(Reuters) – Canadian airline WestJet Group is owned by Onex Corp. The company plans on buying Sunwing Airlines leisure rival Sunwing Airlines at an undisclosed price as it seeks to profit from a boom in air travel.

As part of the transaction, WestJet also announced it would purchase Sunwing Vacations travel booking site. This deal is expected to close by late 2022 subject to regulatory approval.

Canada’s tourism industry including Air Canada was hard hit by the pandemic. Prior restrictions such as mandatory quarantine periods, which were designed to reduce demand, have been in place.

Expect traffic to rise as travel restrictions ease and travelers have the option of either using a rapid or molecular antigen test to satisfy pre-entry requirements.

Chris Murray, ATB Financial’s analyst, said that the deal was unlikely to create any new capacity. WestJet sees the deal as an opportunity for WestJet, which is looking to increase its market exposure in leisure markets. It’s one of those first areas to recover.

In the aftermath of the announcement, the union representing Sunwing flight attendants stated that it will fight for the 800 jobs it has created.

“The pandemic has been very tough on our sector, and on our airline in particular,” said Rena Kisfalvi, President of Local 4055 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). We’ll keep an eye on the proposal and will continue to focus on protecting our members’ livelihoods and jobs as this process progresses.”