Swoop Airlines is a Canadian budget airline offering very competitive fares compared with other Canadian carriers such as Air Canada and WestJet. Are these cheap fares too good to be true? Is Swoop Airlines reliable? Our Swoop Airlines Review covers what you need to know about flying Swoop with all the details from our recent flight!
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Swoop Airlines Review: An honest review of our recent Swoop Airlines experience
Swoop Airlines Booking Review
We booked directly on the Swoop Airlines website. Their website functioned well, information was clearly stated, and we booked easily without issue.
We specifically booked with Swoop for their direct Victoria YYJ to Toronto YYZ flight. The fares were extremely cheap and we thought it was a great opportunity to get away for an extended long weekend trip, especially since we wouldn’t have to deal with any layovers on these direct flights. When I say cheap, I mean CHEAP. The total cost round trip was only $85 CAD! Of course, this does not include any extras, which I will cover next.
Swoop Airlines Extra Fees
Swoop Airlines Baggage Fees
When you book an ULCC (ultra low cost carrier), you can’t expect much will be included due to the ultra low fares. Everything comes at an additional cost, and that even includes carry-on luggage!
Many airlines charge for checked baggage, but Swoop charges the same amount for carry-on luggage as they do checked luggage.
Swoop Airlines Personal Item
The only thing that comes free on Swoop Airlines is one personal item. They describe a personal item as a purse, laptop bag, small backpack or tote bag.
What is Swoop Airlines personal item size limit?
Don’t get too excited about the one free personal item by thinking you can get away with bringing your carry-on as your personal item. The dimensions for an acceptable personal item are SMALL.
Your personal item on Swoop can only be a maximum of 16″ x 6″ x 13″.
Make sure you measure your personal item as those dimensions are probably smaller than you think. When we measured Ryan’s small backpack, it was actually larger than those dimensions. If they find that your personal item is too large, they will charge you on the spot for a carry-on.
Swoop Airlines Carry-On Baggage
As mentioned above, Swoop charges extra for carry-on baggage. You are allowed to bring one piece of carry-on luggage only. The price varies depending how far you are flying and when you pay the baggage fee.
What is Swoop Airlines carry-on luggage limit?
The maximum dimensions for carry-on luggage on Swoop is 21″ x 9″ x 15″. Make sure to measure your luggage as these dimensions are slightly smaller than other airlines’ carry-on allowances. If your bag is found to be too large, they will make you check it.
The plus side of bringing carry-on luggage on Swoop is that there is no stated maximum weight limit! You just need to be mindful of the dimensions, but as long as you can easily lift your bag into the overhead bin, you are in the clear as far as weight goes.
How much does Swoop charge for carry-on luggage?
Swoop charges the same amount for carry-on luggage as it does for checked luggage. The cheapest luggage fees are at the time of initial booking, If you pay for carry-on luggage at the time of check in, it will cost you $10 more and if you pay at the airport, it will be $20 more.
Carry-on pricing differs depending on how far you are flying. Swoop has three different categories: Short Distance (less than 1000 km), Medium Distance (1000-3000 km), and Long Distance (over 3000 km).
Swoop charges $36.75 for carry-on luggage on a short distance flight, or $57.75 if you pay at the airport.
Swoop charges $40-$46 for carry-on luggage on a medium distance flight, or $60-69 at the airport.
Swoop charges $50-$56.50 for carry-on luggage on a long distance flight, or $70-$79.10 at the airport.
As you can see, luggage fees will definitely add to your trip expense, so make sure to pay for luggage early to save a little bit.
Swoop Airlines Checked Luggage
Swoop allows up to four pieces of checked luggage, but with increased fees the more you check.
How much does Swoop charge for checked luggage?
The first piece of checked luggage costs the same as a carry-on, again depending on distance flown and when you pay the fee.
Your first piece of checked luggage will cost between $36.75-$79.10.
Your second, third, and fourth pieces of luggage will cost significantly more, to a maximum of $89.25-$135.60 for a fourth bag.
What is the size limit for checked luggage on Swoop?
Swoop allows a maximum of 23kg (50 lbs) per checked bag, with a maximum total combined dimension of 62″ (length + width + height).
How strict is Swoop with Luggage?
What happens if your bag exceeds the maximum dimensions by an inch or two? Or if it weighs one pound over? These were questions I was asking myself as I packed for our flight. I figured if the airline charges so much in extra fees, they might be super strict about limits as well.
When we checked in, they looked at our carry-on baggage but did not weigh it. They also didn’t make us place it into the sizer, neither at check in nor at the gate. However we made sure our bags weren’t overstuffed and were within the dimensions, so when they glanced at it, they wouldn’t have to second-guess if they were too large. I would say as long as your carry-on and personal item is within an inch or two of the maximum dimensions, you don’t need to worry about being a little over.
However with checked luggage, they are strict with the weight. You literally cannot go one pound over. We didn’t check luggage on this flight, but others did and they had to remove items until they were under 50lbs for their checked luggage.
Swoop Airlines Child/Baby Equipment
If you are flying with a child like we were, you are probably wondering what baby equipment Swoop allows you to bring. Well, Swoop allows you to bring some items for free, but charges for other baby equipment that other airlines do not.
Can I bring a diaper bag on Swoop?
Yes, you are allowed to bring one diaper bag for free if you are flying with an infant (under 2 years old). It must contain items for an infant and be stowed under the seat in front of you.
Can I bring a car seat on Swoop?
If you are flying with a lapheld infant, you are allowed to check a car seat for free. If you purchased a paid seat for your child, you are allowed to bring their car seat on board.
Can I bring a stroller on Swoop?
Yes, you can bring a stroller BUT you must pay the child equipment fee. Swoop does not allow you to bring a stroller for free, even when checking it at the gate.
How much does Swoop charge to bring a stroller?
If you pay the baby equipment fee at the time of booking, it will cost you between $22.05-$24.15. The price goes up if you pay for it later, such as during check in, at the airport or at the gate. If you have to pay for it at the gate, they will charge you $40.95-$44.85!
Side note: We have a travel stroller that folds up as small as our carry-on luggage, which we typically bring on board with us rather than gate-checking. We paid the baby equipment fee but asked at check in if we could bring it on board. The agent said since it was the size of a carry-on, that we were welcome to bring it on board if we didn’t want to gate check it. However when we went to board the plane, the flight attendant made us leave it at the gate. They were very strict about how much carry on bags were being brought on board.
Swoop Airlines Seat Selection
Can I choose my seat at check in on Swoop Airlines?
As you can see, hardly anything is free or complimentary on Swoop, and that includes seat selection even at check in!
Many other airlines that charge for seat selection allow you to choose your seat 24 hours in advance during check-in, but not Swoop. You must pay to choose the seat you want if you don’t like the seat you are automatically assigned at check in.
How much does Swoop charge for Seat Selection?
If you want to sit together as a group, sit in an exit row or have more legroom, that’s all going to cost you extra. And in Swoop fashion, the fee will vary depending how far you are flying and when you pay the fee.
You will pay anywhere from $10-$50 extra to choose your seat.
Even once you are on the plane, you will be charged on the spot if you want to move to an open seat. On our full flight, the exit row was open and some passengers asked if they could move there. The flight attendant brought out her credit card machine and let them know the cost, which even differed between window, middle and aisle seats within the exit row.
Swoop Airlines Family Seating
Swoop does try to keep your family seated together if you are traveling with children under the age of 14. My husband and I were flying with our 3-year-old daughter and they seated our daughter with one of us, but separated the other parent by an aisle or a few rows, despite there being an open seat next to us! We thought this was ridiculous that they would separate us needlessly when there was an open seat, and force us to pay the seat selection fee so that the three of us could sit together.
Luckily when we boarded, the other passenger that was seated with our family offered to switch.
If you are adamant about having your family all sit together, I would suggest you pay to choose your seats because you can’t trust Swoop to seat you all together even if you’re all on one itinerary.
Swoop Airlines Review of Check In
Online Check In
Swoop allows you to check in 24 hours before your flight departs. I appreciated that they sent emails within minutes of the online check in opening.
When you check in online, you will be able to see your seat assignment, as well as add any additional luggage you may want to bring, and print or save your boarding passes.
Airport Check In
If you are checking in luggage, you will need to line up at the airport. There were no Swoop self-serve kiosks at the airports we went to, but hopefully that changes.
Despite already checking in online and having our mobile boarding passes, we decided to line up at check in as we weren’t sure if we needed baggage tags for our paid carry-on luggage and baby equipment.
We were indeed given tags for our carry-on bag and stroller to indicate we had paid for them. However, if you don’t line up at check in, you can proceed through security with your mobile boarding passes and get the luggage tags at the gate.
Swoop Airlines Review – Boarding Process
The Swoop boarding process was much like any other airline where we boarded in zones. They did allow families with children under 5 to board early, ahead of general boarding, which was appreciated. The whole boarding process went very smoothly, and was quick and efficient.
Swoop Airlines Review – Cabin
The cabin was nicer than I expected. These are older planes but it wasn’t overly apparent. I enjoyed the bright pink colour scheme.
There were no TVs on the plane, but that’s to be expected on an ULCC. Each seat had plug-in outlets, but they did not work at any point during the flight.
The seats were average and what I would expect from an ULCC. I found the legroom to be adequate, and not as tight as other ULCCs I’ve flown in other countries.
Swoop Airlines Review – Food
Does Swoop Airlines provide snacks?
As an ULCC, it should come as no surprise that Swoop does not offer any free drink or snack service, not even water.
They do have a small menu that you can purchase snacks and drinks from, however. The prices were fairly reasonable so we did purchase some snacks. However if you’d like to save money, make sure you fill up your water bottle before boarding and bring some snacks for the flight.
We purchased the Simply Deli snack box for $7.99 which included crackers, cheese, pepperoni and dried apricots. It was tasty, but quite a small portion.
They only accept credit card for payments on board.
Swoop Airlines Cancellation
I was pleasantly surprised with our first flight with Swoop, but it was our return trip where things suddenly went sour with a series of cancellations and poor service.
Is Swoop Airlines reliable?
We booked a round trip with Swoop. A few weeks after booking, but two months prior to our flight, we were notified by email that our departing flight time had changed to 8 hours later. With the ample notice given, we accepted the changes, despite it causing us to lose pretty much a whole day at our destination.
Leading up to our departure, there were no other changes, and our flight actually left right on schedule and landed on time! We were actually quite surprised.
Now, the return flight home was a different story. We were set to depart YYZ at 1:15pm. I woke up at 7:30am that morning only to find an email that had come in at 1:10am alerting us that our flight had been cancelled. Swoop only gave us 12 hours and 5 minutes notice for this flight cancellation.
Swoop Airlines Rebooking
The email included a link to alternate flights we could be rebooked on, which were WestJet flights departing later that day, or the next available Swoop flight leaving two days later. We needed to be home by the next day, so we went with the WestJet rebooking option.
A few minutes later, we received an email with our WestJet itinerary and booking confirmation numbers. Despite all being on one PNR (Passenger Name Record) with Swoop, they gave us three separate PNRs for WestJet.
I then tried to check in with WestJet online, but only one of the PNRs worked. The other two, for myself and my daughter, gave me error messages and told me to talk to a WestJet agent. We therefore immediately left for the airport and arrived four hours before our flight time to try to get things sorted.
Swoop Airlines Poor Customer Service
After waiting two hours in line to check in, we arrived at the WestJet counter only to have them tell us that Swoop did not properly rebook us and only reserved one seat for our family of three. My husband had a confirmed seat, but myself and daughter did not.
The WestJet agent kindly went to the Swoop desk to try to sort things out for us, which took another TWO HOURS. Unfortunately Swoop said the only option was to be rebooked on their Swoop flight leaving two days later, or paying out of pocket for two new tickets on WestJet, which we would be reimbursed for.
By this time, four hours had passed and the flight we were supposed to be rebooked on was now full and departing, so we had to be rebooked on an even later flight. We were forced to buy new tickets for $2600 out of pocket. Swoop gave us an email address to send our receipts to and said they would reimburse us 100% of the cost.
This new WestJet flight had a connection in Vancouver, which was not ideal since our original Swoop flight was direct to Victoria, but at least we would get home. But when we landed in Vancouver, our connecting flight was cancelled, and we were again rebooked on another flight leaving two days later. But that’s a WestJet review for another day…
Swoop Airlines Refund
Once we arrived home after the long ordeal, I emailed in our WestJet flight receipts to Swoop to request reimbursement. I also requested a refund for the baggage fees we paid that we did not get to use on the cancelled Swoop flight.
After a few days, I still had not heard anything back. I tried to contact Swoop via their website, which brought me to Facebook Messenger. I was told I was in the queue to speak with somebody, but after two days, nobody had responded to my message.
Then I commented publicly on Swoop’s latest Facebook post, and only then did someone respond to me on Facebook Messenger. They informed me that they are unable to expedite my reimbursement request, and that it would take 8-10 weeks for someone to review my email.
For an airline to cancel a flight, incorrectly rebook you, then force you to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to buy new flights and then take months to respond to your reimbursement request is ABSURD. Not everyone has that kind of money to float. If they are cancelling flights, they should make it easy to get reimbursed for the expenses incurred.
If they advise passengers to purchase new tickets out of pocket which they will be reimbursed for, they should inform them first that it will take months to get that reimbursement. It is ridiculous to expect passengers to pay that kind of money and wait that long for reimbursement.
I will continue to update this Swoop Airlines review once we hear back about our refunds and reimbursement.
August 2022 Update: After continuing to follow up with Swoop Airlines via social media, I finally received an email back on August 3rd stating they submitted my receipts for reimbursement and I should expect to receive a payment email within 3-5 business days. As of August 8th, I have not yet received any further emails nor payment.
August 10th, 2022 Update: I finally received an email from Swoop with my reimbursement for the WestJet flights we were forced to purchase. Swoop would not, however, refund the $71 I paid for one carry-on bag and one stroller for the cancelled Swoop flight. They also denied us any compensation under Air Passenger Protection Regulations.
Why is Swoop so cheap?
Swoop Airlines is an ultra-low cost carrier. Their fares are cheap because they only include the cost of your seat. This means anything else you may want on your flight will cost extra. If you want to bring a bag, that will cost extra. If you want to select your seat, that will cost extra. If you want a snack, that will cost extra. If you want a drink of water, that will cost extra.
Who owns Swoop Airlines?
Swoop Airlines is owned by WestJet. WestJet launched Swoop as its ULCC in 2018.
Swoop Airlines Contact Information
When it comes to contacting Swoop Airlines, they definitely don’t make it easy. Their preferred method of communication is over Facebook Messenger, but expect a long wait to get a response.
When our flight was cancelled, I didn’t hear back from them for 2 days before I publicly commented on their Facebook page and only then did they respond on Facebook Messenger.
It has been over a week since our cancelled flight and I still have not received an email or message back.
Swoop Airlines Phone Number
Swoop Airlines Contact Centre’s phone number is 1-587-441-1001.
Swoop Airlines Email Address
The email address Swoop gave us to send our receipts for reimbursement was travellersupport@flyswoop.com
Swoop Airlines Review Verdict
Would I fly Swoop again? Only if the fare was extremely cheap and I didn’t need to be somewhere at a specific time and had extra time to waste.
The flight itself was good, the staff were friendly, but the customer service when something went wrong was non-existent. We were not the only ones who experienced faulty re-bookings after our flight was cancelled. There were many other families at the airport who also were incorrectly booked on new flights where Swoop did not reserve enough seats for their family.
On August 10th, 2022, we finally received our reimbursement from Swoop, but no additional compensation. It took over six weeks to receive the $2600+ we were owed, and many, many hours of emailing, commenting on Facebook and Instagram and trying to call.
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The baggage fees are designed to gouged passengers and tourist
You forgot the surtax on fuel, airport tax and in case you get hotel inclusive, hotel tax. In short if you don’t get fleeced when you buy a ticket, they will do their utmost to make sure the sheep get fleeced before and after you leave, weather permitting.
I would say their service sucks. You cannot connect with them. I paid extra for legroom seats and didn’t get them. Waited 11hrs for flight. Departure gate stated 72 and when we got there it was supposed to be gate 8 At the ages of88 and 77 was very hard to take . Now going again on Jan 4 was hoping to get the legroom seats for that one but no service, would love to get them on this flight, and maybe a free carryon? Not sure I’ll use swoop again
I’m sorry you also had a bad experience! I hope your next flight goes smoothly. I don’t blame you for not wanting to use them again.
Swoop is an airline I would not use. Flew them once but never again. I arrived at Pearson and could not customer desk find to pick up a boarding pass. There was no signs placed to let me know this was swoop and the personnel were very unprofessional. .This Airline is a complete failure and . I would make a complaint but as usual no one answer the phone. On a scale 1 to 10 i rate this airline 1 as poor
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience as well! Yes, they are almost impossible to get a hold of.
I had a flight scheduled from Fort Lauderdale to toronto on February 19. I was even able to buy additional luggages on Feb 8. Later on that same fay (feb 8) swoop sent me an email which ended up in my spam that my flight was cancelled, not providing any reason or offering an alternative … NOTHiNG!
So I realized my flight was cancelled on the 18 as I wanted to check-in online. I tried to call them but you can’t reach any agents other than using their chat.
So I had to find a new flight on my own at the last minute and lost 1 night of hotel. So additional cost incurred was 750$. I am pretty sure it would have been cheaper to go with someone else in the first place.
Once I manage to talk to them over the chat, they explained to me that it is their right to cancel and that they sent me a email to warn me. Also fun fact: they said that my flight was cancelled since Nov 15… but this is even worse !!! If that’s really the case they should have refunded me and not let me buy additional luggage on Feb 8!!!!
Never again I am flying with them !
Wow, that sounds awful! Sorry to hear about your horrible experience.
In 28 of February, I and my wife and my little son went to Toronto Pearson airport to get flight of WO0640 swoop airline to have vacation 4 days to Cancun Mexico. First they told us your flight has 4 hours delay but They changed it to five hours delay, the thing is almost all other flights were on time and only this flight had such a long delay? and finally after six hours delay (in total nine hours staying in the airport and crying my baby, finally we went to airplane to go to Cancun. But the nightmare started when we wanted to turn back to Toronto. Our flight time was for 10:10 PM (4th of march flight # WO0679 ) a few hours before flight time, I received an email from Red Tag company that your flight is cancelled and is changed to 4:45 AM then a few hours after that I received a second email directly from Swoop airline that your flight is cancelled and changed to 2:15 AM. So around 12 o’clock in the midnight we went there, but there was no agent or front desk agent of swoop airline and not even anybody to answer our questions. Finally a airport security who helped us told me your flight has 25 hours delay and you should go and turn back tomorrow night at 11 PM… we got a taxi to find a hotel for us but all the hotels are full, after finding no hotel he was driving and taking us to a very dangerous looking place in the middle of a jungle but I asked the driver turn back to the middle of the city. He dropped off us. with our luggages and are backpacks and three years old baby crying all the time in the middle of the city . We were searching for a hotel with all of our packages up to 7 AM . finally around 7:30 we could find a hotel . From other hand at 10 o’clock in the morning of Toronto I had 27 students because my business is teaching art in only Sunday and Monday . So I lost a big part of my income in that day. The comedy part of this nightmare Was the compensation of Swoop airline, when we wanted to turn back to Canada at 11 PM (5th of march flight # WO0679 ) they gave us a $20 meal coupon only .
*** I and all of my family will never ever, and in any situation will travel with this airline in the future. Worst experience, round-trip.
Oh wow, I’m so sorry to hear this! What an awful experience, especially when traveling with a young child! I feel your pain. Thank you for sharing, and I hope you can get more compensation!