# Air Transat



## travelplanner70 (Dec 2, 2011)

I have never heard of Air Transat since I live in the US.  Can anyone tell me if this is a reliable airline and safe to fly?  We might be flying from Toronto to Cancun non-stop in April.  Thanks for your help.


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## Tfish (Dec 2, 2011)

If I'm not mistaken, Air Transat, is a charter airline, not a scheduled carrier.

I have flown with them in the past, always as part of a vacation package which included accommodation etc.

I've read no negative posts or rumours which would dissuade me from flying with them again.

Mike


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## Gophesjo (Dec 2, 2011)

*I haven't flown Air Transat but*



travelplanner70 said:


> I have never heard of Air Transat since I live in the US.  Can anyone tell me if this is a reliable airline and safe to fly?  We might be flying from Toronto to Cancun non-stop in April.  Thanks for your help.



Friends of mine have flown with the airline to Europe without any problems or complaints.


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## Mickey Moe (Dec 2, 2011)

I have flown with them a few times, everything was fine. They have limited departure and destinations but operate those efficiently\ and cheaply.


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## Maple_Leaf (Dec 4, 2011)

*It's OK*

If you are used to the American cattle-car airlines, they will be fine.


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## wptamo (Dec 4, 2011)

Hi Travelplanner we live in the Toronto area and flew to Cancun last summer... Out of Cleveland , non stop and better price.

Wpt


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## alfie (Dec 4, 2011)

We have flown with Air Transat many times, both to Cancun from Toronto and to Europe from Montreal..It is a charter airline, therefore things tend to be crowded.  However, the meals were free as was the luggage, up to so many pounds...It is safe and reliable.  They have a Club class option which gives you a larger seat up front, better meals, and priority boarding..extra dollars, of course.  They fly non-stop to Cancun, pretty much every day, but leave around 7am.  Air Canada has a direct scheduled flight to Cancun every morning around 9am.  from Toronto, this may be another consideration..we have found however, that flights to Cancun from Toronto are more expensive that flights using US airlines thru gateways like Houston, Miami, or Atlanta.


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## amanven (Dec 5, 2011)

You also have the option of taking Westjet to Cancun from Hamilton.  Departures are every Saturday.  Westjet has proven surprisingly competitive with the US carriers on certain routes during non-holiday periods.


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## AKE (Feb 23, 2012)

We have taken it to Europe and back - no problems whatsoever.  However, it has a limited number of planes and as with any small company, if something goes wrong then they would not have the flexibility of a large company re getting stranded travellers home, delays in flights etc.  I have never heard of any issues with them but I would make sure that I have travel insurance just in case.


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## bizaro86 (Feb 23, 2012)

AKE said:


> We have taken it to Europe and back - no problems whatsoever.  However, *it has a limited number of planes *and as with any small company, if something goes wrong then they would not have the flexibility of a large company re getting stranded travellers home, delays in flights etc.  I have never heard of any issues with them but I would make sure that I have travel insurance just in case.



Air Transat has 23 widebody airbus planes. Comparably, Hawaiian has 21 widebodies (boeing and airbus), and I've never heard any complaints about schedule reliability on either airline. 

Transat has been flying for 25+ years, and are perfectly safe. You will get slightly less legroom than on other airlines, so factor that into your decision. In terms of safety/reliability, they're as good or better than the US airlines, IMO.


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## AKE (Feb 23, 2012)

Personal opinion but any airline wih 20 +/- planes does not have much spare capacity if a plane or two has to be taken out of service or a flight gets delayed as there is then a chain reaction.  By comparison, if you are flying a large, regularly scheduled carrier then there are lots of options re being put on another plane or being rerouted with a partner airline.  I don't see that flexibility with a smaller operation and I have experienced both scenarios (i.e. flying a small, charter airline which encountered unexpected delays and flying regularly scheduled, large-scale airlines where planes have had to be taken out of sevice because of maintenance issues).  If you have lots of time and no connections at the other end then no problem, however, if you have to make a connection to another airline then I would be somewhat hesitant to book a small carrier, regardless of how good the fare is.


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## bizaro86 (Feb 23, 2012)

AKE said:


> Personal opinion but any airline wih 20 +/- planes does not have much spare capacity if a plane or two has to be taken out of service or a flight gets delayed as there is then a chain reaction.  By comparison, if you are flying a large, regularly scheduled carrier then there are lots of options re being put on another plane or being rerouted with a partner airline.  I don't see that flexibility with a smaller operation and I have experienced both scenarios (i.e. flying a small, charter airline which encountered unexpected delays and flying regularly scheduled, large-scale airlines where planes have had to be taken out of sevice because of maintenance issues).  If you have lots of time and no connections at the other end then no problem, however, if you have to make a connection to another airline then I would be somewhat hesitant to book a small carrier, regardless of how good the fare is.



You should probably be hesitant to book tight connections to other carriers in any circumstances.  I've been significantly delayed on all types of carriers. 

If you have a job hanging on the line on a business trip, they might not be the right choice, but based on where they fly I doubt that's the case. The OP is looking to save money on a trip to Cancun, and I can't see any reason not to do that. They're perfectly safe.


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## andex (Feb 24, 2012)

i flew with them a few times as a packaged vacation.!! check this out very impresive landing!!


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## AKE (Feb 24, 2012)

bizaro86 said:


> You should probably be hesitant to book tight connections to other carriers in any circumstances.  I've been significantly delayed on all types of carriers.
> 
> If you have a job hanging on the line on a business trip, they might not be the right choice, but based on where they fly I doubt that's the case. The OP is looking to save money on a trip to Cancun, and I can't see any reason not to do that. They're perfectly safe.



No hesitation booking larger carriers because they will put you on the next available flight which almost always is within an hour or two... with smaller, charter operations you may be looking at the next day.  As well, if you are flying Air Transat to a location and then catching another carrier to go from there, you will be paying twice for luggage etc AND if Air Transat (or any other similar carrier flight) is late then you are out of luck with the connecting airline. If you are flying a regularly scheduled, large carrier then this is no issue.  I have flown Air Transat without any problems but if I have to then change planes I also loose a lot of holiday time as I have to work possible delays into my schedule (thereby booking my connecting flight 6 - 8 hours later or even the next day).


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## bizaro86 (Feb 24, 2012)

AKE said:


> No hesitation booking larger carriers because they will put you on the next available flight which almost always is within an hour or two... with smaller, charter operations you may be looking at the next day.  *As well, if you are flying Air Transat to a location and then catching another carrier to go from there, you will be paying twice for luggage etc AND if Air Transat (or any other similar carrier flight) is late then you are out of luck with the connecting airline. *If you are flying a regularly scheduled, large carrier then this is no issue.  I have flown Air Transat without any problems but if I have to then change planes I also loose a lot of holiday time as I have to work possible delays into my schedule (thereby booking my connecting flight 6 - 8 hours later or even the next day).




Right. So you should always be careful booking connections with two different airlines on different tickets which is what I said. It doesn't matter who the first leg is on, if you were on a Delta flight and had a separately ticketed United flight after, and the 1st one was late you'd still be in trouble.

Also, as of April 1st Air Transat has 20+ kg of free baggage for all passengers, so you'd only have to pay for a bag if you chose to fly a US airline (assuming non-status)


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## asp (Feb 25, 2012)

Always be sure to use a licensed travel agent when travelling with a charter airline, or pay with a visa card that has a guarantee.  A friend got fully reimbursed for their Airmexico tickets.


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