Air Transat

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Air Transat
IATA
TS		 ICAO
TSC		 Callsign
AIR TRANSAT
Founded 1987
Operating bases
Fleet size 21[1][2]
Destinations 60
Company slogan Your Vacation People
Parent company Transat A.T. Inc.
Headquarters Montréal-Trudeau Int'l Airport
Montreal, Quebec
Key people Jean-François Lemay(General Manager) Jean-Marc Eustache (co-founder)
Website http://www.airtransat.com

Air Transat is a Canadian airline based in Montreal, Quebec,[3] operating scheduled and charter flights, serving 60 destinations[4] 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, USA 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, Toronto Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport. The airline also has operations at Calgary International Airport, Québec/Jean Lesage International Airport[5] and others.

History

Air Transat A330 "Azores Glider" (C-GITS), the aircraft involved in the Flight 236 incident, in a newer livery
Air Transat Airbus A330-243 (C-GTSZ) landing at Montréal Airport
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. Today Air Transat is one of Canada's largest airlines, after Air Canada and WestJet. Air Transat has 2,100 (2010) employees.[6] 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, the most recent being the 2012 Skytrax World's Best Leisure Airline Award.[7]

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.[8]

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 B737-800s 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.[9]

Services

Main article: Air Transat destinations

Air Transat specializes in charter flights from Canadian cities to vacation destinations, mainly in the south during the winter months and in Europe during the summer. Unlike other airlines Air Transat has a very restrictive refund or exchange policy. No tickets can be exchanged or refunded within 45 days prior to departure.

Fleet

An Air Transat A330-243 (C-GTSI) just departed from Frankfurt Airport in 2012.
Air Transat A310-308 (C-GTSH) with new colours
Air Transat A310-308 (C-FDAT)

The Air Transat fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of July 31, 2013):[1][2]

Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A310-300 9 20 229 249 Exit from service 2014-2015
Airbus A330-200 8 21
12		 321
333 		342
345		 Original configuration seating

New configuration seating

Airbus A330-300 4 21 321 342
Boeing 737-800 1 0 189 189 Starting February 2014
Total 22

The A310s will gradually leave the fleet. As of August 27, 2013, the Air Transat average fleet age is 16.9 years.[2] An A330 acquired on November 20, 2011 is painted in a revised new livery.

Incidents

Air Transat Airbus A330-342 (C-GKTS) in old livery in Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
  • On August 24, 2001, Air Transat Flight 236, an Airbus A330-243, 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.[10] 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.
  • On March 6, 2005, Air Transat Flight 961, an Airbus A310-308, en route from Cuba 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 Varadero, 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.[11] The investigation that followed determined that the manufacturer's inspection procedure for the composite rudder was not adequate.[12] Inspection procedures for composite structures on airliners were changed because of this incident.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Air Transat fleet - Official site". Airtransat.ca. Retrieved 2011-03-10. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Air Transat fleet". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 2013-08-13. 
  3. ↑ "Contact Us." Air Transat. Retrieved on May 20, 2009. "Postal address: Air Transat 5959 Côte-Vertu Blvd. Montreal, Quebec H4S 2E6 Canada"
  4. ↑ "Air Transat | Profile". Airtransat.ca. Retrieved 2011-03-10. 
  5. ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 67. 
  6. ↑ "Backgrounders". Transat.com. Retrieved 2011-03-10. 
  7. ↑ airtransat.ca - Air Transat Named World’s Best Leisure Airline
  8. ↑ Transat and CanJet forge 5-year partnership for narrow-body aircraft
  9. ↑ atwonline.com - Transavia France inks 737-800 deal with Air Transat
  10. ↑ A330 'glider' drama facts revealed. Flight International, 26 Oct 2004. Retrieved 5 Jan 2007.
  11. ↑ Weakest points. Flight International, 19 July 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2007.
  12. ↑ "Report Number A05F0047". Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB). 2007-11-22. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 

External links

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