Nova Scotia family’s Disney World trip postponed after Sunwing quietly reduces service globalnews.ca

A Nova Scotia family is troubled after sun wing Orlando, Fla., with little explanation. canceled its March break flight to

Kevin Hindley said he and his wife decided to take their daughter, son-in-law and their two children to Disney World in late October and booked their flights and accommodations through Sunwing.

The trip was announced as a Christmas gift for the grandchildren, aged five and seven. They received Disney-themed backpacks and personalized invitations from Disney characters.

“[My granddaughter]jumps off the couch and starts dancing – ‘We’re going to Disney! We’re going to Disney!'” Hindley said.

But now this journey will not happen.

The first “hiccup” came in November, Hindley said, after Sunwing canceled its flight scheduled for March 10 that was initially scheduled to land in Melbourne, Fla., about an hour from Orlando.

They learned that the flight had actually been moved to Orlando, and Sunwing wanted them to rebook at a more expensive price point.

With the help of their travel agent, Hindley said they were able to successfully move their flight, and thought all was well.

Fast forward to January 9, and Hindley’s travel agent received an email from Sunwing stating that the airline’s planned flight schedule between Halifax and Orlando between February 10 and May 5 had been cancelled.

The email said it was due to “unforeseen business or operational constraints” and gave no other reason.

Hindley said it was unfair that the airline canceled the route without any explanation after months of selling tickets.

“If it’s weather related, or something like that, that’s different. But it’s not,” he said.

“You’ve been calling off service for several months, but why? If you don’t have the staff, you don’t have the planes, or operationally, you can’t make the commitment, well, say so.”

Hindley said her flights were refunded, but she already spent $3,600 on park tickets — which are non-refundable and non-transferable, according to the Disney World resort website — on travel insurance for the family. In addition to the $1,200.

“So, there’s $4,800 that Sunwing won’t cover,” he said.

Hindley is trying to figure out other ways to bring the six people to Florida during March break, “and right now, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be possible.”

“The kids were at the top, but now, here we are,” he said. “The kids don’t know yet … We’re dreading the thought (of) having to tell them.”

Sunwing flight cancellations abound

In December, Sunwing announced that it was Cancellation of all flights from Regina and Saskatoon until February 3,

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The airline has made no official announcement about flights from Maritimes and has not responded to repeated requests for an interview.

In a statement, Halifax International Airport Authority spokeswoman Leah Batstone said the airport was aware that Sunwing had cut its winter schedule, affecting services to Orlando, Cayo Largo del Sur and Varadero.

“We understand the airline is communicating these changes to affected passengers,” she said.

“We look forward to continuing Sunwing’s other services from Halifax Stanfield, including flights to various destinations in the Caribbean, Jamaica and Mexico.”

“Some customers are receiving notice of changes to their Sunwing flights out of New Brunswick,” Fredericton International Airport said in a statement on its Facebook page.

It said Sunwing has canceled flights from Fredericton to Cayo Coco “due to operational constraints”, although flights to Cancun, Punta Canada and Cayo Santa Maria are operating as scheduled.

In an interview, Hindley’s travel agent, Amber Hughes, said that these cancellations came as a shock, as flights from Halifax are already “very limited” during that time of year.

“Sunwing is more prevalent, they usually start in early January and run until early May. So in the Maritimes – like Saskatchewan was – we have mostly Sunwing to sell, not many other options,” he Told.

Hughes said people may not know that travel agents don’t get paid until the client actually travels — so if the trip is canceled, all the time it takes to book flights and hotels, Requesting and handling invoices and payments can be pointless.

“I can spend hours, or sometimes weeks, with clients, picking out the perfect place they want to live, and then I get nothing,” she said.

While clients get reimbursed for their flights, Hughes said travel agents’ commissions are not protected.

“Not only do you lose your vacation, we’ve lost hours and hours of work,” she said.

Hughes said she has been unable to find more information about why Sunwing is canceling her flights.

She said she was able to find some availability for flights and accommodation through other carriers, but it would be more than double what she would pay with Sunwing.

Wendy Paradis, president of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies, said the association is hearing from its members about the Sunwing cancellations.

“At this time, Sunwing has not made a formal announcement about which events are moving forward this winter and which events are being canceled. It looks like they are happening one city at a time,” she said .

Paradis said the association was “incredibly disappointed” on behalf of both travelers whose trips are being canceled after weeks and months of planning, and travel agents who will not be reimbursed for their time and effort.

He said the association is advocating for operators to compensate travel agents for the time they put into their bookings, and has taken up its concerns with the federal government.

Meanwhile, the Hindleys are hoping they’ll somehow find a way to get their grandson to Disney World.

He added that if all else fails, the family is considering taking their vacation money and using it to take them to a Canadian wonderland over the summer.

“We’ll come up with something, but it’s not the same,” he said.

holiday chaos

Sunwing, as well as other airlines and Transport Canada, have come under scrutiny in recent weeks after passengers faced chaos during the holidays.

Although severe storms across the country were a major factor, the committee is looking at how the air and rail industries can better prepare for worsening winter conditions and improve their customer relationship services, and whether the government can provide those passengers Those who are doing proper protection face hindrance in their plans.

Hundreds of Canadians were stranded in Mexico and other sunny locations over the holidays when Sunwing canceled flights due to stormy weather.

Travelers reported that they wandered between hotels, sometimes only to find that no rooms had been booked for them. The stranded Canadians said Sunwing officials also provided inaccurate and incomplete information about when they could go home.

Sunwing Airlines President Len Corrado previously apologized in a statement and expressed his sorrow once again earlier this week During a meeting of the House of Commons Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Committee,

“When even a single customer leaves disappointed with their experience with our airline, I consider it a failure,” he said.

“We want to assure committee members and Canadians that we remain committed to providing the quality of service experience we have enjoyed over the past 20 years.”

Frans Pejot, president and CEO of the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), said enforcement agents are currently investigating whether Sunwing’s actions during the holidays violated air passenger safety regulations.

– With files from Global News’ Sean Boynton and Aaron D’Andrea