Canada’s second largest airline, WestJet, is making a major bet on the resilience of leisure travel in a post-pandemic world through its planned acquisition of the Canadian tour operator Sunwing, solidifying its position in vacation markets as the recovery in air travel continues.

The proposed acquisition of Sunwing is the latest move WestJet has made to diversify its business. During the past decade its moves have ranged from the creation of its regional subsidiary Encore to establishing its own ultra-low cost carrier [ULCC], Swoop.

Those strategies and others by WestJet were undertaken to ensure that the airline remained competitive in the leisure passenger segment while broadening its reach into the corporate space.

It is so far unclear how Canada’s aviation landscape will evolve as new entrants come online and incumbent operators work to capitalise on the recovery in travel from the pandemic. But the country’s airlines continue to forge interesting combinations to bolster competition in the Canadian market, and some of those tie-ups are already being met with opposition.