As the seasons change and the temperature decreases, birds flying south for the winter will become a common sight for people in and around London. Some people even follow them down as well, flying off to somewhere warm and sunny to wait out the cold and return for the spring.
But for some, the choice of where they might go may have changed.
The London International Airport released its winter sun flight schedule on Friday, Sept. 18, featuring a large list of destinations including Cancun, Mexico, Orlando, Fla. and Montego Bay, Jamaica, as well as locales in the Dominican Republic, among others.
“We’ve been [to Jamaica] before and it’s a nice place,” said John Smith, a resident of Comox, B.C. who was flying out of London to Toronto. “We would like to go back.”
Janet Benoit from Calgary and Sarah Mann from Edmonton, respectively, both considered Mexico to be their destination of choice if they were to fly south for the winter.
The locations that Londoners wanted to go to weren’t the only ones on their mind. When asked about where they’d want to travel, Smith, Benoit and Mann all had the same answer, one that speaks to the larger ongoing trend of Canadian tourism to the United States declining because of the ongoing trade war: “Anywhere but the U.S.”
“I don’t feel safe leaving Canada going to the United States,” said Benoit, with Mann adding that she had stopped flights to the United States that she was supposed to be on.
A copy of the London Airport’s winter sun flight schedule. Airport staff expect all of the venues to be popular, even with the trade war causing a decline in Canada-U.S. tourism.
Photo by: Curtis Stokman
The winter sun flight list has two American destinations on its list: Orlando and Fort Lauterdale, both in Fla.
“They’re both booked fully going and coming,” said ACE (Airport Comfort Enhancer) staff member Corinna Rogers, adding that every option on the winter flight schedule is equally popular. “I find it goes on right up until the very end.”
Rogers said that in her experience, flights to the United States out of London have declined on a casual basis, but that American holiday destinations still have things that travellers find appealing.
“Fort Lauterdale for the kids,” she said. “They like to go to Orlando, they want the beaches and stuff like that.”
Rogers also said that even while people may think about the trade war, they will take flights to the United States for the benefit of their friends and families.
Wendy Joanasie, a Londoner waiting on a flight to Toronto, cited Hawaii as her travel destination of choice.
“I haven’t thought about it, but if I was going to [fly south], I would go,” she said.
Ultimately, Rogers highlighted that the Orlando and Fort Lauterdale destinations are still just two of several options for Londoners to choose from.
“It just gives them an opportunity to make the decision for themselves.”
The flights are offered in partnership with with Porter Airlines, Air Transat, WestJet and Sunwing Vacations, and the travel destinations are:
- Nine flights weekly to Cancun, Mexico
- Three flights weekly to Orlando, Fla.
- Four flights weekly to Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
- Three flights weekly to Montego Bay, Jamaica
- Two flights weekly to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- Weekly service to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
