Transat looking ahead to sunny skies with 2018-19 South program

Transat is gearing up early for the 2018-19 sun season and with an expanded domestic feeder program bringing more Canadians to sun destinations this winter, the tour operator is calling on travel agents to fill those seats.

Details of the 2018-19 South program and other Transat developments were the topic of discussion during an exclusive travel trade gathering in Toronto yesterday.

“Summer is officially here,” said Joe Adamo, chief distribution officer and president for Transat Distribution Canada, adding that the early launch of the South program will allow Transat to “hit the ground running in 2019”. “We’re doing well in the South and more than holding our own in the trans-Atlantic market.”

Adamo said that while capacity to the South this year will remain virtually the same as last year, an expanded domestic flight program from Western Canada will bring increased numbers of passengers from Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary to South and European destinations via Toronto this winter.

“The biggest change will be our expansion on the domestic front, which is really about feeding our South and Europe markets,” he said. “The program has helped deliver two near-record summer seasons in 2016 and 2017. If there’s an area which we need to fill, it’s on these feeder flights.”

Fun in the Sun

Nicole Bursey, commercial director, Transat

Nicole Bursey, Transat’s commercial director, detailed the tour operator’s 2018-19 South program, which will feature direct flights to 34 sun destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico, as well as the inclusion this year of European sun spots such as Costa del Sol in Spain and The Algarve in Portugal.

Among the highlights this year are:

• 635 hotels across four collections, including 40 hotels exclusive to Transat and 30 new properties for this year
• More direct flights from Toronto to San Jose and Liberia in Costa Rica, along with four new guided tours
• As of winter 2018-2019, Transat will be offering an all-new cruise package departing from Cartagena, Colombia, and a return to the popular port of embarkation of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• The return of its flights to St. Maarten and San Juan (Puerto Rico), departing from Montreal and Toronto.

New planes, new hotels

The new A321neo LR

Adamo also provided an update on Transat’s incoming A321neo LR aircraft, set to join the fleet between spring 2019 and fall 2020, with Transat the first North America airline to fly these planes.

READ MORE: Air Transat adding 10 A321neo LRs to fleet

The new aircraft will replace Transat’s Airbus A310s, which will be gradually retired from the fleet, and will be deployed on both Sun destinations and transatlantic routes.

“We’re going to have a fantastic product,” said Adamo, who was part of the team responsible for the design of the planes’ interior. “It’s a real gamechanger in terms of economics to use this plane for our South destinations.”

Transat’s recently-announced Hotels division continues to develop as well, Adamo said; while full details are still to come, he said that Transat is in the process of “aggressively seeking land and hotels” for the new division, with the goal of initially offering 5,000 rooms throughout the Caribbean and Mexico; shortlisted initial destinations include Cancun, Punta Cana and Montego Bay.

Full details of the 2018-19 South program are available here.