TORONTO, March 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunwing is gearing up to celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8, 2020.) The carrier operated its 100th flight crewed entirely by women this morning. Sunwing Airlines flight WG438 took off from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Punta Cana International Airport helmed by an all-female flight and cabin crew.
The flight was piloted by Captain Vicky Marks from Sunwing’s Quebec City base, assisted by First Officer Nicola Godfrey from Sunwing’s Toronto base. The cabin crew was led by Cabin Safety Manager Tiziana Di Giuliantonio and included three female flight attendants Zoi Loukas, Anita Tasha Thompson and Camille Osbourne. The customer journey for flight WG 438 was handled by women every step of the way. From sales and reservations agents to flights ops dispatch, maintenance, ramp agents and in-destination support services, Sunwing employs thousands of women who are part of a customer’s vacation journey.
Monday, March 2nd also marks the start of Women of Aviation week which aims to address the gender imbalance in the aviation industry. Sunwing’s 100th all-female-operated flight also marks their commitment to this cause and celebration of their female aviation professionals.
Captain Vicky Marks, who piloted the flight, commented on the occasion, “It’s such an honour to be part of the 100th all-female-operated flight by Sunwing. It wasn’t long ago that women were limited to very few roles in the aviation industry; however, today, women are involved in every part of the industry. I’m proud to be a female pilot, and I hope this monumental flight and the increased opportunities for women in this field, inspires more women to pursue careers in the aviation industry.”
Vice President of Flight Operations for Sunwing Airlines, Piyush Gandhi, stressed the importance of this initiative. “As the Chair of Sunwing’s diversity and inclusion committee, Y.A.Y! (You Are You!), I am so proud to work for an organization that celebrates and empowers women. The aviation industry has been a traditionally male-dominated field, so it’s great to be a part of a company that celebrates women and makes all-female flight crews a regular occurrence as opposed to a rare one. The women at Sunwing are breaking down barriers and taking on the world of aviation in a variety of roles. In the last five years the number of female pilots at Sunwing increased by 160%– and while that number is a great accomplishment, we’re hoping this trend only continues to grow in the future across all areas.”
For more information or to book, visit www.sunwing.ca or contact your travel agent.
About Sunwing
The largest integrated travel company in North America, Sunwing has more flights to the south than any other leisure carrier with convenient direct service from over 33 airports across Canada to more than 45 popular sun destinations across the U.S.A., Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. This scale enables Sunwing to offer customers exclusive deals at top-rated resorts in the most popular vacation destinations as well as cruise packages and seasonal domestic flight service. Sunwing is consistently voted the top leisure airline by travel agents and is the perennial winner of the Consumer Choice Award. Customers can look forward to starting their vacation off with award-winning inflight service, which features a complimentary glass of sparkling wine*, non-alcoholic beverage service; together with a buy on board menu of light meals and snacks, including kids’ choices, the World Famous Original Smoked Meat from the iconic Montreal-based Schwartz’s Deli along with delicious menu options inspired by Food Network Canada Celebrity Chef, Lynn Crawford. Sunwing customers also benefit from the assistance of the company’s own knowledgeable destination representatives, who greet them upon arrival and support them throughout their vacation journey. Sunwing supports the communities where it operates through the Sunwing Foundation, a charitable initiative focused on the support and development of youth and humanitarian aid. Sunwing matches all donations the Foundation receives through its Spare Change Program on board Sunwing Airlines, no administrative fees are collected and 100% of the proceeds go to charity.
*Service may be unavailable on select flights
For all media enquiries, please contact:
Rachel Goldrick
Senior Corporate Communications Manager
Sunwing Vacations
1-800-387-5602 | media@sunwing.ca
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b7a8a1bf-f8c6-415a-9567-24d3a891242a