Swoop, a Canadian ultra-low fare airline, announced it will expand its presence in the United States (U.S.) by adding non-stop flights to five new destinations this summer: New York, Chicago, Nashville, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
In addition to serving five new destinations, the fast-growing Canadian airline will also extend its current seasonal services to San Diego, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, St. Pete-Clearwater, Orlando (Sanford) and Phoenix (Mesa) into the summer season. In total Swoop will serve 11 U.S. destinations with ultra-not-expensive flights from its three main Canadian bases in Toronto, Hamilton, and Edmonton.
“As part of our planned growth in 2022, we’re excited to be adding five new popular U.S. destinations to our network,” said Bert van der Stege, head of Commercial & Finance at Swoop. “As Canada’s leading ultra-low-cost carrier, we are growing our fleet, expanding our network, and adding service to existing destinations to ensure we are ready to meet Canadian’s pent-up demand for travel experiences south of the border.”
“It’s always a great day when we add new nonstop international flights to Nashville, and it’s even better when we can welcome a new airline to the BNA family,” said Doug Kreulen, president and CEO. “Swoop’s service to both Toronto and Edmonton make it easier for Canadian friends to make their way down to Music City, and for southern hospitality to make its way up north.”
In addition to the new U.S. destinations announced today, Swoop previously announced it will begin service to 10 new Canadian destinations bringing the airline’s total number of destinations served to 33 this summer.
Demand for transborder travel amid restrictive testing requirements
Swoop’s announced U.S. expansion comes as the ULCC reports significantly increased domestic passenger numbers and record bookings, on par with pre-pandemic demand. The airline expects to see that pent-up demand trend extend to U.S. leisure travel this summer as more than 30.5 million fully vaccinated Canadians look to resume their transborder travel habits.
As countries across the globe take measures to safely re-open borders for vaccinated travelers and make sensible adjustments to overall travel guidance and testing requirements, the ULCC expects to see Canadian requirements updated by March 1, when current government measures are set to expire.
“Outdated travel restrictions that were meant to be temporary, continue to severely impact the recovery of the travel and tourism sectors,” said van der Stege during the Routes Americas Conference in San Antonio where the announcement was made. “Our airline is fully vaccinated, our travelers are fully vaccinated, and yet duplicative testing requirements continue to make travel unnecessarily expensive and inaccessible.”
The ULCC continues to call on government to outline a re-opening timeline and roadmap for travel recovery that is based on science and reflective of the current realities of the COVID-19 pandemic.
