Sunwing Travel Group review: horrible service 8

I used to be a loyal Sunwing customer but am no longer either. I booked with Sunwing Vacations to go to Dreams Punta Cana. The travel dates were supposed to be from Sat, April 3- Sat, April 10. Two days before we left, I heard that SkyService went out of business. Relieved that I had chosen to stay away from them because of their history of horrible service, I thought I'd be okay. Then the day before I left, I was called by my travel agent to say that Sunwing has overbooked the resort and offered to move us to another resort (Majestic Colonial) and we would only have to pay for our flights. After having done extensive research on resorts in Punta Cana, and this being my third trip there, I specifically chose Dreams Punta Cana and was not willing to switch even if I'd get the Majestic Colonial for Free. Was I wrong to think it was over then. Then after flying from NY to Toronto Friday night before our Saturday flight, I discover another call to say that our schedule has been changed and now our 6:40am flight was now at 11:59pm and there would be no compensation from Sunwing. Furious as I was, we contacted our travel agent who conferenced in a Sunwing rep. It was a waste of time as they couldn't hear us, but we could hear her and she basically told our travel agent that we could write to customer service and wait 6-8 weeks for reply and they could do nothing more other than cancel our vacation.

On Saturday night we headed to the airport for our 11:59pm flight and by the time we arrive, there was a long line already at check in but no reps at the counter. Finally they show up an hour later and although we had paid for the Elite Premium package ($99 per person) we did not receive Priority checkin. Once we got to the gate, we found out the flight was now delayed until 1:30am. There were many family with young children who had to sleep uncomfortably underneath airport benches at the waiting area. This was no the end of our nightmare. As expected, the flight was then delayed again until 3:45am! By 2am the Sunwing desk at the gate finally made a mere announcement that they would be handing out $10 vouchers for food. Well, at 2am the only place open was Tim Horton's. So of course, the lineup was an hour to get just donuts and a drink. They practically ran out by the time we got to the front to order!

Finally when we boarded, we discovered that the plane we were on was not even a Sunwing plane but rather Omni Air International. A really old and uncomfortable plane. We didn't get the priority seating we paid for. The tray tables were lopsided and my food nearly slid right off! Who could sleep in those chairs that were so narrow that a 100lb person wouldn't even be able to fit comfortably let alone a normal sized person. Horrifying!

I used to be a loyal Sunwing customer but am no longer either. I booked with Sunwing Vacations to go to the Dreams Punta Cana resort. The travel dates were supposed to be from Sat, April 3- Sat, April 10. Two days before we left, I heard that SkyService went out of business. Relieved that I had chosen to stay away from them because of their history of horrible service, I thought I'd be okay. Then the day before I left, I was called by my travel agent to say that Sunwing has overbooked the resort and offered to move us to another resort (Majestic Colonial) and we would only have to pay for our flights. After having done extensive research on resorts in Punta Cana, and this being my third trip there, I specifically chose Dreams Punta Cana and was not willing to switch even if I'd get the Majestic Colonial for Free. Was I wrong to think it was over then. Then after flying from NY to Toronto Friday night before our Saturday flight, I discover another call to say that our schedule has been changed and now our 6:40am flight was now at 11:59pm and there would be no compensation from Sunwing. Furious as I was, we contacted our travel agent who conferenced in a Sunwing rep. It was a waste of time as they couldn't hear us, but we could hear her and she basically told our travel agent that we could write to customer service and wait 6-8 weeks for reply and they could do nothing more other than cancel our vacation.

On Saturday night we headed to the airport at 8pm for our 11:59pm flight and by the time we arrive, there was a long line already at check in but no reps at the counter. Finally they show up an hour later and although we had paid for the Elite Premium package ($99 per person) we did not receive Priority checkin. Once we got to the gate, we found out the flight was now delayed until 1:30am. There were many families with young children who had to sleep uncomfortably underneath airport benches at the waiting area. This was not the end of our nightmare. As expected, the flight was then delayed again until 3:45am! By 2am the Sunwing desk at the gate finally made a mere announcement that they would be handing out $10 vouchers for food. We had to all line up at the counter for these. Well, at 2am the only place open was Tim Horton's. So of course, the lineup was an hour to get just donuts and a drink. They practically ran out of everything by the time we got to the front to order because everyone was trying to use up the full $10 value!

Finally when we boarded, we discovered that the plane we were on was not even a Sunwing plane but rather Omni Air International. A really old and uncomfortable plane. We didn't get the priority seating we paid for. The tray tables were lopsided and my food nearly slid right off! Who could sleep in those chairs that were so narrow that a 100lb person wouldn't even be able to fit comfortably let alone a normal sized person. Horrifying!

So now not only did we lose an entire day at a resort we paid for with the meals and beverages, we were stuck on some crappy old plane and no compensation of any sort was offered.

Of course the Dreams Punta Cana resort was lovely once we got there, but we lost an entire day and when we spoke to the Sunwing rep at orientation, he basically said the same that he couldn't do anything from Punta Cana and that we had to call the Sunwing office or write to them. Useless!

Upon checkin at Sunwing's counter at the Punta Cana airport for our return flight, we were told that our luggage at 21.4 kilos was over the weight limit and that we had to pay extra. When we told them and showed them our itinerary which stated we had the elite package, the rep proceeded to argue with us to say we didn't because the Sunwing invoice which was wrong indicated 20Kilos. Even when I noticed this when I printed it and called the travel agent beforehand who spoke with Sunwing, and assured us that this was an error they didn't correct it but it is in their system and would be okay at checkin. Again, a complete lie!

Naturally, our return flight was also delayed 2 hours on the way home. Again it was Omni Air International that picked us up. My priority seating this time was in an exit row. This would have been great had it not been half a seat due to the exit door protruding halfway into my seat and my foot having no room anywhere but underneath the inch of space between the door and the floor. On top of that, the pocket for the plane info card and magazines which normally would have been on the seat back in front, was located on the wall right next to me and took up what space I had left. Basically, I was crammed into a tiny space for a 4 hour flight and there was no air. I almost had a panic episode. I was so claustrophobic just sitting on the plane and we hadn't even taken off yet. Finally I had to get up or lose my mind.

The fact that Sunwing didn't compensate for the loss of an entire travel day is unacceptable. And offering a mere $100 voucher for future travel with them would be a disgrace as who would want to travel again with a company who would sacrifice the loyalty and well being of a customer to go rescue Sky Service passengers who should never have booked with a lousy airline to begin with. That would be their own downfall and so why should the rest of us smarter people pay the price. And do they really think that $100 is the value of a one night stay at a Five Star resort? If so, then they seriously owe us even more money back for a 7 night package as we have paid way too much based on that value.

Sunwing absolutely needs to recognize and address this issue immediately to the fullest extent if they ever expect to stay in business themselves. There are many customers who went through the same horrible ordeal with Sunwing and would agree. First, Sunwing needs to compensate their customers for the loss of an entire day at their resort in the form of a cash refund. Secondly, Sunwing needs to refund the $99 fee for an elite premium package when I did not receive priority checking, champagne flights, 30kilo luggage allowance, or priority seating as what was indicated. The also need to send a formal letter of apology to each and every one of their once loyal customers who were treated absolutely horribly because they sacrificed their own customers to go help SkyService. Why didn't they send that terrible Omni Air Int'l plane to get Sky Service passengers instead!? Certainly, the priority of their own customers did not matter to them.

I am planning to post my complaint regarding Sunwing on every travel website until this is corrected by Sunwing. As well, a copy of this is also going directly to their CEO and President.

Just horrifying!