TORONTO — An estimated five million Canadians cross the U.S. border on land every year in order to fly from U.S. airports to various points south and Sunquest wants to get as many of those passengers as possible with its new U.S. border city gateway packages.

Effective immediately, Sunquest is offering 26 new routes – 14 to U.S. destinations and 12 to the Caribbean and Mexico – departing out of five U.S. gateways: Bellingham (WA), Burlington (VT), Buffalo (NY), Bangor (ME) and Detroit (MI).

Sunquest says the new service is a natural extension of its product offering.

“As long as significantly cheaper flights are available from the U.S., Canadians will continue to fly from U.S. border cities,” says Frank DeMarinis, President, Sunquest. “We are giving customers what they clearly want, which is an option to save money on their vacation by booking cross-border packages with a reputable Canadian company and paying for it in Canadian dollars.”

Sunquest will partner with several carriers for the flights, including American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airways Corp. and Delta Air Lines.

Three out of four U.S. border city packages are cheaper than the equivalent Canadian package, says DeMarinis. In real terms, a family of four flying from Toronto to Orlando can save almost $1,400 on their vacation by booking the same package departing out of Buffalo.

Sunquest’s examples include:

• Buffalo to Punta Cana: $1,096 per person, including taxes, for a seven-night package at the Ocean Sand by H10. Savings of $826 per couple are based on the equivalent flight from Toronto departing on Dec. 8, 2013.
• Burlington to Cancun: $1,420 per person, including taxes, for a seven-night package at the Grand Solaris Cancun & Spa. Savings of $678 per couple are based on the equivalent flight from Montreal departing on Dec. 9, 2013.
• Bellingham to Las Vegas: $450 per person, including taxes, for 4 nights at The Cosmopolitan (no meals). Savings of $326 per couple are based on the equivalent flight from Vancouver departing on Jan. 26, 2014.
• Bangor to Jamaica: $1,373 per person, including taxes, for a seven-night package at the Sunset Beach Resort, Spa & Waterpark. Savings of $500 per couple are based on the equivalent flight from Moncton departing on Jan. 28, 2014.

Agents earn their regular Sunquest commission on packages for a whole new and growing segment of travellers. “Through this new service we are also providing our agent partners with even more options for their clients, and in turn more opportunities to increase their revenue,” says DeMarinis.

New routes to the Caribbean and Mexico include:

• Bangor to Cancun, Montego Bay and Punta Cana (US Airways, Delta, American Airlines)
• Burlington to Cancun, Montego Bay and Punta Cana (Delta, US Airways, United Airlines)
• Buffalo to Cancun, Montego Bay and Punta Cana (US Airways, American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta)
• Detroit to Cancun, Montego Bay and Punta Cana (American Airlines, US Airways, United Airlines)

To U.S. destinations:

• Bellingham to Las Vegas, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Honolulu (Alaska Airlines, Delta, United Airlines)
• Burlington to Orlando, New York City and New Orleans (United Airlines, Delta, JetBlue)
• Buffalo to Las Vegas, Orlando and New York City (Delta, United Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, US Airways)
• Bangor to Orlando (US Airways, Delta)
• Detroit to Orlando and Las Vegas (Delta, United Airlines, US Airways)

All of these new border city routes are available to book in Revnet (the blue screen), where agents also have access to Sunquest’s entire range of product, as well as have the flexibility to book any duration, in any of these destinations, from any of these gateways. Agents can also use their favourite shopping platforms (GDS/Sirev) to access a selection of these new routes, including all of the sun destinations.

For more information and to book

visit SunquestVacationsAgent.ca.