THUNDER BAY — Cancelled or postponed flights to and from Caribbean destinations during the Christmas holidays have left Thunder Bay residents fuming over how Sunwing Airlines has handled the situation.
"It's tough. I'm frustrated. I'm upset," said Jon Kreiner, who was still waiting Tuesday in the Cancun airport to get back to Thunder Bay.
But Kristen Oliver, a member of Thunder Bay city council, said poor communications from the airline created what she describes as 'a gong show' in Cancun, where she, her husband and their two children were among other city residents who were left feeling deeply frustrated by how they were treated.
Oliver and her family were supposed to return to Thunder Bay on Monday on a direct Sunwing flight after a week-long vacation.
She said they and most other travellers were aware that weather back home had caused issues but assumed these would be resolved and that timely arrangements would be made for new flights to get them home.
"But as time went on, some of them were at the resort for another five or six days, and they had no information about when a recovery flight would be available to take them back to Canada. It was unclear if they would continue to stay at the resort, or if it would be covered," Oliver said in an interview Wednesday.
In their case, her family checked in online from their hotel room on Sunday and reserved seats for the scheduled flight to Thunder Bay the following day.
"That night, we got a notification that the flight was going to be delayed. So I went downstairs and asked if we could keep our room until 6 p.m., and they said 'no problem,' but they charged me of course. But as the day went on, it became unclear if we were even going to get out."
She said the Sunwing representative promised an update by 4:30 p.m., but that didn't happen, and at 5 p.m. the airline's staff booked off for the day without telling them what do do.
Back at the hotel, the family was told their room was not available for another night.
"We ended up connecting with our travel agent back in Thunder Bay who found a room for us in another hotel. A couple of hours later, at 10:30 at night, we received a notification that Sunwing was moving us to a different resort. We were like 'Well, we already found a different hotel because we didn't know what you were doing with us.' Then we got word that we had a flight to go out at 10:30 Tuesday morning, but when I woke up [Tuesday] a bunch of people from Thunder Bay were texting that the flight had been cancelled."
Since they had an email from Sunwing confirming the flight, Oliver and the rest of the family took a transfer to the airport where they met a half dozen other local residents who had gone there only to find the flight had been scrubbed.
This time, a Sunwing representative at the airport said she expected to know "by midnight" if they could be booked into new accommodations.
"I was so frustrated. It was 11:30 in the morning, and I'm not sitting here for another 12 hours to see if I might have a hotel room somewhere. This is crazy," Oliver stated.
Deciding that at this point they might be better off trying to find other options on their own, the family booked a Delta flight from Cancun to Minneapolis, and on to Duluth where they arrived at 1 a.m. Wednesday.
A friend who had driven down from Thunder Bay met them there with their own pickup truck, and they were back home at 5 a.m.
Some people were saying " 'Oh, it must be so nice to be stranded in Cancun.' It's not [when] you have no idea what's happening ... It was just bananas," Oliver said.
"I get that there were the weather systems, and that they were having issues with resources and getting crews in place. I get that there are lots of challenges in the aviation industry. But they need to come up with a better process here...It was like, every day, trying to find a representative who was not giving you any confirmation."
Oliver's family at least got to enjoy a week in Mexico, whereas the vacation plans of other Thunder Bay residents were completely foiled.
These include Brunina Morrow, who made plans several months ago to travel to Cancun via Sunwing with four other family members at 9:30 am on Dec. 26.
"I received notices from them in the middle of the night (2:35 a.m. and 4:27 a.m.) delaying to Monday at 5:30 p.m., then Tuesday 9:30 a.m. Finally they cancelled at 12:09 a.m. Tuesday," Morrow said in an email to TBnewswatch.
In an interview, Morrow also said she received different explanations from Sunwing for the changes in planned departure times.
"They changed their tune from crew constraints and that they had gone over on their hours to weather-related. It's a big company. They should be able to figure something out or even put us another flight somewhere."
Morrow said she, her husband, their daughter, their son and their daughter-in-law had hoped to spend Christmas together before leaving for "somewhere hot, and enjoy something we haven't done in three years, since COVID."
She said she's grateful that the airline has promised a full refund.
Despite the unpleasant experience this time, Morrow said she expects the convenience of direct flights to vacation destinations will remain appealing because "when it works, it's great. We've had those flights where 15 of us have gone we've had a great time, and everything was great the whole time we were gone. But when something like this happens, it's always in the back of your mind 'what if it happens again?' "
TBnewswatch reached out to Sunwing for an interview or statement but has not yet received a response.
Earlier this week, the company told the Canadian Press it was working hard "to re-accommodate customers by subservicing aircraft where possible in addition to arranging alternate hotels and transfers for those with overnight delays."
Thunder Bay residents who booked Sunwing vacations in Cuba have also been affected.
In an email Wednesday, Kelly Patterson told TBnewswatch "My return is delayed, and at this point I have no actual return date. However, Sunwing has provided me with accommodations and as much info as I would expect considering my location. Fortunately I do not have to return for work and my personal obligations are taken care of."
Patterson added "Travelling can bring on surprises, and travellers should be prepared."
