From beach to BonBon: Transat launches 2025-26 program, promises loyalty reboot

From the outside, it was Woodbine Banquet Hall. But inside, it might as well have been Brazil.

Carnival dancers in shimmering blue, crowned with vibrant feathered headdresses, fired up Transat’s 2025–26 launch in Toronto Monday night (Nov. 10) — a festive nod to Rio de Janeiro, one of Air Transat’s newest routes — as nearly 400 travel advisors gathered for an evening of networking and product updates.

The interactive event, which included a shoulder-to-shoulder trade show, revived Transat’s travel advisor academy series after a two-year hiatus.

Branded as “Transat Presents,” the Toronto stop was part of a six-city tour that had already visited Quebec City, Montreal, Halifax, and Moncton, and concludes Wednesday (Nov. 12) in London.

Six cities in just over ten days, welcoming nearly 1,400 travel advisors.

“We’re reuniting everybody, from the trade to suppliers,” said Julie Sareault, commercial director at Transat, speaking to PAX last night. “The response has been very positive.”

Transat’s winter playbook

Transat’s winter playbook is anchored by five updated Sun Collections featuring more than 158 hotels, each tailored to a different type of vacation.

There’s a new Long Stay Collection for extended getaways, for one.  

“There’s demand for long stays, well above 18 to 21 nights,” Sareault said.

This collection, with more than 40 properties, highlights resorts and hotels that include perks such as discounted rates starting from the 15th night, reduced laundry fees, and complimentary Wi-Fi.

Transat’s Family Collection, Luxury & Luxury Signature Collections (which has perks, like early check-in, express luggage delivery and seat selection), Wellness Collection (new this year, for both adults and families) and Solo Collection are also on the menu.

READ MORE: Winter Is Coming: Joseph Adamo & Sebastian Ponce unpack Transat’s “bold & dynamic” season

If anything, the early—and unusually intense—blast of winter that hit Ontario this week gave Transat and travel advisors the perfect prompt to start conversations with clients about escaping the cold with a warm-weather getaway.

“We're heading into the winter season – it has already started – and we have a clear ambition to inspire travellers, to broaden horizons, and strengthen our role as a leader in the leisure travel business,” Sareault told the audience from a stage as a buffet dinner wound down.

Strategic air extensions

Transat’s 2025-26 program aims to achieve that with expanded international routes and strategic air extensions.

On the Air Transat side, new non-stop flights to Rio de Janeiro from both Toronto (twice weekly) and Montreal (weekly) will launch in February 2026.

A new non-stop service from Toronto to Istanbul, Türkiye, launches Dec. 6.

Air Transat, this winter, is also introducing new flights to Medellín via Cartagena in Colombia, which will add a frequency to the flight schedule to Cartagena from Toronto.

There are no new ground products in Colombia for now, but Transat’s Duo package, which provides a “two-in-one” vacation, remains popular.

It’s an all-inclusive eight-day getaway, with roundtrip flights, accommodation, meals, and all transfers, that allows travellers to experience vibrant Cartagena before an escape to Baru Island.

Sareault emphasized the market’s appetite for exploring new horizons.

“People want to go outside of the traditional big three – Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, which remain core business for us – but there’s also interest in other types of destinations,” she said.

Transat, for example, offers 11 guided tours across Costa Rica, Morocco, Mexico, and Peru—each designed to help travellers discover destinations in depth.

There are two new multi-city packages in Portugal that invite visitors to experience both Lisbon and Porto over seven nights, with accommodations and meals included.

The lucrative VFR market (Visiting Friends and Relatives) also drives decisions on where Air Transat’s flies, Sareault noted.

Additionally, the frequency of key transatlantic routes, such as Berlin and Lima, will increase to two to three times a week this summer 2026.

Summer will also see Air Transat expand in Morocco with a new non-stop flight between Montreal (YUL) and Agadir (AGA), adding to its existing route to Marrakech.

And, for the first time, Air Transat will offer non-stop transatlantic flights from Ottawa to London-Gatwick, starting in May.

Transat’s winter sun routes, meanwhile, are expanding with new gateways.

In Atlantic Canada, Charlottetown and Fredericton will receive a weekly flight to Cancun, Mexico, from February to April.

A weekly direct flight from Windsor, ON, to Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic will also run from December to April.

Additionally, Sareault highlighted Air Transat’s yearly service to Guadeloupe and Martinique out of Montreal.

The company doesn't have any immediate plants to return to Western Canada, Sareault said. 

However, through a joint venture with Porter, it’s able to offer connections from cities like Ottawa, Quebec City, as well as from Western Canada and the Maritimes, into its international gateways, Toronto and Montreal.

Possible headwinds? A potential strike among Air Transat's pilots, which, under the direction of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), will have the authority to go on strike if a new agreement can’t be reached by Dec. 10, 2025.

The Perfect Match

Overall, the company’s winter lineup includes more than 400 hotels in the South and 150 hotels in Europe, with new properties soon to be added in Istanbul, Sareault said. 

To showcase the diversity of its hotels, Transat staged a retro game-show-style activation last night called “The Perfect Match.”

Designed to pair different “clients” with their ideal resort, the game was hosted by blonde-bobbed, sunglasses-wearing Lindsay Merrill and featured a colourful cast of characters, including culinary travel blogger “Ana Margarita” (Sherri Bourne), party-loving event producer “Jordan Reyes” (Chad Burnett), and full-time mom “Sandy Snooze” (Dima Fahed), each taking turns interacting with suppliers from the Hyatt Inclusive Collection, Bahia Principe, and Grand Palladium.

The characters were pure entertainment—don’t be shocked if Transat’s “The Perfect Match” soon lands a prime-time slot on a major network.

Sareault also pointed out that Transat provides TripBook for group bookings.

“You can do seat selection, add bags, print e-docs and make payments to facilitate your work when doing groups with Transat,” she told the audience.

This initiative is still in Phase One – Phase Two is expected to come in January, with more enhancements, she said.

All that being said, Sareault emphasized that her team is ready to make 2025-26 “an exceptional year for Transat.”

“We cannot do it without your partnership, that's for sure,” she said. “We thank you so much for your loyalty. Your presence tonight is really heartwarming.”

Bitter BonBons

Speaking of loyalty, the night didn’t shy away from addressing the elephant in the room: Transat’s glitch-ridden BonBon loyalty program, which was suspended in August after persistent technical issues at TruCash, a third-party entity that has supplied Transat’s agent incentive program since 2009.

For background: travel advisors once earned rewards on their Transat bookings, including travel packages, coach tours, cruises, flights, accommodations and car rentals.

These rewards, in the form of dollars, were then loaded directly onto BonBon TruCash Visa cards.

READ MORE: “Serious irregularities”: Transat launches legal action “to shed full light” on BonBon mess

But for some time, as PAX has previously reported, many advisors weren’t able to access their money due to their Visa cards being blocked.

It wasn’t a universal problem. According to online trade forums, some travel advisors, over the past year, were finally able use their Visa cards after several months of unsuccessful attempts.

But many others, however, faced ongoing difficulties accessing their funds.

Shortly after PAX published its first report about the problem, several advisors emailed us to say that their cards had been malfunctioning for months.

The tension only escalated as agents were paying monthly fees for a service they could not use, in addition to receiving T4 statements for income they had no access to.

In September, Transat initiated legal proceedings with TruCash, a subsidiary of TCA Group Of Companies, in order "to shed full light" on the BonBon fiasco. 

Last night, Sareault addressed BonBon (which means “candy” in French) before diving into everything else. The mere mention of the word sent the room into a chorus of groans and boos.

“Who knew that such a sweet word could leave such a bitter taste?” Sareault remarked.

Although there were no major updates to report, Sareault said Transat is awaiting the final results of a “serious investigation” to gain a full understanding of the situation.

“We understand this uncertainty is very frustrating,” she said. “It is for you, it is for us. Trust us, because [TruCash] was a partner we were working with for 16 years.”

Sareault said Transat will share its findings “in due time.”

“Don’t worry – we're advocating in your favour,” she told attendees. “We just need a tiny bit more patience on your part.”

New loyalty program in the works

With that, Sareault confirmed that Transat is developing a new loyalty program to replace BonBon.

“We value your partnership,” she said. “We will be back with a rewards program, so stay tuned. We will be able to share more information shortly.”

Speaking with PAX earlier, Sareault said the new program will be “parallel” to what BonBon offered.

Support for Jamaica

The evening also acknowledged Jamaica, still recovering from Hurricane Melissa—a Category 5 storm that tore through the island on Oct. 28, devastating local communities and damaging resorts.

Post-hurricane recovery and restoration efforts are underway in Jamaica, which is targeting a full tourism restart on December 15.

“We want to express our deep solidarity for the Jamaican people and the Jamaican community who have been severely impacted by Hurricane Melissa. Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time. We salute their resilience and their courage. We know Jamaica will come back stronger,” Sareault said, prompting applause.

To see more pictures from Transat’s 2025-26 launch, visit and “like” PAX’s Facebook page here.

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