Order No. 2008-A-272
July 31, 2008
IN THE MATTER OF an application for an exemption from section 59 of the Canada Transportation Act, S.C., 1996, c. 10, as amended, to permit Sunwing Airlines Inc. to sell, cause to be sold or publicly offer for sale in Canada a scheduled international service, large aircraft, between Canada and Mexico in the absence of a licence.
File No. M4210/S527-4-6
Sunwing Airlines Inc. has applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency (the Agency) for the exemption set out in the title. The application was complete on July 17, 2008.
Section 59 of the Canada Transportation Act (the CTA) prohibits Sunwing Airlines Inc. from selling, causing to be sold or publicly offering for sale in Canada an air service without holding a licence in respect of that service. Sunwing Airlines Inc. has applied for a scheduled international licence to operate a service between Canada and Mexico. However, as the application is not yet complete, an exemption from the application of section 59 of the CTA is necessary to allow Sunwing Airlines Inc. to sell, cause to be sold or publicly offer for sale in Canada the proposed air service prior to obtaining the applied for licence.
Sunwing Airlines Inc. was designated to operate the London - Cancun route by the Minister of Transport by letter dated June 20, 2007.
In addition, on July 3, 2008, the Minister of Transport designated Sunwing Airlines Inc. to provide a scheduled international air service on the following additional city-pairs:
- Vancouver-Cancun
- Vancouver-Mazatlan
- Vancouver-Puerto Vallarta
- Calgary - Cancun
- Winnipeg-Cancun
- Winnipeg-Puerto Vallarta
- Toronto-Cancun
- Toronto-Cozumel
- Toronto-San Jose del Cabo
- Montréal-Cancun
- Montréal-Puerto Vallarta
- Québec-Cancun
- St. John's-Cancun
The Agency has carefully reviewed and considered the application and is of the opinion that for the proposed service to be viable, Sunwing Airlines Inc. must be able to offer for sale seats at the earliest possible date. Therefore, the Agency finds that compliance by Sunwing Airlines Inc. with section 59 of the CTA is impractical in the present circumstances.
Accordingly, the Agency, pursuant to paragraph 80(1)(c) of the CTA, exempts Sunwing Airlines Inc. from the application of section 59 of the CTA, thereby permitting it to sell, cause to be sold or publicly offer for sale in Canada a scheduled international service, large aircraft, between Canada and Mexico effective from this date, without holding the required licence, subject to the following conditions:
- The exemption authorized herein does not relieve Sunwing Airlines Inc. from the requirement to hold a licence in respect of the service to be provided and, accordingly, no flights shall be operated until the appropriate licence authority has been granted.
- Should the scheduled international licence not issue, Sunwing Airlines Inc. shall arrange to provide alternative air transportation by an appropriately licensed air carrier, at no additional cost for all passengers who have made reservations with Sunwing Airlines Inc.. If such arrangements are not possible or acceptable to the passengers, Sunwing Airlines Inc. shall provide a full refund of all monies paid by them.
- All passengers shall be notified, before reservation, that the scheduled international service is subject to government approval. All future advertising in any media, whether in writing or by telecommunication, shall also include this information.
- Sunwing Airlines Inc. shall apply its published tariffs on file with the Agency and in effect, for the sale of transportation.
Sunwing Airlines Inc. is not exempted from the requirements of other legislative acts or regulations, including those of Transport Canada.
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