CLEARWATER, Fla. — Canada's highest-profile ultra-low-cost airline is adding three new United States destinations, including one in the Tampa Bay area.
Beginning Nov. 5 from Toronto and Nov. 9 from Hamilton, Swoop will offer direct flights to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport.
The WestJet-owned carrier is also adding nonstop service this winter to San Diego and Orlando Sanford.
“Swoop is celebrating three years of bringing ultra-low fares to Canadians and we are thrilled to continue expanding on our success with the introduction of San Diego, Orlando Sanford and St. Pete-Clearwater to our network,” said Bert van der Stege, head of commercial and finance at Swoop, in a statement. “We are pleased to be providing our travellers looking to explore the U.S. this winter with even more choice and affordable options.”
The announcement comes as Swoop gears up to celebrate its third anniversary on June 20. It has already flown 3 million passengers during its relatively short time in business. The airline says it's seeing increased demand for Canadians to fly south as vaccinations become more widely-available and regions continue reopening.
“We are excited to welcome Canada based Swoop to our family of airlines," St. Pete-Clearwater International (PIE) Airport Director Tom Jewsbury wrote in a statement. “Canadians will have a convenient, non-stop option to fly to our award-winning destination from Toronto and Hamilton, Canada, and many will want to visit as the borders reopen! Being one of only a few of Swoop’s U.S. destinations, we are confident that sunny St. Pete-Clearwater area will be a popular one. We want to thank our partners at Visit St. Pete/Clearwater and Volaire Aviation for helping us make this possible.”
Swoop operates nine Boeing 737-800 NG planes that have in-seat power and WiFi.
In terms of frequency of the upcoming nonstop trips, flights between Hamilton and St. Pete-Clearwater will run twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Direct flights from Toronto will operate three times a week on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays.
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