Canadian airline Swoop launched nonstop service Sunday between San Diego and Edmonton, a boost for the region’s tourism-reliant economy and evidence that international travel is rebounding after plummeting during the pandemic.
Sunday’s mid-morning flight from Edmonton to San Diego marked the first time nonstop service has been available between the two cities. It’s also the first time San Diego International Airport has welcomed a new airline since 2018.
Swoop’s arrival follows British Airways resuming service to San Diego in October, and Japan Airlines reviving its San Diego service in March.
Airport officials said Sunday that the number of international flights to and from San Diego has climbed to within 25 percent of pre-pandemic levels. But they said the number of international passengers is still down about 90 percent because the flights have been significantly less full.
While San Diego’s tourism economy relies on travelers from around the globe, Canada is the region’s No. 1 source for international visitors.
In 2019, San Diego hosted about 350,000 Canadian visitors, which had an estimated $183 million economic impact in the region, according to the San Diego Tourism Authority.
Air Canada has resumed its nonstop service between San Diego and Vancouver, but not its nonstop service between Toronto and San Diego. Westjet provides nonstop service between San Diego and Calgary.
“In San Diego, our priority is to attain new air service routes,” said Kimberly Becker, the local airport authority’s chief executive. “We anticipate this route will be popular for even more Canadians wishing to enjoy our sunny shores and for San Diegans looking for a great winter escape in the beautiful Canadian Rockies.”
Swoop, a 3-year-old low-fare airline that has never flown to a California destination before, is starting its service between San Diego and Edmonton with one flight in each direction on Sundays only.
The airline plans to expand service to Thursdays in December and then add Tuesdays next year, spokeswoman Kelsey Trainor said.
“There’s a lot of optimism,” Trainor said just after the first Swoop flight arrived from Edmonton. “San Diego is obviously a wonderful market for Edmontonians.”
Swoop announced plans in 2019 to launch service between San Diego and Edmonton, but that was delayed by the grounding of some Boeing jets for safety evaluations and then later by the pandemic, Trainor said.
Among the passengers on Sunday’s maiden flight was Carlin Getz, a former San Diegan living in Canadian who is visiting this week to celebrate her mother’s 70th birthday.
She said the nonstop flight makes the trip shorter and more pleasant, adding that she previously either had to connect in Denver or Seattle, or fly to Los Angeles and rent a car. On some of those trips, she traveled with her three children.
“Flying with kids, it’s nice to not have a layover,” she said just outside Gate 50 in Terminal 2. “And it allows me to get here faster and spend more time with family.”
The flight arrived just after 11:15 a.m., and the pink and white Swoop jet taxied to the gate a few minutes later. Some baggage handlers shot video on their phones to commemorate San Diego’s first non-stop flight from Edmonton.
The city is the capital of the Alberta province. With 1.3 million people, it’s Canada’s sixth-largest metropolitan area.
Bert van der Stege, head of commercial and finance for Swoop, said late October is a common time for airlines to make scheduling changes as they shift from summer to winter service.
“We look for destinations where the sun is shining and the temperatures are a little better than what we have in Edmonton,” he said. The average temperature in Edmonton in November is 24 degrees, according to climate-data.org; it is 61 degrees in San Diego.
Airport officials said a hurdle to international travel rebounding is confusion about vaccination requirements and COVID-19 testing rules, which vary by destination. The airport authority has a blog at san.org that aims to summarize those rules and requirements.
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