TORONTO — Sunwing celebrated International Women’s Day yesterday with not one, not two but three Sunwing Airlines flights that took off for sunny destinations from Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg, each with an all-female flight deck and cabin crew.

All of the flights were operated and organized by a primarily female-led team across multiple functions, including airport staff, dispatch, scheduling and more.

Sunwing’s all-female Montreal crew

Captain Michelle Chiasson and First Officer Jessalyn Teed flew from Toronto to Holguin, Captain Kelly Koprajda and First Officer Cara Kirkwood flew from Winnipeg to Cancun, and Captain Jessica Kessler and First Officer Siobhan O’Hanlon flew from Montreal to Holguin.

Says First Officer Jessalyn Teed, who is an advocate for women’s empowerment and a driving force in the airline’s recruitment strategy: “I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many amazing women to bring this day together, and the support we’ve received has been nothing short of inspiring. I believe this day and today’s events are about celebrating representation, the representation of women in roles that we traditionally know to be male-dominated, and it could not be done without the continued support of our leadership and colleagues embracing equity alongside us. May this day be one where we celebrate the women who lead us, walk beside us, cheer us on in our success and sit with us through our challenges.”

Len Corrado, President of Sunwing Airlines, noted that Sunwing takes great pride in its thoughtful approach to the customer’s travel journey with safety being at the forefront, and employs thousands of women across sales and reservations agents, flight operations, dispatch, maintenance, ramp agents, in-destination support services and more.

“I am so proud to lead a team of passionate and customer-centric people devoted to making vacation dreams come true, and I’m thrilled to celebrate our incredible teams who have made today’s female-led flights to the tropics a moment to remember,” said Corrado. “Sunwing women challenge the status quo, break down barriers and are taking the travel industry by storm in all facets, and as we continue to grow to support the increasing demand for travel, ensuring we’re building a team that champions gender equality and embraces equity at every step is very important.”

Sunwing’s all-female Winnipeg crew