Sunwing Airlines postpones service between Melbourne and 3 Canadian cities until fall 2023
In mid-September, Sunwing Airlines and Melbourne Orlando International Airport officials announced they were partnering to launch snowbird-season flights on Dec. 10 linking the Space Coast with a trio of Canadian cities.
Instead, that arrangement failed to make it to Thanksgiving.
Sunwing is postponing the startup of vacation packages at MLB until fall 2023, said Greg Donovan, airport executive director.
"The company needed additional time to establish partnerships with area hotels and cruise operators," Donovan said in a statement.
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"Plus, the preparation and advertising window was too limited from the time of the announcement to the prime of the winter tourism season," Donovan said.
"Accordingly, the company elected to defer service inauguration until next season so that vacation and cruise package particulars could be finalized," he said.
Messages seeking comment were left for Sunwing media representatives. The airline intends to provide a statement Wednesday, said Keely Leggett, airport spokesperson.
Starting Dec. 10, Sunwing was supposed to launch seasonal nonstop routes between Melbourne and:
Halifax, Nova Scotia, via Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
Toronto, Ontario, via Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, via Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport.
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Sunwing was expected to launch flights on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays through April 28 using Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
In a separate move, Canada Jetlines has announced it will launch service between MLB and Toronto Pearson International Airport, starting Jan. 19.
Canada Jetlines will offer two nonstop flights per week to and from Toronto aboard single-class, all-economy, 174-seat Airbus A320 aircraft.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Sunwing Airlines postpones flights from Melbourne to Canada until 2023
