Canadian Low-Cost Carrier Sunwing Announces New Winter Flights To Dominican Republic

The Canadian low-cost airline Sunwing Airline has revealed its new international routes for the winter 2022-2023 season. The carrier is betting big on Caribbean destinations this year, including the Dominican Republic, and will be flying to several airports in the country from Canada. Sunwing will have non-stop departures from four major Canadian cities: Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver, and is the latest Canada-based airline to announce new flights to the tropical island.

The announcement comes as millions of Canadian travelers begin to book their upcoming winter holidays. With travel restrictions in the country lifted as of October 1, many are setting their eyes on tropical destinations, and interest in travel to the Dominican Republic is steadily rising.

According to Andrew Dawson, a Sunwing executive, “we are pleased that the government is lifting all travel measures in October, which will undoubtedly create more demand for travel to sunny destinations this winter.”

Airline executives have said that demand has increased by a whopping 140% compared to last year’s figures and that the amount of bookings is expected to reach 2019 levels soon. They noted that there is especially growing interest in several Caribbean destinations, such as the Dominican Republic.

To cope with the record-setting travel frenzy, Sunwing is scrambling to hire more staff: from pilots to cabin crew, the airline, just like countless others across North America, is still feeling the effects of massive layoffs imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Below is a summary of the routes Sunwing Airlines will be operating to the Dominican Republic starting this November.

Punta Cana

Sunwing will be flying non-stop to Punta Cana, the leading resort destination in the Dominican Republic, from all of the airline’s major Canada hubs. Passengers from Toronto and Montreal will be able to fly there once daily, starting November 1 until April 30, 2023. Meanwhile, Calgary residents can hop on a Punta Cana flight once per week starting November 7 all the way until April 24, 2023. Sunwing will also have a once-weekly flight from Vancouver to the sunny destination starting December 12.

Puerto Plata

Puerto Plata is one of the most popular seaside resort destinations in the Dominican Republic, with excellent cultural and nature activities. Sunwing will fly non-stop to the resort town from Toronto and Montreal. Tourists in Toronto can catch a direct flight three times per week to the sunny location. Travelers based in Montreal will have even more flights available to them, as starting November 1, Sunwing will operate 4 weekly departures from the city to Puerto Plata.

Sunwing Airlines says that it will publish more fall and winter routes in the following weeks, which may include additional non-stop flights to the Dominican Republic. In addition to Sunwing, several other Canadian airlines, including Air Transat and Air Canada, will also operate flights to the tropical island this winter.

Sunwing Airlines is a low-cost carrier based in Toronto. Operating a fleet of 27 modern narrow-body aircraft, the airline focuses on popular winter destinations spread across the Caribbean, including Cancun and Punta Cana.

Aside from Sunwing, Air Transat already published its schedules some months ago. The carrier has regular non-stop flights to Punta Cana, Samaná, Puerto Plata, and La Romana from 8 different Canadian cities. In early 2023, the airline is launching several new routes, including the Moncton – Punta Cana as well as the Halifax – Punta Cana routes.

Overall, the Dominican Republic is one of the most popular Caribbean destinations for Canadian travelers this year. North American visitors are largely helping to fuel record travel numbers to the country, with over 5 million people visiting the tropical destination so far this year.