Sunwing Airlines to Increase Fuel Efficiency with Split Scimitar Winglet Order from Aviation Partners Boeing

(Marketwired - Aug 7, 2013) - Editor's Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

Sunwing Airlines has announced plans to retrofit the airline's fleet of Boeing 737-800 this Winter with Split Scimitar Winglets. When applied to the existing "curved tipped" Blended Winglets, the Split Scimitar Winglet upgrade adds strengthened spars, aerodynamic 'curved' tips, and a large ventral fin, which improves performance and decreases fuel burn by approximately 7%. "We feel we have a responsibility as a market leader in Canada to continue investing in technology which reduces our environmental impact", said Stephen Hunter, CEO of the Sunwing Travel Group, adding "This initiative has the added benefit of improving cost efficiency so that we can continue to provide great value for our customer's vacation dollar".

"We are pleased to partner with Sunwing Airlines, on this exciting initiative" said Troy Brekken, Director of Sales and Marketing at Aviation Partners Boeing. "They will be one of our first airline partners in North America to commercially fly the Blended Winglets, which reduce carbon emissions and improve fuel efficiency". Earlier this year, APB launched the Split Scimitar Winglet program for the provisioned wing 737-800 (line number 778 and on) and 737-900ER with an order from United Airlines. FAA supplemental type certification for the Boeing 737-800 is targeted for October 2013 and EASA certification planned for December 2013. Certification flight testing of Split Scimitar Winglets is currently underway.

Aviation Partners Boeing is a Seattle based joint venture of Aviation Partners, Inc. and The Boeing Company. Nearly 5,000 Blended Winglet Systems are now in service with over 200 airlines in more than 100 countries. APB estimates that Blended Winglets have saved airlines worldwide more than 3.8 billion gallons of jet fuel to-date.

For more information visit www.aviationpartnersboeing.com



The Sunwing Travel Group, one of the largest integrated travel businesses in North America, is comprised of Sunwing Vacations, the leading leisure tour operator in Canada, Sunwing Airlines, Canada's premier leisure airline, Signature Vacations, one of Canada's leading tour operators for package vacations, SellOffVacations.com and Luxe Destination Weddings, travel retail businesses, Blue Diamond Hotels & Resorts, an innovative hotel management company, operating resorts under the 'Royalton', 'Memories', and 'Grand Lido' brands, Vacation Express, a growing tour operator in the United States, and Caribbean Nexus Travel, which provides destination management services to individuals, agencies, tour groups, corporate businesses and tour operators.