TORONTO — With thousands of travellers looking to shift their vacations from Cuba to alternate sun destinations for March Break and more, tour operators including Air Canada Vacations and Transat have added capacity to popular getaway spots.
The extra flights come as prices for sun vacations this winter hit new heights now that Cuba is temporarily sidelined.
At Air Canada Vacations, VP Nino Montagnese shared this list of additional flights, all operating through April 30 …
Toronto
- Toronto to Cancun – Wednesdays starting Feb. 28
- Toronto to Montego Bay – Tuesdays starting Feb. 24
Montreal
- Montreal to Cancun – Wednesdays starting Feb. 25
- Montreal to Punta Cana – Fridays & Saturdays starting Feb. 27
Air Transat is offering the following new flights and extra capacity …
Toronto
- Toronto to Puerto Plata – Thursdays starting March 5 (new flight)
- Toronto to Punta Cana – Fridays starting March 6 (new flight)
- Toronto to Punta Cana – Sundays starting March 1 (additional capacity)
- Toronto to Punta Cana – Mondays starting March 2 (additional capacity)
- Toronto to Punta Cana – Saturdays starting March 7 (additional capacity)
Montreal
- Montreal to Punta Cana – Fridays starting March 6 (new flight)
- Montreal to Puerto Plata – Saturdays starting March 7 (new flight)
- Montreal to Puerto Plata – Tuesdays starting March 3 (additional capacity)
- Montreal to Punta Cana – Mondays starting March 9 (additional capacity)
- Montreal to Punta Cana – Mondays starting March 23 (additional capacity)
- Montreal to Cancun – Tuesdays starting March 10 (additional capacity)
- Montreal to Cancun – Thursdays starting March 19 (additional capacity)
- Montreal to Cancun – Thursdays starting March 12 (additional capacity)
- Montreal to Pointe-a-Pitre – Tuesdays starting March 3 (additional capacity)
- Montreal to Lisbon – Thursdays starting March 5 (additional capacity)
Quebec City
- Quebec City to Punta Cana – Mondays starting March 2 (new flight)
- Quebec City to Puerto Plata – Mondays starting March 2 (new flight)
As Air Transat’s Marie-Eve Vallières told Travelweek Group’s Profession Voyages, “Puerto Plata is proving to be an attractive alternative to Cuba in terms of affordability and quality of services.”
As reported earlier, Transat’s repatriation flights wrapped up as scheduled on Feb. 17. In a letter this week to travel advisors, Transat’s Patrick Falardeau, VP, Digital Experience and Contact Centres, Head of the Commercial Crisis Unit, said the airline brought home 6,500 passengers. Refunds are being processed in order of departure dates, with files with departures scheduled for March 2026 now processed and completed, and those scheduled for April 2026 completed by Feb. 20. The processing of partial refunds for unused hotel nights due to shortened stays is also underway. All refunds are processed automatically, and no action is required on the part of travel advisors.
“The entire Transat team would like to express its deep gratitude for your commitment, unwavering support, and outstanding professionalism in this exceptional context,” Falardeau told agents, adding, “I want to reassure you that the teams are working tirelessly to process your files as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile this morning Air Transat noted its launch of several new seasonal routes. In recent weeks, the airline has inaugurated new nonstop flights: Quebec City-Pointe-à-Pitre (Wednesdays through April 29), Windsor-Punta Cana (Fridays through April 10), Charlottetown-Cancun (Wednesdays through April 22) and Fredericton-Cancun (also Wednesdays through April 22).
Sunwing Vacations has also repatriated all of its Canadian passengers back from Cuba. Watch for an update about additional sun capacity with WestJet Group including Sunwing Vacations in Travelweek Daily.
