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14 - The: Oakville Beaver Weekend Sunwing Airlines is the new kid on the charter block In case you missed the birth announcement, there' sa new charter airline in Canada: Sunwing Airlines. The family's pride and joy is called Joan Maria, a new gen eration Boeing 738-800, and this `baby' still has that nice new smell. "Who cares?" you yawn. Well, you should. Our American neighbours are very jealous of our choice of char ter carriers and the fact that they usually fly direct and non-stop to holiday destina tions. I say "usually" because all the charters, in small print, warn that some times when a flight isn't full they will do what is called a double drop. Sunwing, the new kid on the block, is wholly Canadian and based in Toronto. It has two planes and my sources tell me they'll receive their third in May or June. The Boeing 737-800 is SamIon one of the most fuel effi cient, safest and comfortable airliners around and additional planes will be added as demand dictates. The goal is a fleet of 10 by 2010. "Why on earth would you want to start an airline?" I wondered. --^A V e feel that the time is right to start a leisure airline that focuses on service, offers additional choices to the consumer and in so doing, changes customer expec tations from the charter industry in Canada," is the way Colin Hunter, presi dent and CEO of the Sunwing Travel Group, explains it. "We have been operating Sunwing Vacations package holidays on other air lines' aircraft for the past three years and have often found it difficult to control the service standards received by our cus tomers," says Hunter. "By creating our own airline, our customers can start their all-inclusive vacation earlier with supe rior service and the added benefits that truly make a difference to a customer's holiday" To help get Sunwing Airlines off the ground, Hunter sought the assis tance of industry experts including former Skyservice president Mark Williams. Williams, who has more than 17 years of airline experience at Wardair, Canadian Airlines and Skyservice, under stands both the needs of the customer and the regulatory requirements. Part of his mandate is to help Sunwing create a different airline product by imple menting higher standards for customer service and safety. I think they've raised the bar. Seats are leather; the pitch, which is the amount of room from the seat in front of you, is 29 to 30 inches, depending on where you are on the plane. Each plane has 15 seats with 35-inch pitch, giving you more leg room. These seats cost a reasonable $25 extra each way. Employees are proud of the leather seats and the other special goodies they tell you at the check-in counter. The big news is the service. You start with a complimentary glass of champagne and a hot towel, then you move on to your choice of two hot meals and a complimen tary glass or red or white wine. That's very rare these days. I was on a scheduled air flight recently and was told to lower my tray for the meal service. The meal was a bag of pretzels and coffee. My choice on the Sunwing flight was Pasta fuccili or Honey Garlic chicken and even the pasta was good. We didn't have to pay for a pillow and blanket, and the headset was free instead of $4 for something you can buy at the dollar store for a buck. The little boy behind me got a really cute kid's pack with games, a colouring hook and candy which kept him occupied for at least half the trip. But best of all was the service. As flight attendant Rita Correia said: "The threehour-and-20-minute flight to the Cancun airport isn't long enough for the services we provide." The crew, two in the front and three in back, hurried, and only sat when the pilot told them to. Sunwing took the time to treat passengers individually. Heather Anderson, the cabin safety manager, took the time to show an inter ested passenger how she did her hair. On the way out, I heard a passenger complaining about the seating and the lack of free beer. `When was the last time you flew?" I couldn't resist asking. "In the 70's with Wardair," he replied. Well, when Max Ward owned a charter service it was different times, with much cheaper fuel, he flew bigger planes, to fewer destinations. Sunwing was pretty darned good when I compared both char ter and scheduled air flights, unless you were flying business class, and it was the most inexpensive. -- You can reach Sam by e -m ail a t sionlO@cogeco.ca. 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Unlike most other properties in Jamaica, Sandals Whitehouse is secluded and very quiet. Air Canada Vacations offers all-inclusive packages to Whitehouse that include Air Canada flights into Montego Bay. At the MBJ airport, Sandals has a lounge with refreshments and washrooms before the bus transfer to Whitehouse. The bus trip takes approximately 90 minutes and is quite scenic through the mountains, sugar carte fields, papaya, akee trees and orange plantations. The lobby at Whitehouse faces a large European themed piazza complete with fountains, formal gardens and a gigantic pool. Most of the restaurants, bars and shops are located around the piazza, many with outdoor dining tables and chairs - a quaint, romantic European village ambiance! There are 5 great restaurants - one can dine anytime and the area is so large there is rarely a lineup for anything. The hotel rooms are lovely, and are located away from the piazza in three themed buildings, Italian, Dutch and French, with all rooms facing the beach. The Dutch and French buildings have their own pools and the Italian building, closest to the main piazza pool, offers Concierge Service. For us, it was all about the beautiful beach! It is the longest beach at any hotel in Jamaica, and it was wonderful for just walking and swimming. No jet-skis and no vendors. To top it off, there's a full service Red Lane Spa and fully equipped gym. But we've saved the best for last - we've got great ACV pricing at Whitehouse this season that we predict will go up next year. Here are just two examples - give us a call! 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