Canada's Largest Charter Airline
Written: Apr 24 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Price, Cheap Club Class
Cons: Comfort, Limited Schedule, Punctuality
The Bottom Line: Good solid choice for vacation or very price orientated travellers. Club Class is an affordable option.
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| alek_toronto's Full Review: Air Transat |
Living in Toronto and constantly on the go, I have had several occasions to travel on Air Transat, which is the largest charter airline in Canada. Here are my observations and comments:
Routes and Schedules:
Being a charter airline, most flights are concentrated to the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii and Florida in the winter and Europe and Canada in the summer. They offer the most flights from their hubs of Toronto and Montreal, but also offer flights from other cities such as Vancouver, Calgary and Halifax.
Now since they cater primarily to vacation travellers, most destinations are served only once a week (some more popular spots might have 2 or 3 flights a week) The key is that they DO NO offer daily service to any destinations, so it is best to use them only if your duration is 1 week or 2.
Of great interest is that Air Transat also offers direct service to many vacation destinations that the scheduled airlines do not.
Fares / Price:
This is the best feature of Air Transat - they offer fares that are much lower than all the scheduled carriers in Canada and the US. For example you can obtain flights to Cancun, Acapulco or Cuba for up to 75% less than Air Canada or the others.
Best places to book flights include Travel Agents or www.exit.ca
Fleet:
Currently the fleet is comprised of Airbus 310, 330's, Boeing 757 and Lockheed L1011 jets. I recommend that you try to get on the Airbus aircraft as they are much newer and much more reliable. Anytime I was booked on the older Lockheed or Boeing there is some sort of mechanical delay. Hopefully soon they will rely solely on the Airbus.
Reliability:
I have flown over 10 flights in the last 2 years and all but 3 were delayed. 2 flights were delayed more than 24 hours. The long delays were ALWAYS blamed on mechanical problems which seemed to happen when the jet scheduled was a Lockheed or Boeing. Good thing to know is NEVER choose Air Transat if it is important to be somewhere (i.e. Business Meeting, Wedding, Funeral) as if they are delayed you have no option but to wait for a new Air Transat flight. They DO NOT have agreements with other airlines, and as they are a charter, They WILL NOT rebook you on another airline.
Safety:
Air Transat had flown for 16 years without a fatality and only 1 accident in 2001 (a jet ran out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean - put landed safely). Equipment seems in excellent repair and pilots are well trained and as good as any on Air Canada.
Check-In:
Best to do this early. Air Transat only uses paper tickets and all people must line up and go to an agent to check in. On all my flights check in lines are LONG and take at least 30-45 mins in the best circumstances. Staff is young, but friendly, but tend to be slow. They are not computerized yet!?!? in many locations and can be VERY slow in those place. You are warned! Also they also tend to use the oldest areas in the oldest terminals at each airport - i.e in Cancun, they use the old and musty cargo and charter terminal instead of the much nicer newer terminal the other airlines use.
Seat Comfort:
Very tight. The seat pitch varies from only 28-30 inches. This is to be expected as they are charters. From a seating standpoint it is best to check in very early to get an aisle seat (the only seat with any kind of legroom) or pre-select your seat for an additional charge. They do offer this pre-selection service, but you must call them in advance to get this. Middle seats are hell and windows are not much better as you usually have to crawl over at least 2 people to get out. And as they are a charter, all my flights were PACKED Full.
The best chances of aisles are on the B757, as on the Airbus 330 and 310 your chances of getting the middle seats are much greater. So if you know your aircraft type - best to pay up and pre-select your seat as YOU WILL be unhappy with what they give you at the airport.
On their transatlantic flights and other long flights a good option to explore is their Club Transat seating. Although it is not exactly "Business Class" the seats are big enough to get comfortable - about 38-40 inches - and best of all the surcharge for these seats are only between $200-$400 per flight, a good deal compared to regular Business Class fares. The Club cabin is smaller, quieter and everything is free.
In-flight Crew:
Capable, young, predominantly French Canadian attendants. Not overly friendly, but much younger and athletic than the dinosaurs you get on Air Canada.
In-flight Meals:
Not an important consideration, but if you want something tasty bring it with you. In-flight meals are cheap, all served on plastic (actually tastes like plastic as well)but are at least free. All alcoholic drinks cost extra though. Exception is in Club Class where the bar is free but the food the same only presented on slightly nicer dinnerware (but not china)
In-flight Entertainment:
mainscreen and 10 audio channels. Pretty 1980's, but to be expected from a vacation airline. Usually 1 typically bad airline movie and the news. In-flight magazine is skimpy and cheap but sometimes has nice articles and information on the sunny places to which it flies.
Overall:
If you are on vacation and looking for a good price (and you are not the picky or overly sensitive type) Air Transat gets the job done. If the flight is delayed - just remember - You are on vacation!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
alek_toronto
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Location: Toronto, Canada
Reviews written: 41
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
Crazy Canadian Travel and Culture Fiend.
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