Low-cost Canadian airline inaugurates Cancún flight

January 16, 2019

Swoop's inaugural flight to Cancún is baptized on arrival.

Swoop, a subsidiary of the Canadian carrier WestJet, has inaugurated a new route between Hamilton, Ontario, and Cancún, with fares as low as CAD $139.

A Boeing 737-800 with capacity for 189 will make the four-hour non-stop flight every week on Monday, Saturday and Sunday,

Launch of the new route follows two others in recent weeks: Swoop began service from Hamilton and Abbotsford, B.C., to Puerto Vallarta last week and will kick off flights from Abbotsford to Mazatlán on January 20.

The ultra low cost airline began operating last June within Canada, but has since rapidly expanded to include service to international destinations such as Las Vegas, Tampa Bay, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Montego Bay, Puerto Vallarta and now Cancún.

The Canadian tourism market is the second most important for Mexico after the United States, according to tourism officials.

Darío Flota Ocampo, manager of the Quintana Roo tourism promotion council, noted that last year alone saw more than a million Canadian visitors to Cancún.

Passengers aboard the inaugural flight — refugees from Canada’s winter temperatures — were greeted by a mariachi band, gift bags and refreshments and a baptism by firefighters spraying arcs of water over the aircraft.