Sunwing Summer 2013 program

[chopsticks]

According to the press release today, Sunwing will only sell Montreal-Paris on Corsair A330's and Toronto-Amsterdam on Arkefly 767's. The rest of the summer program which they have worked towards over the last two years is not included. This means they will not be making use of Euro Atlantic Airways 767's, and should also provide Air Transat some additional breathing room for their own summer program.

Press release is below:

http://www.sunwing.ca/newsstory.asp?id=368



06 Dec 2012 - Visit Europe in Style Next Summer with Sunwing


Sunwing is proud to announce that its 2013 flights to Europe are now available for booking. This coming summer, Sunwing will be offering flights between Toronto and Amsterdam and between Montreal and Paris.

Based on the success of last summer, significant investment has been made to ensure that Sunwing's Corsair flights from Montreal to Paris are the first choice for Canadians travelling to France's capital and beyond.
Returning guests boarding Corsair's wide-bodied A330 – 300 series aircraft won't fail to be impressed by the brand-new design of the aircraft's interior. Boasting a fresh new look, including seat-back video screens and increased legroom for every guest, along with improved lighting and seating, the new Corsair is bound to please. What's more, these features are consistently offered on every one of their flights between Montreal and Paris.
Corsair is the only airline with service between Montreal and Paris's Orly Airport, which offers a superior customer experience, is located closer to and is more accessible from the centre of Paris, and offers more convenient ongoing flight connections across France.
Also, this year the season has been extended with flights operating from May 3rd through to October 23rd. In addition, flight frequency has also been increased with daily service from June 27th through to October 8th, providing the maximum flexibility for leisure or business trips.
For the ultimate in luxury, upgrade to the "Grande Large" class of service offering a minimum of 43 inches of legroom, and two pieces of complimentary checked baggage of up to 23kg each.
Sunwing Airlines flights* between Toronto and Amsterdam will operate twice weekly (Tuesdays and Fridays) from June 25th through to September 3rd, 2013.
Featuring gracious service from fully bilingual (Dutch and English) flight attendants, hot meals and snacks, and a generous 25kg free checked baggage allowance, these flights are once again expected to be in great demand.
Travellers wanting a little extra luxury can select seats in Comfort Class for an additional cost of only $50 per flight sector. The upgrade to these seats is made within the seat selection process and includes complimentary seat assignment, three inches of added legroom, and an additional 10kg of complimentary checked luggage allowance for a total of 35kg.
For the ultimate in style, passengers can choose the Premium Comfort Class, offering a minimum of 36 inches of legroom, an enhanced menu and drinks selections, 45kg of free checked baggage and complimentary seat selection, along with the use of a Personal Entertainment Unit loaded with movies, music and more for the duration of the flight.
"We are very pleased to be able to once again offer our two most popular routes to Europe," commented Andrew Dawson, President of Tour Operations. "Sunwing travellers are going to benefit from a premium product on every flight, coupled with the best service and great value for money."
Flights are already available for booking, with roundtrip prices starting from $188 plus taxes of $510 for Montreal to Paris (Orly), (departing Montreal June 7th and returning June 14th, 2013) and $499 plus taxes of $493 for Toronto to Amsterdam (departing Toronto June 25th and returning July 9th, 2013 and departing August 13th or August 20th and returning September 3rd, 2013). Extra discounts are also currently available for early-bird group bookings.
*Sunwing Airlines' Toronto to Amsterdam flights are operated under a codeshare agreement on Netherlands-based airline ArkeFly, subject to government approval.
For more information, visit http://www.sunwing.ca. To book, visit your travel agent.

Sunwing makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein and cannot be held responsible for changes, errors or omissions. Please note that all pricing listed is subject to change with or without notice.

[excv580mech]

Yeah, smart move, sit back and watch the bloodbath from the sidelines, let the dust settle, preserve your money, and then do something, maybe.

Transat and Air Canada low cost carrier gonna duke it out this summer, both are guaranteed to loose money, Transat will run out of coin before Air Canada does, Transat will be gone the end of the summer.......hope not, but could happen. Air Canada low cost carrier gonna destroy any competion across the atlantic, no matter what the cost. Air Canada at it's predatory best...

Better go to Europe in 2013, cause come 2014, you won't be able to afford it lol. Air Canada is out to eliminate the competition, then raise the prices and make back the money they lost driving the others into bankruptcy.

[anonymity]

Did you just accuse Air Canada of breaking the law, past and future?

The Competition Bureau (the "Bureau") is a law enforcement agency responsible for the administration and application of the Competition Act (the "Act"). It contributes to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.

The Bureau considers predatory pricing to be a firm deliberately setting prices to incur losses for a sufficiently long period of time to eliminate, discipline, or deter entry by a competitor, in the expectation that the firm will subsequently be able to recoup its losses by charging prices above the level that would have prevailed in the absence of the impugned conduct, with the effect that competition would be substantially lessened or prevented.

[Realitychex]

Anyone relying on the Competition Bureau to sort things out in a timely fashion, (ie when you are still in business), is naive.

The only way to win a "fare war" is to win the cost war.

[flyincanuck]

The bright side is you'll get Canadian pilots on Transat, AC, and AC low cost.

Heck, I'm willing to bet my last dollar that every single one of those home-grown drivers won't forget to check-in with Gander on the return trip home.

[oh yeah baby]

Yeah, smart move, sit back and watch the bloodbath from the sidelines, let the dust settle, preserve your money, and then do something, maybe.

Transat and Air Canada low cost carrier gonna duke it out this summer, both are guaranteed to loose money, Transat will run out of coin before Air Canada does, Transat will be gone the end of the summer.......hope not, but could happen. Air Canada low cost carrier gonna destroy any competion across the atlantic, no matter what the cost. Air Canada at it's predatory best...

Better go to Europe in 2013, cause come 2014, you won't be able to afford it lol. Air Canada is out to eliminate the competition, then raise the prices and make back the money they lost driving the others into bankruptcy.

I hope you have check Transat balance sheet before making a fool of yourself and pretend they will be gone by the end of 2013. There is still 5.20$ of net money per shares after substracting the goodwill and intangible assets.. AC has a balance of -18$ per shares but they do not care its true... The LCC probably wont fly to europe this summer with the new asian route they just annonce last week and if sunwing reduce the summer flying next year Transat will make some money in 2013...

With a lost of about 0.30$ last year per share and maybe a lost of 0.50$ this year it will take several year for Transat to go under if the situation dosent change. Remember that they have no long term debt...0, zero, nada

[OPEC6-Heavy]

Well i think Transat has enough cash and assets to survive 2013, no question. The problem is Air Canada LCC came at the worst time in their back to profit program, and the Trans Atlantic margins are going to get worse not better with the extra capacity and lower fares. LCC will do Europe in 2013, for sure. You'll see Nice, Dublin, Manchester and the other usual destinations that Transat fly's. AC also said they will start flying to Istanbul next summer (Transat just started this route in 2012). AC already started Athens with 1 of their 2 higher density charter B767 under AC main line. Point being that the writing is on the wall, AC is targeting Transat's gravy routes. As far as Asia expansion goes I think it's more geared to expansion from YYZ (which requires 777's) and yes some from western Canada. It's really tough for Transat because their fighting a battle on 2 fronts Down South and Europe, at this point they need to preserve cash and finish the restructuring internally. No doubt they will post a profit in the next and final quarter for the year on Dec 20th (700 lay-offs and Hadjj revenues for Q4), the question is how much. Up-to Q3 they are down -46 million for the year 2012 and this burns cash and asset's fast (Handle-ex sold for $9 million). I hope they can turn things around for 2013 and stick to the plan of fleet reduction and cost controls. Transat has a great product and can easily give Air Canada a run for their money on the Atlantic routes. I guess time will tell...

[CSk3RampBOY]

Yeah, smart move, sit back and watch the bloodbath from the sidelines, let the dust settle, preserve your money, and then do something, maybe.

Transat and Air Canada low cost carrier gonna duke it out this summer, both are guaranteed to loose money, Transat will run out of coin before Air Canada does, Transat will be gone the end of the summer.......hope not, but could happen. Air Canada low cost carrier gonna destroy any competion across the atlantic, no matter what the cost. Air Canada at it's predatory best...

Better go to Europe in 2013, cause come 2014, you won't be able to afford it lol. Air Canada is out to eliminate the competition, then raise the prices and make back the money they lost driving the others into bankruptcy.

Your forecast seems highly unlikely. Since when did AC or TS ever loose money on the transatlantic network during the summer? If anything Q3 has always been the industries strong point from a revenue perspective. In terms of the upcoming LCC, only 2 767s will be online next summer supposedly (or perhaps not alll). How much competition can AC rouge possibly create with 2 aircraft going over the pond?? AC and TS have been going at it for a while now on vacation routes such as FCO, BCN, ATH, CDG, etc... Both are still here today! At least for now...

With regard to Sunwings gameplan for the Euro market. I think it has more to do with their economic slow down and stagnation of demand. We're even seeing AC shifting their focus towards the Asian markets. Why would you expand that part of the business under these market conditions??

[URC]

3 months Ending July 31, Air Transat (2012) vs Canada 3000 (2001)

Shareholders Equity ... $361,800 vs $128,164
Cash and Cash Equivalents ... $292,743 vs $82,328
Operating Expenses ... $886,982 vs $366,167
Ratio of Operating Expenses to Cash ... 3.0 vs 4.4