Canadian flight demand peaks during certain times throughout the year, particularly during the winter holidays, March break, and summer vacations. Handling the demand and meeting customer expectations is imperative for airlines. However, on February 17, flight 4819, operated by Delta Air Lines at Pearson International Airport, following a fast descent, flipped upside down and skid along the runway on fire. The international flight left Minneapolis with 76 passengers, 2 flight crew members and 2 cabin crew members at 11:34 am and landed at 2:12 pm. The airport closed for 3 days to clean up the damage. In addition, Sunwing, a subsidiary of West Jet and Onex group, experienced extreme delays starting February 15th regular operations resuming February 28th. Many had their trips disrupted by delayed and cancelled flights, with many being stranded in airports for days. Many passengers found that Sunwing was not clear regarding their communication. In one report, some passengers received contradicting information regarding their flight status. This journalist aims to review the financial and consumer repercussions of these incidents.

Both airlines' stock suffered. On February 17th, 2025, before the crash, Delta opened with a stock price of $64.78. Following the flight 4819 accident, the price fluctuated between a high of $66.13 and a low of $63.82, until falling to a low of $59.62, the lowest it has been since January. Unsure of the market sentiment, investors acted reluctantly for a few days, and the price stabilized for a short period.

Regarding legal fees, Delta is offering $30,000 to each 76 passengers “no strings attached”. If they all accept this offer, the airline would pay 2.3 million in total. However, the flight is an international one. According to an international treaty known as the Montreal Convention in 1999, meant to standardize laws of international travel as it was becoming more and more common, passengers who are injured on international flights can be compensated up to approximately $277.000. Despite this, several passengers are already preparing lawsuits against Delta Airways. In 2024, Delta Air Lines had an extremely profitable year and final quarter. They expected to raise their stock prices during the March quarter by $0.7-$1. Due to the plane and stock crash, they did not achieve their goals.

In 2024, Delta was the 21st best airline out of 100 according to Skytrack and received an award for being the most reliable American airline. This crash came as a shock to many. It is too early to determine if customers will avoid flying with Delta in the future. Depending on how Delta handles the aftermath, the lawsuits and the result of the investigations, the public could conclude that this was an accident and remain dedicated to the airline.

Sunwing, owned and traded under the Onex group, experienced minor stock fluctuations. On Thursday, February 13, 2025, the stock closed at $110.18, held a small peak around $119 and $112 until the 19th. Then it came down to closed on March 6th at $101.2. The market crashed on the following Monday, and they have not recovered and have closed at $99.90 on March 23rd.

Sunwing is not in the top 100 airlines in the ranking by Skytrack. Most understand the Sunwing brand for its low prices. This has long excused their hour-long delays, but many are reconsidering their business as they lost their vacations without a promise of compensation beyond travel vouchers. Testimonies regarding the cancellations refused the travel vouchers and proclaimed to never fly with them again.