Canadian ultra-low-cost carrier Swoop announces big US expansion
The hottest place for Canadian ultra-low-cost carriers is apparently south of the border — in the United States.
Swoop on Tuesday announced a major expansion of its U.S. network, going up against rival Flair Airlines in many of the same markets.
Swoop, which is owned by WestJet, will go head-to-head with Flair at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Chicago's O'Hare Airport (ORD), operating service from both airports to Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport (YYZ).
Swoop's service to Chicago will operate five days a week and begin on May 30. Its service to New York will also operate five days a week and begin on June 20.
Swoop is also adding Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Nashville International Airport (BNA) to its U.S. map. Burbank flights will operate to Edmonton (YEG) three days a week starting June 23, with San Francisco flights operating to Edmonton four days a week starting June 6. Nashville flights will operate five days a week to Toronto starting May 26 and twice weekly to Edmonton starting June 19.
Flair currently serves Burbank from Edmonton and Vancouver (YVR), and will launch service to San Francisco and Nashville in April, according to Cirium schedules data. San Francisco will be served from Edmonton, with Vancouver flights launching in May, while Nashville will be served from Toronto and Edmonton.
Swoop is also adding a new route from Las Vegas (LAS), with service to Toronto (YYZ) launching on May 20, operating four times a week. Swoop currently serves Hamilton (YHM) from Las Vegas. That airport is located about 40 miles southwest of Pearson Airport.
Introductory fares for Swoop's new U.S. routes are $78 USD each way.
More: Canada's Flair Airlines adds 2 major US destinations
In addition to Las Vegas, Swoop currently serves San Diego (SAN), Palm Springs (PSP), St. Pete-Clearwater (PIE), Orlando Sanford (SFB) and Phoenix-Mesa (AZA) from airports across Canada. It launched its first U.S. flights in October 2018. Swoop operates a fleet of 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, and just announced it will be adding six Boeing 737 MAX 8s to its fleet this summer.
In addition to Swoop and Flair, the Canadian ULCC market will soon see two new entrants, as pent-up demand during the COVID-19 pandemic creates a leisure travel market in Canada that is ripe for growth. Upstart Lynx Air and Canada Jetlines both plan to commence service this year.
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
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- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
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- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
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- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month