Air Transat

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Not to be confused with AirTran Airways.
Air Transat
200px
IATA ICAO Callsign
TS TSC TRANSAT
Founded December 1986
Commenced operations November 14, 1987
Operating bases
Fleet size 36
Destinations 82
Company slogan Your Vacation People
Parent company Transat A.T. Inc.
Headquarters Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Key people <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Revenue Increase CAN$3.8 billion (2014)
Net income Increase CAN$22.9 million (2014)
Total assets Increase CAN$1.4 billion (2014)
Employees 2,000 (2014)
Website airtransat.com

Air Transat is a Canadian airline based in Montreal, Quebec,[1] operating scheduled and charter flights, serving 60 destinations[2] in 25 countries. The airline is owned and operated by Transat A.T. Inc. During the summer season its main destinations are Europe and in the winter season the Caribbean, Mexico, United States and Central America, though the airline operates many year-round flights to Europe from their Toronto and Montreal bases. Its main Canadian gateways are Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport. The airline also has operations at Calgary International Airport, Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport, Vancouver International Airport[3] and others.

History

Air Transat Lockheed L-1011 in 1995
Airbus A310-304(ET) (C-GTSF) in old livery

Air Transat made its inaugural flight on November 14, 1987, travelling from Montreal to Acapulco. Six years later, Air Transat assumed defunct Nationair's maintenance base and aircraft. Today, the company books over 3.5 million passengers a year. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transat A.T. Inc.

Air Transat is one of Canada's largest airlines, after Air Canada and WestJet. Air Transat has 2,100 (2010) employees.[4] On February 13, 2011, Air Transat Flight TS163 operated with their first all female flight crew from Cancun to Vancouver. The airline has won many awards, including the 2012 Skytrax World's Best Leisure Airline Award.[5]

2009: CanJet partnership

On February 13, 2009, Transat A.T. announced a five-year partnership with CanJet. Since 1 May 2009, Transat Tours Canada has chartered CanJet's Boeing 737 aircraft flying from Canadian cities to various destinations. This replaced an agreement with Calgary based Westjet.[6]

2013: Transavia France partnership

On September 13, 2013, Air Transat struck a seasonal lease deal with Air France-KLM leisure carrier Transavia France, covering the lease of up to nine Boeing 737-800s by 2019. The deal, which extends a 2010 winter capacity agreement, calls for Transavia France to lease four 737-800s to Air Transat during winter 2014, five in 2016, six in 2017, seven in 2018 and eight in 2019.[7]

2015/2016: Transporting Syrian refugees to Canada

Although the first two groups of refugees from Syria arrived in Canada on government aircraft in December 2015, the next two groups were on Air Transat planes; the first was Flight TS8500 from Amman, Jordan to Toronto which departed on 20 December. While it was unlikely that Air Transat would be the exclusive airline chartered by the Canadian government, especially if 35,000+ refugees would arrive in 2016[8] a spokesman advised the Toronto Star that the company had been confirmed as the airline that would bring the second group to Canada on 21 December.[9] In a Transat press release, Jean-François Lemay, the carrier's GM, made the following statement, “We are very pleased to be the first Canadian airline company to engage in this major humanitarian effort, and to be assisting the Canadian government and international authorities in this way”.[10]

Destinations

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Main article: Air Transat destinations

Air Transat specializes in charter flights from 19 Canadian cities to vacation destinations, mainly to 15 countries in the south during winter and in 11 European countries during summer. Also, some destinations are provided all year around by the airline. From June to September 2015, connecting flights from Quebec City and Halifax to Montreal, and from Vancouver to Toronto, will provide access to new European destinations and more flight frequencies on certain routes.

Fleet

Current fleet

The Air Transat fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of December 17, 2015):[11]

Air Transat Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A310-300 9 12 238 250
Airbus A330-200 8 12 333 345
Airbus A330-300 4 1 12 334 346
3 12 363 375
Boeing 737-700 2 0 149 149 Leased from ASL Airlines France
Boeing 737-800 13 0 189 189 Leased from Transavia France
and SmartWings
Total 36

Fleet gallery of Air Transat aircraft in current livery

An Air Transat A330-243 (C-GTSI) just departed from Frankfurt Airport
Air Transat A310-308 (C-GLAT)
Air Transat Airbus A330-243 (C-GTSZ) landing at Montreal Airport

Historic fleet

Air Transat has operated Airbus A320-200, Boeing 727-200, 737-400, 757-200, Lockheed L-1011-150 and L-1011-500 aircraft.

Accidents and incidents

Air Transat Airbus A330-342 (C-GKTS) in old livery in Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
  • August 24, 2001 : Air Transat Flight 236, an Airbus A330-200, en route from Toronto to Lisbon with 306 crew and passengers, made an emergency landing in the Azores without engine power due to fuel starvation over the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft safely landed at Lajes Air Base, on the island of Terceira. The aircraft was evacuated in 90 seconds. All 306 passengers on board survived. An investigation revealed that the cause of the accident was a fuel leak in the number two engine which was caused by an incorrect part installed in the hydraulics system by Air Transat maintenance staff. The part did not maintain adequate clearance between the hydraulic lines and the fuel line, allowing vibration in the hydraulic lines to degrade the fuel line and cause the leak. The aircraft involved in the incident was repaired and remains in service with Air Transat. The incident went down in history as the longest non-powered flight and landing by a commercial airliner.[12]
  • March 6, 2005 : Air Transat Flight 961, an Airbus A310-300, en route from Varadero to Quebec City with nine crew and 261 passengers on board, experienced a structural failure in which the rudder detached in flight. The crew returned to Cuba, where they made a safe landing. It has been established that no unusual rudder inputs had been used by the crew during the flight, they were not manipulating the rudder when it failed and there was no obvious fault in the rudder or yaw-damper system. The investigation that followed determined that the manufacturer's inspection procedure for the composite rudder was not adequate. Inspection procedures for composite structures on airliners were changed because of this incident.[13]

References

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External links

  1. ↑ "Contact Us." Air Transat. Retrieved on May 20, 2009. "Postal address: Air Transat 5959 Côte-Vertu Blvd. Montreal, Quebec H4S 2E6 Canada"
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  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ planespotters.net - Air Transat Fleet
  12. ↑ A330 'glider' drama facts revealed. Flight International, 26 Oct 2004. Retrieved 5 Jan 2007.
  13. ↑ Weakest points. Flight International, 19 July 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2007.
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