Sunwing Vacations flights are operated by WestJet: where to claim
29 May 2025 is the date from which WestJet operates Sunwing Vacations flights, and the Canadian Transportation Agency now tells passengers to complain to WestJet, “rather than the tour operator (Sunwing)”. If your booking says Sunwing Vacations and you flew on or after that date, your flight is a WestJet flight for compensation purposes, and WestJet’s own card carries the full APPR rules, amounts and claim process. This page exists to send you there with the right facts, not to repeat them.
WestJet operates 
Sunwing Vacations flights, and the 
Canadian Transportation Agency now tells passengers to complain to 
Key facts: Sunwing
Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
Legal entity (as named by CTA) | Sunwing Airlines; not an EASA third-country operator; not on the CAA UK Type A list |
Operator since 29 May 2025 | WestJet operates Sunwing Vacations flights; complaints go to WestJet |
APPR carrier size | Large either way: CTA's size page still lists Sunwing Airlines large; WestJet is also large |
APPR delay/cancellation compensation | C$400 / C$700 / C$1,000 at 3 / 6 / 9 hours, large-carrier scale, if the disruption was within the carrier's control, not required for safety and notified 14 days or less ahead |
Claim deadline | Before the first anniversary of the disruption |
Where to complain | WestJet directly, then the Canadian Transportation Agency |
CAA 
UK Type A listSource: Canadian Transportation Agency, contacting the airline (modified 2025-12-12) — protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca; CTA large/small guidance (modified 2026-01-14) — protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-22.
#Who operates Sunwing Vacations flights now?
29 May 2025 is the date from which WestJet operates Sunwing Vacations flights. The CTA states it directly: “Please note that effective May 29, 2025, Sunwing Vacations flights are operated by WestJet Airlines,” and complaints should go to WestJet, “rather than the tour operator (Sunwing)”.
Source: Canadian Transportation Agency, contacting the airline (modified 2025-12-12) — protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca; sunwing.ca, WestJet Airlines page, checked 2026-09-22.
Sunwing.ca confirms the same change from the booking side: “For Sunwing Vacations package customers travelling on or after May 29, 2025, flights will be on board WestJet.” A WestJet news release of 18 Aug 2026 refers to “all aircraft that were formerly operated by Swoop or Sunwing airlines”. Whether Sunwing Airlines still holds its own operating licence today is not confirmed by any source read for this page, and this page does not say either way.
Check your booking confirmation for the operating-carrier line before you file anything; it names the airline you are actually claiming against.
#Which APPR carrier size applies to your Sunwing flight?
C$400, C$700 or C$1,000: the large-carrier APPR scale applies to a Sunwing Vacations flight either way the size question is read. The CTA’s own size-guidance page, dated 14 Jan 2026, still lists Sunwing Airlines as large; WestJet, the carrier actually operating these flights since 29 May 2025, is large too.
Source: CTA large/small guidance (modified 2026-01-14) — protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-22.
Two CTA pages point in different directions, and this page states that plainly rather than picking a side: the contact page (modified 12 Dec 2025) says WestJet operates Sunwing Vacations flights, while the size page, modified later on 14 Jan 2026, still lists Sunwing Airlines as large. Both entities are large. The compensation figures do not move whichever reading you take. C$400 applies to a delay of 3 to under 6 hours, C$700 from 6 to under 9, and C$1,000 from 9 hours or more, all on the large-carrier scale.
A delay of 7 hours pays C$700 either way, because both readings agree on the large-carrier label before the clock is even checked. These figures apply only where the disruption was within the operating airline’s control, was not required for safety, and you were informed 14 days or less before departure; WestJet’s own card covers the category rules that decide that question. Nothing in the CTA’s two pages points toward the small-carrier scale, so work from the large-carrier figures.
#Where do you send an APPR claim for a Sunwing Vacations flight?
WestJet, not Sunwing, is where an APPR claim on a Sunwing Vacations flight now goes, matching the operator change from 29 May 2025. File in writing before the first anniversary of the disruption, or the claim can be refused on timing alone.
Source: APPR s.19(3) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca; Canadian Transportation Agency, contacting the airline (modified 2025-12-12) — protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-22.
Use WestJet’s own APPR claim process, which sets out the claim form, the 30-day response deadline and the escalation route to the Canadian Transportation Agency if WestJet refuses. A Sunwing Vacations flight operated by Sunwing Airlines before 29 May 2025 reached its first anniversary by 29 May 2026 at the latest, so an APPR claim for it is now past the filing deadline. Attach your booking confirmation, the flight number and the date, and name WestJet as the operating carrier throughout.
Not your situation? The Canada APPR hub covers every other Canadian carrier, and the large-versus-small carrier rules explain how the CTA draws the size line generally.
Canada APPR hubGeneral information, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact the CTA or a lawyer.
#Sources
- Canadian Transportation Agency, contacting the airline (modified 2025-12-12) - protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-22.
- Canadian Transportation Agency, “Large and small airlines” (modified 2026-01-14) - protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-22.
- Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150) - laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-22.
- Sunwing.ca, WestJet Airlines - sunwing.ca, checked 2026-09-22.
- WestJet, news release (18 Aug 2026) - westjet.com, checked 2026-09-22.