Le Devoir
G É R A R D  B É R U B É
June 25, 2011

Growth is Music
to the Ears of Sunwing’s Big Boss

The launch of European travel over the summer, an incursion into hotel ownership, a fleet of twenty or so aircrafts next winter, ten of which will be under Quebec administration, and nearly one million passengers… Sunwing is all about growth. Colin Hunter is set for the tour operator’s comprehensive integration and intends to reinforce yield per passenger and as much as double his competitors’ profit margins. As for free time, the founding president and crooner-to-the-core is preparing for his eight album and planning for the Toronto opening of a “House of Jazz” sometime next November.

Last night and again tonight, Colin Hunter is performing at Montreal’s Maison du jazz with legendary jazz pianist Joe Sealy. Shortly before his set, the chairman of the board and founder of Sunwing Travel Group set the record straight on the integrated tour operator’s first venture into Europe’s summer market. On June 16, Sunwing officially launched its first bi-weekly Montreal-Paris route with a Boeing 767. On the eve of this milestone event, the company was inaugurating its London via Toronto route. “We launched our European flights a little late. Next year will be different. It will be a more structured offer. We will also offer flights from Quebec.”

Sunwing intends to focus on Europe’s busy season, which usually extends from mid-June to mid-September. But who’s to say that the integrated operator, second only in the country to post 1 billion dollars in sales, will not place European routes under scheduled airline status. “In the Canada 3000 era, we operated a daily transatlantic flight, stated then company founder. But for now, we are going to focus on developing this market.” Colin Hunter is talking about the Quebec-Montreal-Toronto triangle and, for the European traveller, easier access to sun destinations, which remain well serviced throughout the summer. He then explains that “the European traveller vacationing in Canada often enjoys spending a few days in the Caribbean.”

The European route is a plus to Sunwing’s sun destinations over the winter. “This allows us to keep added travel staff and offer a different, more diversified work environment.” As of the sun segment, Sunwing intends to be very active next winter. The tour operator will be placing some twenty aircrafts at the disposal of nearly one million passengers, with ten of them under the administration of the Quebec division as overseen by Sam Char. The president and founder estimates that the offering in Quebec could be improved by 10% to 20%, “which doesn’t affect our flexibility since we can quickly adjust our capacity to demand and to the state of the market,” insisted Colin Hunter.  

Sunwing’s list of priorities includes an even more in-depth integration to improve and increase yield per passenger. “Yield is usually low in the tourism industry. We need to plan to be more efficient in every aspect of our business.” Sunwing is now the owner of a business that provides services to the Dominican Republic and Mexico. “Travellers don’t necessarily want to stay on hotel grounds once they arrive at destination. Take cruises for example; people enjoy planning outings and visits.” Hotel ownership is also part of the plans with an upcoming hotel in Panama scheduled for December. “We are planning to take possession of at least six hotels by next year.” To which is added access to the RIU network of 33 hotels courtesy of a partnership concluded in January 2010 with the British tour operator TUI PLC.

“Overall, we should see our capacity grow by 20% to 30%. But we’re not talking about increases in our current markets, but the addition of new destinations.” The goal is gain better control of an increasingly integrated offer at every step of the process. “If we look at our industry’s publicly traded companies, profit margin varies between 2% and 4%. We want to double that.” Colin Hunter comes back to Sunwing’s capacity for adaptation, which is characterized by its lower cost structure and its customer oriented approach. And on this aspect, Sam Char, Executive Director of Sunwing Quebec, insists “our battle consists of welcoming our clientele on board and ensuring their satisfaction to gain their loyalty.”

Debt Free
Sunwing’s many advantages are boosted by the lack of debt and the reinvestment of profits to support organic growth. “You need to cultivate a fear of debt if you want to survive in this industry and prevail throughout hard times.” Colin Hunter speaks of a highly competitive industry that likes to grumble about its chronic state of overcapacity and reacts to even the slightest event. “But this market is no more difficult than any other and intense competition is not exclusive to our industry. As for unforeseen events, they can turn into opportunities for those who have the required flexibility.” In a few years from now, Colin Hunter sees only Transat and Sunwing serving Canada and the various sun destinations. As for Air Canada’s intentions of putting together a low cost carrier attached to the travel segment, “I believe that they’re serious. But it’s a huge playing field. And they’ve already tried this with Tango. We’ll see. However, I prefer to focus on our own business.”

Colin Hunter had to get ready for his show at Georges Durst’s Maison du jazz, located on Aylmer Street in Montreal. The crooner and ‘chairman of the board’ has so far produced seven albums performing covers of classics taken primarily from the 1950s. He intends to push his passion even further by partnering with Georges Durst in a Canadian expansion of a House of Jazz, which is scheduled to open its first club in Toronto next November.

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