Trips from Toronto to Aruba—and 30 other routes between Canada and various sun destinations—could get more expensive, report finds.
If your dreams for post-pandemic life include a winter getaway from Toronto to Aruba, you might need to increase your budget, according to Canada’s competition watchdog.Wednesday concluding that WestJet’s proposed deal to acquire Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines would likely lead to higher prices, less choice and a reduction in travel by Canadians on certain overlapping routes operated by the two carriers.
The bureau’s report focused on the market for vacation packages between Canada and sun destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean. Itwhere it said competition would take a hit — which could include price increases — if the merger goes through. WestJet and Sunwing together account for about 37 per cent of all non-stop flight capacity between Canada and sun destinations in Florida, Mexico, Central American and the Caribbean in the winter, the bureau found .
“We remain confident that this transaction is good news for Canadians,” she said, adding that the companies expect it will lead to new jobs as well as travel options. WestJet said it has filed an application for the minister to consider that highlights factors including, “the preservation of Sunwing’s brand, the commitment to maintain Sunwing’s Toronto and Montreal offices, new flying that will be created by retaining Sunwing’s aircraft in Canada year-round and the resulting new employment opportunities.”