Yesterday, Monday, May 13, the new vice-president for Quebec of Sunwing Group, Lyne Chayer, invited the media to the chic Honeyrose hotel in Montreal to announce the launch of the new tour operator which will be entirely under Sunwing: the Vacances group WestJet Quebec.
“We created a new tour operation from scratch,” said Chayer in an exclusive interview with TravelPulse Quebec at the Honeyrose Hotel. “We did everything in a few months, and it was the Sunwing team who took care of everything: from design to vision, the launch, the creation of packages.”
WestJet Vacations Quebec is now a new brand under Sunwing Vacations Quebec, offering new destinations and new hotels and more vacation options to Quebecers.
“WestJet Vacations already exists in the rest of Canada, but in Quebec they were not present,” explains Chayer. “In Quebec, WestJet is more of an airline, but our goal is to introduce WestJet Vacations to Quebec.”
The VP Quebec confirms that the “Sunwing Vacations” entity remains and that that of WestJet is only added to the existing offerings.
“Our head office in Laval will take care of everything, the service will be offered in French, and, for the agents, it’s the same operations, the same team, but just more products!”
WestJet Quebec Vacations will serve: 3 airports in Quebec (Montreal, Quebec and Bagotville), 20 sun destinations and 13 airports in the South. Key new product offerings include Bahia Principe and Barcelo resorts, which were previously not sold by Sunwing, as well as AM Resorts.
“From the beginning, the plan has been to remain the largest Canadian tour operator with two brands. Sunwing dominates in Quebec with 90% of our sales being vacation packages; we want to keep our brand and strengthen that of WestJet Vacations which is quite the opposite with 90% of flight sales alone. We are therefore completely complementary,” explains Chayer.
A first year of transition
To begin the adventure, from May 14, 2024, agents will be able to book vacation packages from WestJet Quebec and Sunwing Vacations on Sirev in the same place and, for customers, a new vacationwestjet.com website will be launched as well as a new mobile application.
“We have simplified everything for the agents for whom it will be exactly the same thing,” reassures Chayer.
WestJet Vacations will operate with Sunwing flights until Sunwing Airlines is fully integrated into WestJet “possibly in the spring of 2025,” explains Chayer. “It’s a very complex integration.”
“It’s a launch year, we went strategically with where their strengths are (WestJet), and where ours are (Sunwing),” concludes the VP Quebec.
Launch bonus commission
To celebrate the launch of WestJet Vacations Quebec, a 2% bonus commission will be offered to agents on the sale of WestJet products for a total commission of 10% from May 14 to July 31 for vacations from November 1, 2024 to April 30, 2025.
New tools offered as of May 14:
- The WestJet Vacations section, the Sunwing Vacations section (cobranded site)
- Revamped agent portal
- New website
- WestJet Quebec mobile application (for customers)
“For the people of Saguenay it’s exciting, we’ve been offering them the same products since 2007 so they’ll finally have new products!
This is a bit what we are trying to do with the WestJet Quebec brand and add more luxury positioning with AM Resorts, which has more mid-4-star and 5-star hotels."
Travel advisors will find up-to-date information on flights for the 2025 winter season, along with destinations and resort partners available to clients online at VacancesWestJetQuebec.com and on the Sunwing Vacations Group Agent Portal, along with Frequently Asked Questions to assist them in the research and booking phases. Travel advisors can also contact the WestJet Vacations Québec Sales Centre at 1-877-665-6045 for specific questions or guidance, with fees waived for Sales Centre support until August 14, 2024, if the inquiry is specific to WestJet Vacations Québec bookings.
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