TORONTO — More and more Canadians are finding their way to Savannah, GA thanks to Air Canada’s nonstop service, heading into its third season starting March 1, 2019.

The route launched May 1, 2017 and came back in 2018 with high load factors, enough that the seasonal launch for 2019 has been moved up by two months.

“We’re coming back on March 1 so obviously we want to get this to a full year service,” said Steve Goodfellow, Air Canada’s Director of Sales, Eastern Canada at an industry event last night hosted by Air Canada in partnership with Explore Georgia and Visit Savannah.

The high-energy event, at Toronto’s Momofuku restaurant, also included Savannah’s Perry Lane Hotel, Savannah Hilton Head International and the Savannah Music Festival, with a set by Georgia’s IIIrd Tyme Out bluegrass band and a look into Georgia’s past with storyteller Jonah McDonald.

Goodfellow is a convert to Savannah’s charms. “I was lucky enough to be on the inaugural flight in 2017, it was my first time to Savannah and I fell in love with it. The architecture, the Southern hospitality, it was just unbelievable.”

The route has done “very well” for Air Canada, adds Goodfellow. “Our goal is to have this year-round and then to upgrade the aircraft”, bringing more capacity to the route.

Joe Marinelli, President, Visit Savannah, says Savannah gets 252 days of sunshine a year. Joking with the crowd – already weary of Toronto’s early-winter weather and cold temps – Marinelli said Savannah’s sunshine, combined with its open container policy for alcohol (similar to that in New Orleans) “makes it sound pretty good, doesn’t it.”

More information is available at exploregeorgia.org and visitsavannah.com.