• Sunwing Adds To Fleet

Posted: **Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:01 am**

Sunwing Airlines is adding a 737-800 to their fleet. Current registration is LN-NOS. An ex Norwegian Air Shuttle bird the airframe has 8 years on it so its fairly new, its been in storage for the last year or so, guess they decided to pick it up at a good price. Canadian registration has yet to be determined.

Seen here out of paint shop in Shannon, Ireland waiting to ferry to Toronto.

Im glad Sunwing is expanding their own fleet with long term leases rather then the usual short term winter leases. Some of the Thomson birds have already gone back to the UK and it wont be long before they pick up the 2 767-300ER's from EuroAtlantic for their summer operations. Wish them luck through the summer months!

A lot of people say Sunwing is bad, i personally have had excellent experiences with them. Ive flown them 4 times (Punta Cana x2, Cancun, and way back in the day to Acapulco) And all four times the service was great and little to no delays at all. They were much better then Skyservice when they were around. Ive also recently flown Canjet and Thomas Cook Canada and I still prefer Sunwing. Haven't tried Westjet and Transat yet, too expensive.

Posted: **Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:21 am**

Sunwing738 wrote: Canadian registration has yet to be determined.

LOL

But ya, go sunwing! woohoo.

Posted: **Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:39 am**

Haven't tried Westjet and Transat yet, too expensive.

Yeah cuz $900 for 7 days at a 4stars all inclusive in Cancun is just too expensive ...

Posted: **Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:55 pm**

Cool more Europeans working in Canada, Awesome

Posted: **Fri Apr 06, 2012 11:38 am**

Actually,

Sunwing is hiring.

Also there will be at least 40 Sunwing FOs upgraded to captain for this winter.
The additional lift these two aircraft will provide will also be needed to carry vacationers using SunWing's USA tour company Vacation Express. It is exciting to see more traffic during the traditionally slower summer months making it possible to provide more year round employment with the need for less European pilots.

It is everyone's hope among our pilot group that there will be more opportunities for more Canadian pilots and the reciprocity will become more equal. Expect more Canadians being hired to assist in Europe in the future as well. This will bring more good jobs to the Canadian pilot group as well as benefit the European pilot group.

It is not perfect, but it is getting better and the future looks very good.

Posted: **Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:52 am**

That's good to know. I'm sure the new pilot union there will be pushing more a more equal reciprocal agreement.

What are the European bases available for Canadians this summer? Any word on whether Sunwing will keep using Euro Atlantic Airways for their 767 flights to Europe after this year? Or perhaps will there be a reciprocal agreement with them as well to even things out?

It's good to see more hiring and upgrades though within the group.

Posted: **Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:35 am**

ea306 wrote:Also there will be at least 40 Sunwing FOs upgraded to captain for this winter.

Are they 40 Canadian F/Os and is it a permanent upgrade or seasonal?

Posted: **Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:53 pm**

Actually, the USA flying could be very temporaly.
Heard, SWG Vacations is in process of purchasing a charter company in the States.

Posted: **Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:18 am**

How does foreign ownership laws work in the states ??

Posted: **Sun Apr 08, 2012 12:47 pm**

To answer a few questions that have been asked...

The overseas deployment bases for this summer will be Dublin, Belfast and Warsaw.

The 40 First Officers who are being upgraded are all Canadian pilots. These upgrades are for the 2012/2013 winter season only as Sunwing currently doesn't have enough year-round flying to justify having these pilots upgraded for the full year. The number of F/Os being is significant as it represents the fact that every single Sunwing First Officer who meets the current upgrade requirements will be upgraded for next winter. The only ones not being upgraded are First Officers who have been with the company less than a year.

In addition to upgrading 40 Canadian First Officers, Sunwing will also be hiring 30-50 Canadian pilots on a temporary contract for the 2012/2013 winter season. While exact details are still being worked out, these 30-50 Canadian pilots will be provided with an initial PPC on the 737 to allow them to fly for Sunwing as First Officers. Sunwing is also in the process of hiring 8 more First Officers on a permanent basis due to the expansion of the year round flying program. At the end of the day, things are looking promising... there will be 30-50 fewer foreign pilots needed next winter with those jobs going to Canadian pilots. There will be 40 fewer Foreign Captains being brought over as every F/O in the company who can be upgraded, is being upgraded for next winter. And the company is hiring 8 more First Officers on a permanent basis. Essentially the company will be doing initial and upgrade training for 98 Canadian pilots over the summer months to help prepare for next winter. This will stretch Sunwing's training resources to the max and although there will continue to be Foreign pilots being brought over next winter, it won't be for a lack of effort on Sunwing's part. The company simply is not capable of training any more people than they already are.

As far as next summer goes, nobody has heard anything specific about what will be happening with our European flying. From what I understand, management needs approximately 8 months to bring online a bigger airplane so I assume a decision will have to be made by October on whether or not Sunwing will be extending their agreements with EuroAtlantic and Corsair. I think a lot will come down to how well the European flying program goes this summer.

In regards to the USA flying, it will be interesting to see what happens. There are no foreign ownership restrictions on tour operators in the United States, which was why Sunwing was able to purchase Vacation Express. There is an ownership restriction on US airlines which prevents foreign investors from owning more than 25% of a US carrier. This summer, Sunwing Airlines will be providing the lift for some of the Vacation Express flying. TUI traditionally has established an airline for each one of its tour groups so perhaps we will see them take a stake in an existing US carrier. Then again, if the use of Sunwing pays off for them this summer, we may just see that relationship continue to grow. The high season for travel in the US is in the summer months which is opposite of the Canadian market so using Sunwing Airlines for lift provides Sunwing/Vacation Express with the same benfits that are gained through the current European deployed operations.

As someone else mentioned earlier... it's not perfect, but it's getting better and the company is trying to explore all of its options to limit the number of foreign pilots it needs to use. This summer will represent a big leap forward in that process....

Posted: **Sun Apr 08, 2012 1:53 pm**

Thanks for the great info. I guess the big question is how the temporary contract pilot scheme will work out for them, but sounds like some progress is being made.

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:16 pm**

Are the new hires and seasonal contract pilots being hired directly by Sunwing Airlines ? What are the terms and conditions for the contract?

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:50 pm**

Seen here out of paint shop in Shannon,UK waiting to ferry to Toronto.

Just to nit-pick, Shannon is actually in the Irish Republic (Eire, Southern Ireland) not the UK...but I'm sure that you knew that..

Posted: **Tue Apr 10, 2012 10:59 am**

Good point

Posted: **Tue Apr 10, 2012 12:11 pm**

I wonder what effect this will have:

New Pilot Rules In Effect In Europe

New rules for foreign pilots and foreign registered aircraft in Europe came into effect on Saturday and, depending on how member states of the European Union are implementing them, could mean that your FAA, Transport Canada or other pilot certificate or ratings are no longer recognized by the European Aviation Safety Agency. EASA Part FCL homogenizes crew licensing requirements in all EU states and essentially means that those who want to fly in the EU have to prove competence and compliance with EU rules, rather than just use the credentials of their home country. Depending on the kind of flying involved, it can be a time-consuming and costly endeavor to earn those flight privileges, particularly for IFR.

Posted: **Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:43 am**

North Shore wrote:
Seen here out of paint shop in Shannon,UK waiting to ferry to Toronto.
Just to nit-pick, Shannon is actually in the Irish Republic (Eire, Southern Ireland) not the UK...but I'm sure that you knew that..

My bad, got it confused with Lasham, UK. It was ferried from Shannon to Lasham, then to Toronto. The new Canadian registration is C-GOFW. It'll be interesting to see how SWG does with their vacation express deal in the summer. I did some reseach on Vacation Express's website and SWG's US Flight schedual looks something like this:

Friday
Sunwing Airlines #4511 Atlanta - Cancun 3:55PM - 5:55PM
Sunwing Airlines #4448 Cincinnati - Punta Cana 3:45PM - 06:55PM

Saturday
Sunwing Airlines #4446 Atlanta - Punta Cana 04:35PM - 07:55PM
Sunwing Airlines #4746 Cincinnati - Montego Bay 04:30PM - 06:55PM
Sunwing Airlines #4519 Nashville - Cancun 02:55PM - 05:55PM

Sunday
Sunwing Airlines #4515 Cincinnati - Cancun 03:50PM - 05:55PM
Sunwing Airlines #4740 Nashville - Montego Bay 03:30PM - 06:40PM

Monday
Sunwing Airlines #4511 Atlanta - Cancun 3:55PM - 5:55PM

All week-end flights, with the exeption of the added Cancun flight on monday, and all late-afternoon departures.

Its shaping up to be a good summer for Sunwing. Also another side note, does anyone know how long Sunwing is wet-leasing that brand-new Travel Service bird (Reg. OK-TVT) for? I was leaving PUJ yesterday after a vacation and saw it departing to Montreal. Wonder how long it'll be with Sunwing before heading off to Warsaw. Must be very clean inside, only 3 months on the airframe!

Posted: **Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:53 am**

Sunwing738 wrote: Its shaping up to be a good summer for Sunwing. Also another side note, does anyone know how long Sunwing is wet-leasing that brand-new Travel Service bird (Reg. OK-TVT) for? I was leaving PUJ yesterday after a vacation and saw it departing to Montreal. Wonder how long it'll be with Sunwing before heading off to Warsaw. Must be very clean inside, only 8 months on the airframe!

Present CTA decision covers it till May 18 2012. Its permit only allows it to fly between PUJ and YYZ, so I highly doubt that it was leaving for YUL.

http://www.otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/44-a-2012

Posted: **Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:37 am**

Gilles Hudicourt wrote: Present CTA decision covers it till May 18 2012. Its permit only allows it to fly between PUJ and YYZ, so I highly doubt that it was leaving for YUL.

http://www.otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/44-a-2012

I coulda swore it was YUL. There were 2 SWG's on the Tarmac when i left and the screen said SWG 423 to YUL - Gate 4 and OK-TVT was at gate 4. But then again it is PUJ and they do tend to screw up gate assignments with their flight screens. We were supposed to depart from gate 6 but our plane was at gate 9, i was fine with that, less of a walk for me

Posted: **Mon Apr 16, 2012 6:56 pm**

To anyone who thought Sunwing was really going to reduce their use of foreign pilots next year, they have a job opening, posted March 29th, for a full time Flight Ops Coordinator to oversee and look after the foreign pilots

http://www.flysunwing.com/flybetter/Car ... asp?id=213

Flight Ops Support Coordinator

Location
Toronto
Description
Responsibilities
• Filing
• Assisting Pilots with initial and recurrent applications for TSA clearance
• Assigning and following up on LMS Training Recurrent
• Assigning LMS Training for Foreign Pilots
• Foreign Crew Documentation - Preparing documentation packages to obtain License Validation and Immigration Documentation requirements
• Monitoring and Updating Crew Qualifications; Medicals, Instrument Ratings – Foreign Crew
• Assisting in the coordination of accommodations for FCM’s on deployment and foreign pilots operating in Canada
• Preparing Administrative Files/Training Files for Foreign Pilots
• Collecting and gathering documentation from Foreign Pilots
• Assisting and coordinating with Foreign Pilot arrivals/departure
• Assisting and coordinating with Summer Deployment- SWG Pilots departure/returns
• Back up support to Flight Operations Training Coordinator
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Requirements
• Familiarity with Airline Flight Operations
• Some familiarity with immigration processes and documentation is an asset, but not required
• Great team player
• Intermediate/Expert computer software knowledge is a definite asset
• Organized and Self Motivated
Apply for this Position
If you are interested in applying please forward your resume and cover letter to hr@sunwing.ca. We would like to thank all that apply however only those who meet the qualifications will be contacted. We welcome diversity in our workplace and encourage applications from all qualified women and men, including persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities, and Aboriginal Canadians.

Posted: **Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:44 pm**

swell...

Posted: **Tue Apr 17, 2012 6:09 am**

Hey Gilles, you do realize your company was the first to bring over foreign pilots without reciprocal agreements through CJ? Sunwing was one of the groups that opposed it to the government. AT opened the door to WestJet Vacations and the foreign temporary workers. If your quickly losing market share and wonder why go look in the mirror. If your upset about the winter program wait until the wide bodies show up. And they are coming.

For the record I think the temporary foreign program is a load of shiit.

Posted: **Tue Apr 17, 2012 6:16 am**

Our government should step in and stop this joke. Get rid of all foreign pilots in this country as long as there are canadian ones available to work. I pray that will happen as this is eliminating hundreds of oppurtunities for our boys and girls. Foreign pilots are not welcome in my jumpseat if they are employed by a canadian airline (part of this ridiculous gov program).

Posted: **Tue Apr 17, 2012 7:26 am**

whipline wrote:Hey Gilles, you do realize your company was the first to bring over foreign pilots without reciprocal agreements through CJ? (Who do you think they got the idea from??? Certainly not AT! CJ is its own company, Group Transat has nothing to do except that it buys seats from CJ, so whatever CJ decides to do in terms of hiring, Group Transat has no say. Also, how long has SG been hiring foreigners for? Group Transat's contract with CJ is, what, 4 y/o?) Sunwing was one of the groups that opposed it to the government.(proof please?) AT opened the door to WestJet Vacations and the foreign temporary workers.(Really? when did WS hire temporary foreign workers? Novelty to me...) If your quickly losing market share and wonder why go look in the mirror. If your upset about the winter program wait until the wide bodies show up. And they are coming.(we know that!!!)

For the record I think the temporary foreign program is a load of shiit.(That, you are right about!)

Posted: **Tue Apr 17, 2012 9:36 am**

whipline wrote:Hey Gilles, you do realize your company was the first to bring over foreign pilots without reciprocal agreements through CJ? Sunwing was one of the groups that opposed it to the government. AT opened the door to WestJet Vacations and the foreign temporary workers. If your quickly losing market share and wonder why go look in the mirror. If your upset about the winter program wait until the wide bodies show up. And they are coming.

For the record I think the temporary foreign program is a load of shiit.

I was about to reply, but someone beat me to it. However:

1) AT never employed temporary foreign pilots
2) Group Transat, meaning the Tour Operator, not Air Transat, has a contractual relationship with CJ. CJ takes zero input from AT on how they operate their aircraft and who flies them.
3) I would be extremely interested in seeing any Sunwing opposition to the use by CJ or any other airline to the use of foreign pilots, and specially in reading the specific arguments they may have used against this practice.
4) I know of no case where WJ hired any Foreign Temporary Pilots. Again, if you know otherwise, please inform us. I know that WJ leased 757s for its Hawaii runs, but those pilots did not need visas or licences in Canada. WJ began wet-leasing 757s after the end of its contracts with AT.
5) SW already wet leased foreign wide bodies last summer. They just intend to use more of them this year.

Posted: **Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:21 am**

I coulda swore it was YUL. There were 2 SWG's on the Tarmac when i left and the screen said SWG 423 to YUL - Gate 4 and OK-TVT was at gate 4. But then again it is PUJ and they do tend to screw up gate assignments with their flight screens. We were supposed to depart from gate 6 but our plane was at gate 9, i was fine with that, less of a walk for me

[/quote]

There is nothing wrong with the flight screens at the PUJ airport, no one at the airport screwed anything up. The gate you are given on your boarding pass, corresponds with the gate in the airport, however that does not correspond at all with the aircraft parking positions. In PUJ we park at positions not gates.

Regards,

60N30W

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