Anybody fly Sunwing from Toronto to Orlando

[Mumketeer]

We will be leaving on our trip soon and was wondering what experiences people have had on Sunwing. Usually go Westjet so this is a first trip with Sunwing.

 

[Donald - my hero]

No personal experience here but if you read any reports from Pearson this past weekend you will see that there were a LOT of people who will never fly with them again. Sounds like their customer service really fell down on the job when flights were delayed multiple times and then eventually cancelled. The stories i read made it sound like this is not uncommon, fingers crossed that you have a better time!

 

[Frozen2014]

No personal experience here but if you read any reports from Pearson this past weekend you will see that there were a LOT of people who will never fly with them again. Sounds like their customer service really fell down on the job when flights were delayed multiple times and then eventually cancelled. The stories i read made it sound like this is not uncommon, fingers crossed that you have a better time!

Never flown Sunwig to talk from experience, but I can imagine the whole airport was a mess with unknowns of when/if flights were going to get out as we had an ice storm all weekend in Toronto (crazy for April).

 

[starvenger]

I'm not trying to defend Sunwing, but long delays caused by inclement weather can make even the most seasoned traveler (myself included) into a whiner and complainer. You get tired and impatient and just want to get resolution one way or another.

And with that said, I always try and avoid taking charter airlines. Even Transat.

 

[Mumketeer]

I am reading all about the horrors of vacationing during an ice storm. I don't think that will be a problem we are going at the end of the month. At least I am hoping the weather will be better. So I guess, I am looking for some input on regular scenario for Sunwing.

 

[starvenger]

Forewarned is forearmed. Here's Sunwing's "Passenger care commitment" page.

Pertinent details. :
4-6 hour delay - you get a food voucher.
6-11 hour delay - food voucher, plus an overnight stay with meal if applicable. $75 voucher issued if the delay was within the airline's control.
12+ hour delay - food voucher, plus a $150 voucher without the previous restriction. Or you could get a full refund on your flight/vacation package.

Delay while on board plane - you're under the jurisdiction of the air transit authorities, which could mean you're SOL. This happened to us on a MCO-YYZ Rouge flight during the ice storm a few years back. We were stuck on the tarmac in Buffalo for 4 hours before they let us off to stretch our legs.

Flight cancellations - they will get you to your destination at their cost "at the earliest opportunity". (which is something, but scant comfort when you know that hundreds of others are also trying to rebook)

Delays and cancellations suck. I hope that you do not have any issues, and that none of these scenarios need to be exercised.

 

[Mumketeer]

Forewarned is forearmed. Here's Sunwing's "Passenger care commitment" page.

Pertinent details. :
4-6 hour delay - you get a food voucher.
6-11 hour delay - food voucher, plus an overnight stay with meal if applicable. $75 voucher issued if the delay was within the airline's control.
12+ hour delay - food voucher, plus a $150 voucher without the previous restriction. Or you could get a full refund on your flight/vacation package.

Delay while on board plane - you're under the jurisdiction of the air transit authorities, which could mean you're SOL. This happened to us on a MCO-YYZ Rouge flight during the ice storm a few years back. We were stuck on the tarmac in Buffalo for 4 hours before they let us off to stretch our legs.

Flight cancellations - they will get you to your destination at their cost "at the earliest opportunity". (which is something, but scant comfort when you know that hundreds of others are also trying to rebook)

Delays and cancellations suck. I hope that you do not have any issues, and that none of these scenarios need to be exercised.

Thanks Starvenger that is great to know. I hope that info does not come in handy.You know what I mean ha ha. But I guess even delays happen in good weather.

 

[Donald - my hero]

I'm a victim of the short-comings of social media here, sorry! Yes, I'm fully aware of the weather conditions on the weekend -- we live in SW Ontario and were iced-in from midday Friday till lunch on Monday, took a very long time to chisel the car open after that and our sidewalks are still not safe (or even possible) to walk on. What i was trying to point out was that Sunwing *appeared* to treat their passengers much worse than other airlines did during this freak weather event. They did not keep their passengers up-to-date with flight status, didn't return checked bags to those who were scheduled on early flights and didn't even have customer representatives available in the airport or reachable via phone. Again, I am only going with what i read and news reports i watched so no first hand-knowledge, but it didn't sound like they honoured the Passenger care commitment posted above. It looked like they fell down on the job while other airlines dealing with the same issues were able to keep their customers *slightly* more satisfied.

I'm not trying to get into a debate over the fact that weather causes problems and we need to expect that but rather pointing out that Sunwing wasn't able to handle the problems as well as other airlines.

 

[Mumketeer]

I'm a victim of the short-comings of social media here, sorry! Yes, I'm fully aware of the weather conditions on the weekend -- we live in SW Ontario and were iced-in from midday Friday till lunch on Monday, took a very long time to chisel the car open after that and our sidewalks are still not safe (or even possible) to walk on. What i was trying to point out was that Sunwing *appeared* to treat their passengers much worse than other airlines did during this freak weather event. They did not keep their passengers up-to-date with flight status, didn't return checked bags to those who were scheduled on early flights and didn't even have customer representatives available in the airport or reachable via phone. Again, I am only going with what i read and news reports i watched so no first hand-knowledge, but it didn't sound like they honoured the Passenger care commitment posted above. It looked like they fell down on the job while other airlines dealing with the same issues were able to keep their customers *slightly* more satisfied.

I'm not trying to get into a debate over the fact that weather causes problems and we need to expect that but rather pointing out that SW wasn't able to handle the problems as well as other airlines.

Oh I hear you on the weather! My kids exams got cancelled. My sidewalks are all ice still and I live in a part of Toronto that is always the last to be serviced. I don't mind your input. I am hoping to hear from Sunwing flyers who have flown when weather was okay so I can hear about their experiences.

 

[Mumketeer]

Is there anybody out there who had a good Sunwing experience? We are leaving next weekend and it would sure be nice to hear some good reviews.

 

[Donald - my hero]

I bet that your decision to take only carry-on looks pretty good right about now to some of the people who still don't have their bags from last week's ice storm In a story on Global on April 20th , Sunwing stated that it expected that all passengers would have their luggage by Monday April 23rd, more than a week late.

I would imagine you'll be fine and at this point it will be a case of making the trip wonderful even if the flight is less than perfect. Have a blast!

 

[dis_guy]

I honestly don't know much about the charter outfits around today. The last one I flew on was Wardair, a long, long, time ago.

My personal rules about air travel:

1. Never book the last possible (or only) flight of the day for your destination if it can be avoided. Alternatives may be multi-hop trips but at least you'll get there. If you must book that last flight, be sure you have a good amount of time to make the connection or be at the airport plenty early. I can't tell you how many connections I've missed by just a hair.

2. Book with an airline that has code sharing agreements. Air Canada might not be able to get you there, but United, Lufthansa, etc. probably can... unless the airport's closed.

3. Weather and mechanical issues do occur, so relax and go with it. It's an adventure, it's good for you! It's hard to feel this way if you have small kids with you, I know.

I don't mean to pontificate, but why not do what you can to improve your chances of getting there and back easily?

 

[Cottager]

Is there anybody out there who had a good Sunwing experience? We are leaving next weekend and it would sure be nice to hear some good reviews.

They're fine. I've flown from Toronto to Orlando with them a few times last year and into St. Petersburg this January with no issues except for a brief weather delay which they made up for in the air.

I do have 2 issues though:

1. The location of their ticket counter at Pearson Airport is at the complete opposite end of Terminal 3 than the security entry point. You're in for a long walk through a crowded corridor during early morning departures.
2. I wasn't able to use their online check-in when going to the United States. They don't do 24 hour check-in. You can only check-in online 4 hours before your flight which doesn't help if you're already on your way to the airport. I wasn't able to do the online check-in at all since the online form wouldn't let me change the country from the United States to Canada? I ended up using Sunwing's electronic kiosks in the terminal which also check your Passports. When I returned back to Toronto, I was able to check-in online. Since I only had carry-on luggage, I went straight to security. What I didn't realize, is that since my Passport was not reviewed by a kiosk machine or someone at the check-in desk, I should have gone up to the counter at the gate to have it reviewed. They were really thrown off when I went to walk on the plane and handed them my ticket.

 

[Mumketeer]

They're fine. I've flown from Toronto to Orlando with them a few times last year and into St. Petersburg this January with no issues except for a brief weather delay which they made up for in the air.

I do have 2 issues though:

1. The location of their ticket counter at Pearson Airport is at the complete opposite end of Terminal 3 than the security entry point. You're in for a long walk through a crowded corridor during early morning departures.
2. I wasn't able to use their online check-in when going to the United States. They don't do 24 hour check-in. You can only check-in online 4 hours before your flight which doesn't help if you're already on your way to the airport. I wasn't able to do the online check-in at all since the online form wouldn't let me change the country from the United States to Canada? I ended up using Sunwing's electronic kiosks in the terminal which also check your Passports. When I returned back to Toronto, I was able to check-in online. Since I only had carry-on luggage, I went straight to security. What I didn't realize, is that since my Passport was not reviewed by a kiosk machine or someone at the check-in desk, I should have gone up to the counter at the gate to have it reviewed. They were really thrown off when I went to walk on the plane and handed them my ticket.

Thank you so much! It is really great to hear from someone about this. What time was your flight out of TO. Ours is 6:30 am we were planning on getting there at 3:30 am do you think that is okay.

 

[LittleFlounder]

Bad story here- I’ve flown YYZ to MCO with Sunwing 4 times, but that 4th time was my last! Their customer service was awful. My mother and I got to the airport at 3:30am for our 6:30am flight and immediately upon getting to the check-in counter we discovered our flight was delayed until 4pm! We were offered $50 each in airport food vouchers, but nothing else.

A couple hours before our rescheduled time, they told us the flight was further delayed until 7:30pm! We were told that Sunwing’s fleet in the summer is smaller, and there was a medical emergency mid flight and our plane had to land in another city, and there was no other plane to come get us...and there was a flight crew shift change...blah, blah, blah. My mother and I were stranded 16 hours in the Toronto airport because we couldn’t be get back home(we’re not from Toronto and family dropped us off) and only got the food vouchers. Right before we finally boarded our flight a supervisor told us he was shocked we weren’t offered a hotel to stay in for the day!

Rather than arriving at MCO at 9am, we didn’t arrive until 10pm! We missed a whole park day and dining reservations. During the flight, we were all given $100 travel vouchers with so many use restrictions, which we didn’t use because I’ll never fly Sunwing again!

 

[Mumketeer]

Yeeesshh, I hate being stuck at Airport, especially for such an early flight. Thanks for sharing. Can't change our flight so I hope there are some happy stories out there. Maybe, our flight will be on time and service will be good and we will be a happy story. Travelling with my daughter so no matter what it will be time well spent. I would really love to hear some good stories, if there are any.

 

[Mumketeer]

My worst flight to Orlando was Air Canada.

 

[Cottager]

Thank you so much! It is really great to hear from someone about this. What time was your flight out of TO. Ours is 6:30 am we were planning on getting there at 3:30 am do you think that is okay.

The flights were always the 6:30 am flights. I usually arrive around 5:00 am but I wouldn't recommend it to others. The line-up for security is always long. You'll have lot's of time at 3:30 am - 4:00 am for sure. As mentioned by others, I've had worse delays and cancellations with Air Canada to Orlando than any other airline I've used.

 

[Mumketeer]

The flights were always the 6:30 am flights. I usually arrive around 5:00 am but I wouldn't recommend it to others. The line-up for security is always long. You'll have lot's of time at 3:30 am - 4:00 am for sure. As mentioned by others, I've had worse delays and cancellations with Air Canada to Orlando than any other airline I've used.

Thanks, it is good to hear from somebody about Sunwing. Looking forward to our trip. Wish me luck!

 

[TraceyDisney2008]

I have used Sunwing about 8 times in the last 3 years to Mco and never had an issue. We love the 630 am flight.