Information on Air Transat Flights

Air Transat is a Canadian airline that primarily serves the leisure market. I have flown Air Transat throughout Canada but, in fact, its domestic operation represents just a small portion of its business.

The bulk of Air Transat routes focus on delivering Canadians south to warmer destinations like Florida, the Caribbean and Latin America, or east to multiple European destinations from Montréal–Trudeau (YUL) and Toronto Pearson (YYZ) airports. Whichever route you decide to take, this guide to Air Transat will help you fly the well-connected airline like a pro.

Air Transat cabin classes

Air Transat offers two classes of service onboard its aircraft: Economy Class and Club Class. These follow many of the elements of the classic low-cost model of a no-frills experience that can be supplemented with ancillary services that are all purchased separately. You can go from an Economy Class ticket with no services up through the spectrum to the more spacious seats, in-flight meals, priority check-in and boarding and extra baggage allowance of Club Class.

While not a fully-fledged business class (for example, seats don’t go fully flat), Club Class can usually be booked for considerably less than its equivalent on a full-service airline, so this one is really worth considering on Air Transat.

Air Transat fare categories

Air Transat offers five different fare types, each with its own associated bundle of services. Three of these are offered within Economy Class (EcoBudget, EcoStandard and EcoFlex) and the other two are offered in Club Class (ClubStandard and ClubFlex).

EcoBudget is the basic, bare bones product that gets you pretty much the seat and little else. If you are traveling light and don’t mind the lack of flexibility or comfort, it could be a great value option. I’ve seen Transatlantic fares for as little as what you’d expect to pay for a short-haul domestic flight within the US, and this type of fare can be very appealing.

The key difference between EcoStandard and EcoFlex is implied in the names – EcoFlex offers much more flexibility to change or cancel your ticket, and in the ability to choose seats. Likewise, the difference between the two Club Class fares essentially comes down to the ease with which you can change or cancel the tickets or pick your preferred seat. Both premium fares offer extra checked luggage, priority check-in and boarding and in-flight meals.

If you are torn between wanting Club Class services but Economy Class seats and fares, Air Transat also allows you to add on Option Plus or Option Flex to your reservation.

Option Plus offers some of the extras available to Club Class passengers to those in Economy Class, such as extra baggage allowance, priority check-in and boarding, seat selection and limited refreshments. All of this comes for much less than a regular Club Class ticket. Option Flex, in turn, allows passengers to add flexibility to their tickets.

Air Transat also offers the possibility of bidding for upgrades before boarding. If your flight is eligible, you can submit a bid with the amount you are willing to pay. The airline will inform you if your bid has been accepted, and you can enjoy your upgraded seat if so. This is a good way to upgrade for even less, but there are no guarantees.

The Air Transat fleet

Air Transat has an all-Airbus fleet made of single-aisle A321 and twin-aisle A330 aircraft. However, it is important to highlight that Air Transat operates different versions and cabin layouts for each of these aircraft types, and the experience may vary accordingly.

The most modern aircraft on the Air Transat fleet are the 19 state-of-the-art Airbus A32LRs, the long-range version of the fuel-efficient A321neo. Air Transat is increasingly deploying them on its Transatlantic routes. They are fitted with 198 seats, of which 186 are in the Economy Class cabin and 12 in Club Class (with 31 and 38 inches of seat pitch respectively). All seats are equipped with seatback screens, as well as in-seat power outlets.

At the same time, Air Transat continues to operate eight of the older A321-200ceo aircraft. These have a legacy all-economy cabin and are lacking the seatback screens and in-seat power outlets.

This diversity of cabin layouts is also found across the Air Transat A330 fleet. The largest of these is the A330-300, of which Air Transat has two aircraft. One of them operates with a high-density layout with 363 seats, while the other can carry up to 346 passengers.

Air Transat also operates 14 smaller A330-200s with cabin densities also varying among aircraft featuring 300, 332 or 345 seats. The number of Club Class seats is, however, constant throughout the entire A330 fleet and is set at 12 per aircraft.

Food and drink on Air Transat

In-flight service will depend on the length of the route and, of course, whether you are in Economy Class or Club Class.

Economy class passengers get soft drinks, water or coffee free of charge, unless the flight takes less than an hour. Everything else comes at a cost. On flights that operate within the Americas the menu will typically contain a choice of sandwiches, snacks and other light meal options, whereas hot meals are offered on flights across the Atlantic.

On flights over three hours, it is also possible to pre-order your meal (in fact, some items are only available through pre-order). You must place your order at least 72 hours in advance of your departure, but some choices may still be available onboard even if you don’t pre-order – it’s just not guaranteed.

In-flight entertainment and lounges

Air Transat offers in-flight entertainment on most of its flights. The onboard entertainment platform contains some 200 pieces of content, including movies, shows and other entertainment. This can be accessed either through the individual seatback screens or your own personal devices. On a handful of aircraft that are not fitted with seatback screens – all 8 A321-200ceos and one of the older A330-200s – the in-flight entertainment system can only be accessed through your devices.

Remember to bring your own earphones since they are not provided for free – the crew will happily sell you a set, though. I learned this at my own expense and can also confirm that your own headphones will be much better quality than what you can buy onboard.

Air Transat does not have its own lounges, but it offers discounted rate access to third party lounges at 4 Canadian airports – Montreal, Toronto, Québec and Ottawa.

Air Transat alliances

Being an independent carrier, partnerships with other airlines play a central role in the Air Transat strategy.

Perhaps the most important of these is the alliance that Air Transat established with Porter Airlines, a growing Canadian regional airline with country-wide ambitions. With the international presence of Air Transat and the stronger domestic presence of Porter, this relationship allows both airlines to better serve their customers. Air Transat codeshares with a handful of other airlines, too, including WestJet and Spanish carrier Air Europa.

Air Transat also practices what is known as virtual interlining. Through the Connectair digital platform you can seamlessly book itineraries to over 300 destinations combining flights on Air Transat and about a dozen other airlines from all over the world, including the likes of Aegean Airlines, Air Mauritius, ASL Airlines France, Avianca, Azores Airlines, Azul, Volotea, easyJet, Norwegian, Pegasus and Vueling.

Besides the convenience of combining different airline flights in a single itinerary, an additional advantage of this platform is that passengers are protected against connecting flight delays and cancellations in the same way as when they buy from a single airline.

Interestingly, Air Transat partnerships are not limited to other airlines. A similar agreement is in place with French rail operator SNCF, making it possible for passengers arriving in Paris to reach many destinations in France and the rest of Europe by rail with a single ticket.