Sunwing?

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

has anyone flown with sun wing? what was your experience like?
was there tv screens on the seats like west jet?
reliable ?

any other feedback??

 

[hihohiho]

We flew with them before Christmas. The most annoying thing was our direct flight was switched on us to stop in toronto first, although we didn't have to get off the plane, it added two hours to the trip. There were only tvs in the ceiling every 5 rows or so, they weren't that great to watch, and no choice for the movie they played, on the way back it was a horrible movie. They did provide a hot sandwich which wasn't bad, and gave the kids a little funbag which was a nice touch, and since they only had one left they gave us some cookies. It was a bit stressful to fly with them because when you think about it, their options in the face of bad weather, mechanical problems are very limited, whereas Air Canada and Westjet have so many more planes and flights. But I would say its worth it to fly with them from Canada if you get a really good price, versus the logistics of driving to the US in the winter to get cheap flights (from Ottawa anyway). The flights themselves were a hour late leaving due to weather and de-icing on the way there, and on the way back they were late maybe 45 min for no apparent reason at all, and they made no mention of it, the flight crew just sort of strolled in late in seemed.

 

[Buzz & Woody]

hello stranger...posted you further down in the forum....

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

DOLLFACE! YOU ARE GOING TO DISNEY AND DIDN"T TELL ME!!! GASP and WHY aren't you going when WE ARE GOING!!! (WHOOHOOOO) seriously!?

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

We flew with them before Christmas. The most annoying thing was our direct flight was switched on us to stop in toronto first, although we didn't have to get off the plane, it added two hours to the trip. There were only tvs in the ceiling every 5 rows or so, they weren't that great to watch, and no choice for the movie they played, on the way back it was a horrible movie. They did provide a hot sandwich which wasn't bad, and gave the kids a little funbag which was a nice touch, and since they only had one left they gave us some cookies. It was a bit stressful to fly with them because when you think about it, their options in the face of bad weather, mechanical problems are very limited, whereas Air Canada and Westjet have so many more planes and flights. But I would say its worth it to fly with them from Canada if you get a really good price, versus the logistics of driving to the US in the winter to get cheap flights (from Ottawa anyway). The flights themselves were a hour late leaving due to weather and de-icing on the way there, and on the way back they were late maybe 45 min for no apparent reason at all, and they made no mention of it, the flight crew just sort of strolled in late in seemed.

Thank you for all the great info!
Yes, I worry about delays and storms and what not....that is a fear for me for flying with them. (if i were going in may, i wouldn't worry!)

The flights are really really cheap with them tho....really cheap. I could bring a portable dvd player for the kids......
i was also wondering if they did non stop direct, or just direct (via toronto). so that is a bummer (esp. with Magical Express coordinates)

It will be just me and my two little ones, i really do not want to have to factor in driving 4 hours from here...again, bad weather = problem for driving too. plus being tired etc. So my options are AC, WJ, or sunwing.... sigh. I guess I will hold off as long as i can...and if a good deal comes up with AC or WJ in the meantime (i don't think sunwing books more than 4 months in advance, at least according to their current schedule) I may just grab it. It will be more, but maybe I will get that back thru peace of mind.

(last trip we booked Canjet. 2 months later they suspended service. we were lucky to immediately get our money back, and were able to get in on a flight with West Jet, for literally a few dollars more. all 6 of us!)

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Just be very careful and read the fine print. I bought cancellation insurance, and later added two days to the trip. I missed the spot that said if you change anything, you no longer have the insurance. I needed to cancel, and they refused to give me a penny back. I thought I was sure on the dates, but then got a teaching position and could no longer take a trip in December.

 

[happycamper83]

I flew with them to Ft Lauderdale last year. Flight on the way there was delayed over 3 hours due to weather.. not much they can do about that I suppose.

The flight itself was ok. I had higher expectations than normal but the "full service" part really isn't all that special. "Hot meals" consisted of warmed up cheese croissants. It was nice though. The entertainment system had issues ... we had french in one ear and english in the other so you had to listen with only one earphone. Despite the issue being reported, they did nothing about it and passed it off as not important. I didn't let it bug me.. the movie wasn't that great anyways.

On the way back to TO, the flight was on time and pleasant enough. Once we landed, we waited over 3 hours for our bags. They blamed the fact that the airport was "busy"; however, other airlines' flights that landed after us got their bags before us... I'm not buying the excuse. When I finally did get my luggage, it was soaking wet and all banged up.

We wrote to express our concerns in a very polite way and received a $50 travel voucher that had to be used within 1 year. I will not be using it because it was cheaper for us to fly with another airline despite the credit.

I'm sure my experiences are not the "norm"... but I just wasn't impressed with their customer service throughout the whole ordeal. I will choose west jet or air canada over them any day.

But if the price is right.. I'm willing to overlook a lot!!!

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

oh, yes I know ....delays to weather will affect all carriers...but there is more chance of getting on another flight faster with ac or wj than with sunwing, since they only do 1 flight a day. kwim?

its true....i can overlook a lot if the price is right! time will tell i guess. in the meantime, i have emailed them asking when they put out their flight info. if there is a pattern, ie every 4 months, or? so we will see what they say about that.

 

[Rita007]

We flew Sunwing Toronto to Orlando last October. Very early flight. Staff were pleasant. Tv screens were very high up and my kids couldn't see from their seats. Good price though...only $306pp. No problems with luggage etc. in either direction. We are flying AC in March and I'm curious to see the difference. 10am flight too, instead of 6:30am.

 

[haircrazee]

Hi we flew Sunwing twice to Cuba...no tv's in seat, but pretty roomy compared to some charter flights, nice glass of champagne, nice little breakfast (either pancakes with strawberries on top, or eggs and sausage toast and OJ/tea/coffee), we had absolutely no problem with Sunwing either time...they were nice enough to get ahold of all resorts to let us know early enough that there was a delay due to weather so we got a few more hrs at resort instead of at the airport!

 

[helles]

I would never fly Sunwing again. I had made reservations months out with them for a family trip (9) to DW this May. Last November they phoned me and asked for my Granddaughter who is 6. Told them she didn't live here and they said "could you please tell her, her flight to Orlando has been cancelled. I just about died. The women who phoned me said the flight had been cancelled and when I asked why she said well maybe it isn't full enough. When I told her it was now the beginning of Nov. and we weren't flying until May how could they possibly know. To make a long story short she basically told me too bad it is cancelled and we could fly out on the Sunday or cancel with them. Our reservations were for the Friday.

I had booked early with them as their prices were so good when you are paying for 9 fares. This was a special trip as we are celebrating our 40th anniversary with our kids and grandkids.

I was almost crying when I phoned my daughter to tell her as I was sure I would pay so much more on AC. Well, to my amazement, AC had a sale on I got the days I wanted and saved over $300 on what I was going to pay on Sunwing. My husband is an elite member with AC so was also able to book our seats.

My other story is my daughter is going on a Disney cruise the end of Feb. and had booked with Sunwing to fly down and then fly back through St. Petersburg since her inlaws are down there for the winter and wanted to have a short visit with them. It was to be a direct flight from St.Petes to Toronto.

Sunwing phoned her the other day and said the flight is no longer direct and they will have to go through Ft. Meyers adding over two hours to their flight.The reason they choose this flight was because it was direct. She asked if they could them change the flight to Wed. It isn't direct either but since they couldn't get the direct thought they would stay down a bit longer and visit their IL. The answer was only if they paid $800 extra as they flight is much more expensive now. She thought since they had inconvenienced them maybe they would change the flight but no. They have small children and are not looking forward to the extra hours on the plane.

After this long winded blurb, my answer would be do not trust what Sunwing says. They seem to be able to change their flights on a whim and do not care how they are affecting their clients.

Sun

 

[misslissa]

We booked Sunwing for this trip and thought we had gotten an awesome deal! We usually fly out of Buffalo with Southwest.

However, after we were all booked, we got a call advising us that our flight home had been cancelled and we could get a refund or come back another day. Our dates were not flexible so we cancelled and booked with another airline instead. This is hugely inconvenient so we won't be booking them again... I want to book something that I know is a sure deal.

 

[tricia]

I would never fly Sunwing again. I had made reservations months out with them for a family trip (9) to DW this May. Last November they phoned me and asked for my Granddaughter who is 6. Told them she didn't live here and they said "could you please tell her, her flight to Orlando has been cancelled. I just about died. The women who phoned me said the flight had been cancelled and when I asked why she said well maybe it isn't full enough. When I told her it was now the beginning of Nov. and we weren't flying until May how could they possibly know. To make a long story short she basically told me too bad it is cancelled and we could fly out on the Sunday or cancel with them. Our reservations were for the Friday.

I had booked early with them as their prices were so good when you are paying for 9 fares. This was a special trip as we are celebrating our 40th anniversary with our kids and grandkids.

I was almost crying when I phoned my daughter to tell her as I was sure I would pay so much more on AC. Well, to my amazement, AC had a sale on I got the days I wanted and saved over $300 on what I was going to pay on Sunwing. My husband is an elite member with AC so was also able to book our seats.

My other story is my daughter is going on a Disney cruise the end of Feb. and had booked with Sunwing to fly down and then fly back through St. Petersburg since her inlaws are down there for the winter and wanted to have a short visit with them. It was to be a direct flight from St.Petes to Toronto.

Sunwing phoned her the other day and said the flight is no longer direct and they will have to go through Ft. Meyers adding over two hours to their flight.The reason they choose this flight was because it was direct. She asked if they could them change the flight to Wed. It isn't direct either but since they couldn't get the direct thought they would stay down a bit longer and visit their IL. The answer was only if they paid $800 extra as they flight is much more expensive now. She thought since they had inconvenienced them maybe they would change the flight but no. They have small children and are not looking forward to the extra hours on the plane.

After this long winded blurb, my answer would be do not trust what Sunwing says. They seem to be able to change their flights on a whim and do not care how they are affecting their clients.

Sun

I agree that those are not nice experiences to have, but it could happen with any airline. In fact, last year we were booked on AC from Toronto to Rome for our cruise and they did the same thing to us. We were booked on the direct flight as we were travelling with 4 children, (paid more for the direct flight of course.) They changed it to have a stop in another country in the middle of the night. Totally unacceptable for us, but they said 'oh well', and we were not able to get back the difference in price between the 2 different flights even though we had print outs of both prices on the day we had booked.

 

[haircrazee]

This whole cancelling bit has been going on with alot of airlines.
Sunquest(skyservice) cancelled a trip of a friend of mine heading to Cuba, she booked early as well, October for March. I think most airlines are cancelling flights due to the low prices in the fall and economy scare.
Once I get the name of airline I will post it, of another friend who's flight was canecelled that booked early.

 

[haircrazee]

Ok it was Nolitours that cancelled their flight that they booked in fall for Feb, offered them a flight out 2 days later...not sure which airline they deal with or are they an airline?
Anyhow, it's happening all over, not just sunwing.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We flew Sunwing on January 10th and 16th this year.

Staff was very friendly. Hot snack was a breakfasty item on the way down, and a warm sandwich on the way home. Drinks, pretzels, and chocolates provided as well.

We left Pearson on time on the Saturday (Jan 10th) and arrived early in Orlando. Coming home, we left late by about an hour but otherwise it was smooth sailing all the way.

I can't remember what movie was played on the way there, but Wall-E was shown on the way home. DH watched it but DS opted out. None of us had problems seeing the screens, but then we're not little kids either.

Now, this was my first flight, so I have NOTHING else to compare it to....but good heavens, I felt cramped. I was in the middle between Dh (who is 6' 4" tall and 270 pounds) and DS (who is 5' 9" and 155 pounds). I'm not a big person myself, but I felt like a sardine between the two boys. DH seemed to have a hard time finding a place to put his long legs (hence the reason he got the isle seat). Maybe its not better on other airlines, but let's just say I wouldn't want to be travelling to Australia on one of those aircraft!

Other than the space issue, we had no complaints. Even the short delay at the Orlando airport was no biggie.....heck, we were in no hurry to get home anyway.