Sunwing Airlines bargained in good faith with pilots to reach fair agreement

TORONTO, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunwing Airlines Inc. has reviewed a copy of Unifor Local 7378's recent complaint to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board.

The union's claim that Sunwing was sold to WestJet shortly after a renewal collective agreement was signed with its pilots in early 2021 is not true.

Sunwing and the union reached a tentative agreement in bargaining on January 23, 2021 which was fair and reasonable. The renewal collective agreement was ratified by an overwhelming percentage of the union members voting on February 12, 2021. More than one year later, on March 2, 2022, WestJet announced an agreement under which the WestJet Group of Companies would acquire Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines. The proposed transaction remains conditional upon regulatory approval.

The complaint is without merit, out of time and will be vigorously defended.

Sunwing Airlines values all of its employees, who are integral to helping make our customers' vacation dreams come true. Our pilots are vital to our operations. Sunwing Airlines will continue to promote positive labour relations in good faith as more of our customers return to travel and we continue to rebound from the pandemic.

About Sunwing
The largest integrated travel company in North America, Sunwing has more flights to the south than any other leisure carrier with convenient direct service from airports across Canada to popular sun destinations across the U.S.A., Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. This scale enables Sunwing to offer customers exclusive deals at top-rated resorts in the most popular vacation destinations as well as cruise packages and seasonal domestic flight service. Sunwing customers benefit from the assistance of the company's own knowledgeable destination representatives, who greet them upon arrival and support them throughout their vacation journey. The company supports the communities where it operates through the Sunwing Foundation, a charitable initiative focused on the support and development of youth and humanitarian aid.

For more information:
Melanie Anne Filipp
Director, Corporate Communications & Media Relations
Sunwing Travel Group
1-800-387-5602 | media@sunwing.ca