A Message From Sunwing’s Stephen Hunter

“In uncertain times, one thing is certain – our commitment to Canadians,” writes Sunwing Travel Group’s CEO, Stephen Hunter to begin his message to the Canadian travel trade.

Says Hunter:

“We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has created stress and uncertainty for all Canadians and we want to keep you informed about what we’re doing at this time to support our customers, employees and all other Canadians.”

And he continues:

“First and foremost, on behalf of Sunwing, I hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe. There’s no question that COVID-19 has hit the travel industry hard. As the CEO of Sunwing Travel Group, I may not be able to control the situation but I can try to make a difference in a way that makes our employees and customers proud.”

He tells his readers that:

“On March 16, we suspended all southbound flights to focus our efforts on bringing Canadians home. We were able to repatriate over 60,000 Canadians, including over 3,300 stranded non-Sunwing customers who were welcomed on our planes for free. As I said at the time, it was the Canadian thing to do.”

Now he reports:

“ … I am proud to announce a new national partnership with Second Harvest, the largest food rescue organization in Canada. We will be donating over 46,000 meals from our inflight kitchen to 17 communities from coast-to-coast. Partnering with Second Harvest through their Food Rescue program will ensure our meals are redirected where they should be – to Canadians who need them most. Meals that will be provided through this partnership include smoked meat sandwiches, pizzas, sausage rolls, breakfast sandwiches and more. More information on this partnership can be found here.”

And he confides that:

“As a family-run business, we know what it means to look out for one another during moments of need and as Canadians, it is our responsibility to help and support each other when adversity strikes. I know that many of our customers are disappointed that their vacation plans have been disrupted. We share their disappointment and cannot wait to return to operations so that they can take the vacations they had planned. We’re hopeful that in early June we can get back to doing what we do best, making vacation dreams come true. In the meantime, we’re doing our part to contribute to a collective and compassionate national pandemic response.”

And Hunter concludes:

“Being with you every step of the way has always been our promise and we will get through this together. I am confident we will come out of this situation stronger than ever before.”