Toronto just got 3 new cheap direct flights to Mexico and the Caribbean

If you're looking for some fun in the sun and escape from a cold, dreary Toronto winter, it just got a whole lot cheaper to plan a trip to some of the hottest tropical destinations thanks to a trio of new routes from ultra-low fare airline Swoop.

The budget offshoot of WestJet — known for its vibrant pink livery — has launched new direct flights from Toronto Pearson International Airport to sunny destinations this month.

And for less than $200, you could be on a plane to Los Cabos, Mexico, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, or Kingston, Jamaica.

The three new routes launched over the last week, with the first flight departing Pearson Airport for Los Cabos on Dec. 4, Punta Cana on Dec. 5, and most recently, Kingston on Dec 8.

And these trips are alarmingly cheap if you book within a specific window and plan to travel between Jan 5 and April 30, 2022, with some blackout dates. Flights to Los Cabos and Kingston are only $180, while flights to Punta Cana cost just $199.

"The launch of these three new routes demonstrates that Swoop's accessible and affordable fares have caught on in Toronto and highlights the demand we are seeing for ultra-low fare travel across Canada," said Bert van der Stege, Head of Commercial and Finance, Swoop.

But cheap doesn't always translate to reliable, and Swoop has developed a bit of a reputation among passengers for previous strings of flight delays and outright cancellations that have left travelers in the lurch.

Despite its early troubles, Swoop has constantly expanded its list of destinations throughout its relatively brief existence, now serving 28 different airports in five countries.

The Canadian budget airline landscape looks a whole lot different than it did when Swoop launched in 2017, the brand now competing with other low-cost domestic and international carriers such as Flair Airlines, and more recently, the launch of Lynx Air.

The model is already well established across the pond, with European carriers like RyanAir and EasyJet challenging the dominance of rail travel.