Transat A.T.

The headquarters of Transat A.T. Inc.

Transat A.T. Inc. is an international, vertically integrated tour operator with nearly 20 business units in 8 countries. The company is headquartered in Montreal.^[2]

History

Transat was founded in the early 80s by Jean-Marc Eustache, Lina De Cesare and Philippe Sureau. Originally called Trafic Voyages, was a wholesaler specializing in travel from Quebec to France.^[3]

In 1987, the company, which was then renamed Transat, was listed on the stock exchange through an IPO that generated $8.25 million. The company used the proceeds to establish its own airline, Air Transat, and to embark into a series of acquisitions in order to solidify its position as an outgoing tour operator in Canada and France, as well as to develop new destination markets.^[3]

In 1988, Transat considerably expanded its presence in retail distribution with the acquisition of an interest in the franchisor Consultour.

The Company had broken into the French market very early on with Vacances Transat (France), the largest tour operator offering travel to Canada, and soon expanded within France, the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. It acquired French tour operator Look Voyages in 1996, Greek incoming tour operator Tourgreece in 2001, British tour operator Canadian Affair in 2006 and French tour operator Amplitude Internationale (today Amplitravel), which specializes in travel to Tunisia, in 2007. At its destinations, the Company opened offices in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Florida in order to be able to provide its customers with complementary services. In 2007, Transat created a five-hotel, a 1,600-room joint venture with the major Spanish chain H10 Hotels in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. In 2010, Transat became an outgoing tour operator in Mexico, when it founded Eleva Travel.^[3]

In Canada, Transat now has nearly 600 travel agencies and is the largest travel agency network since the acquisition of the Thomas Cook agencies in 2006. Brands include Club Voyages, Voyages en Liberté, Marlin Travel, TravelPlus and tripcentral.ca.

With thousands of tourism service providers in some 60 countries (including about 50 airlines and 1,500 hotels) and more than 5,000 employees catering to the approximately 3 million people who travel every year, Transat is now one of the leaders in the international tourism industry.^[3]

In 2012, Transat A.T. sold its Handlex business unit, which provides airport ground-handling services at Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver international airports. Handlex was acquired by Servisair Holding Canada Inc.^[4]

Operating divisions

Transat A.T., through its business units, is active in five business segments:^[5]

• Air transportation^[6]
  • Air Transat

• Outgoing tour operators^[7]
  • Transat Holidays - Canada
  • Serviceair - Canada
  • Handlex - Canada
  • Transat Découvertes^[8] - Canada
  • Canadian Affair - Europe
  • ACE - Air Consultants Europe - Europe
  • Vacances Transat France - Europe
  • Look Voyages - Europe
  • Amplitravel - Europe
  • Bennett Voyages - Europe
  • Brokair - Europe
  • Eleva Travel - Mexico

• Retail distribution^[9]
  • Club Voyages - Canada & Europe
  • Exitnow.ca - Canada
  • Look Voyages - Europe
  • Marlin Travel - Canada
  • Travel Plus - Canada
  • Voyages en Liberté - Canada
  • Tripcentral - Canada

• Incoming tour operators and destination services^[10]
  • Transat Holidays USA - USA
  • Jonview Canada - Canada
  • Tourgreece - Europe
  • Trafic Tours - Mexico
  • Turissimo - Dominican Republic

• Hotels^[11]
  • Ocean Hotels and Resorts - Dominican Republic

References

External links

• Air Transat
• Transat
• [http://www.transat.com/en/investors/financial.documents.aspx. - Financial communications]