Anyone fly on Air Transat recently?

[CJK]

We're flying on Air Transat next month and were wondering if 1) they still show a movie on flight and 2) if there will be a meal served? I thought I read somewhere that they've removed both of these bonuses. Anyone know if this is true? Thanks!

 

[Scratch42]

Fly in March/April of this year.
No movie, just tv shows.
No real food either.
We flew in very early in the morning before
breaky and flew back very late, after dindin!

Maybe if you are flying during a meal time they will provide a meal?

Hope this helps.

Scratch

 

[CJK]

Thank you!! We flew Canada3000 last year before they went belly up and we had such a small plane that there were no TV's and just a small snack. Thanks for the info! That gives me a better idea as to whether I should bring lots of books to read and food to eat!

 

[SandraC]

Oh, I recall Wardair and the wonderful service and meals on those flights! CP was great too ~ flew right across the country on that one a couple times! I've done Canada 3000 several times and Air Transat and Air Canada. Everything is pretty much no nonsense flying these days. We few Canada 3000 to MCO in 1998 and they were okay, movies and decent meals. They even announced dh's birthday. Air Transat to MCO April 2001, got JUST FOR LAUGHS and the news on TV and a crumby meal. April 2002 flew Air Canada, service was remarkably great, meal sucked ~ sandwiches and JUST FOR LAUGHS and TV news. They are all the same these days. Air Transat was good, you won't have problems. All the flights we took with all airlines were on time and calm. I'm happy to be driving for our next trip. S

 

[Susanne]

We flew to Jamaica on AT in April 2002. We had full meal service and the food was decent airline food. I can't recall if we had a movie or TV shows, or both. Flying with a toddler doesn't give much opportunity for watching anything!

 

[mary lou]

Went to Dominican Republic in Jan with Air Transat, had a hot meal and a movie and tv shows on the way there. Was over the dinner hour. On the way back we had sandwiches and a movie but we left at 10 pm.

Mary Lou

 

[wee-haggis]

The duration of the flight does'nt really justify a full meal and movie.

 

[Fºoºz]

My DW has some things to say about Air Transat but they are unprintable ... better check to see if they still charge for headphones if you want to listen to the movie ... 'nuff said!

 

[wee-haggis]

Its like the old saying sys:
"You only get what you pay for".

AT is by far the cheapest Canuck airline around (right now) and to be honest ,in the 18 or 20 times that I have used them,they really are'nt that bad.
Sure , AC is better...but its also twice as much!
I would'nt base an opinion of an airline simply on the fact that they don't supply free headphones.
Actually,we got several sets of headphones from previous flights and we just slip them in our carry on bags.....(also if you or the kids have a Walkman or portable Cd player,the headphones will work from these as well).
Bottom line is that no matter who you travel with .....if its coach class ,you are stuck in a seat for 2 hrs and 50mins....a quick breakfast,read of the paper,look at the movie then your in Paradise!

 

[SandraC]

Last April, we flew AC to MCO for LESS MONEY than AT!!!!!!!! S

 

[wee-haggis]

Hi SandraC.....I think you (and the others) would agree that the flight you are reffering to is a one in amillion deal!
If you were to go to Expedia,Travelocity or Destina right now and do a comparisson for identical dates ,the difference is about $120 between AT and AC.
The cheapest way to fly with AC (believe it or not) is to go via one of the Alliance partners (United for example) who use a AC plane but charge less in most instances(even comparing it to the identical flight number with AC itself).
Oh...and by the way the prices for the days I leave and return are:
AT - $359 + Tax
AC - $792 + Tax

 

[SandraC]

WOW! That's a big price difference. When we booked AC last year, they were up front with the price, taxes and all, also seat selection was included in the price. AT's price looked good at first ~ but add the taxes THEY quoted and the price was higher, then add $10 each seat, each for seat selection and they were way higher than AC. I waited and waited and waited and AT prices only went up! I was thrilled with AC. We flew AT the year before and they were just fine. I can't figure one thing out: AC would give a price like say, $279.00 before tax and AT would give a price of say $259.00 before tax, so AT looks better ~ but AC tax would be about $100 additional only, while AT was $140 additional tax?????????? Add the $80 for our seat selection and AT would be $419 while AC $379 hhhhhuuuummmmm. I don't think I got a one in a million deal with AC last year, I think AT got greedy. S

 

[wee-haggis]

I learned my lesson this year when booking for my upcoming trip.
Online booking is the way to go and unfortunately I think Travel Agents will be a thing of the fast in the not too distant future.
When I printed off the online price I got,I took it to my local Agency (who advertise that they will beat any price)and they grudgeingly had to beat the price.... although they claimed they were making a loss.
Here are some examples of the flights available on the exact same days I am goingall prices include taxes.....which do vary Sandra as you mentioned)

AC-$509 AT-$416

AC-$509 AT-$359
(destina) (destina)

AC-$509 AT-$360
(expedia) (expedia)

AC-$558 AT-$359
(itravel2000) (itravel2000)

As you can see the is some differences.The amazing thing is(and I've tried this on several dates),the AT direct booking website constantly quotes prices that are higher than the brokers???
Whereas AC seems to be pretty much on par with the others (otther than itravel2000)....albeit more expensive.
I guess it also bears mentioning that the option of seat selection for us(on such a short flight)is a waste of money,so we would'nt b entertaining that.
You are correct ,by the way, about the AT direct taxing....mmmm...seems suspicious?

 

[Fºoºz]

Originally posted by wee-haggis
Its like the old saying sys:
"You only get what you pay for".

AT is by far the cheapest Canuck airline around (right now) and to be honest ,in the 18 or 20 times that I have used them,they really are'nt that bad.
Sure , AC is better...but its also twice as much!
I would'nt base an opinion of an airline simply on the fact that they don't supply free headphones
...

I agree ... I should have clarified however that our unforgettable experience with Air Transat was not a result of paying for headphones (we also have a few headphones leftover from previous charter airline trips) ... AT presented some unique situations that were more than acceptable. It's just that this is the experience we had and is just a reflection of our opinion.

AT was the airline booked by Carnival for our portion of the trip from Calgary to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Our seat assignments were in the front of the plane ... no problem ... however ... the first several rows of the plane had fixed armrests between the seats ... not a big deal except that my wife's medical condition necessitated an armrest that could lift up so she could have more room to move. The attendants were presented with the dilemma but their attitude was basically "tough cookies!" . So imagine a flight to San Juan with my DW in pain ... and she was not the only passenger that had complaints with those particular seats ... if I found the seats to be quite narrow ... imagine the hardship of the other passengers on that flight who had the misfortune of being assigned to those rows ... what they experienced just because they did not meet a particular societal group's obsession of a perfect size 8 ( ... or whatever it is supposed to be!)

Fine ... we would rectify the situation on the return flight after the cruise. But wait ... there is a slight delay in departure. Not out of the ordinary. A few hours and a few excuses later ...

• ... plane has not arrived
• ... wait, it is here but waiting for re-fuelling
• ... waiting to be cleaned
• ... waiting for clearance

... still no word when we will actually board. However a bit later the truth comes out and word quickly spreads ... "Sorry, we have no flight crew for the flight back ... but we are waiting for the crew that recently arrived to complete the legally required amount of time for a layover before we can use them to fly everyone back home!" Imagine a departure lounge full of tired, hungry passengers who have been fed a line of "..." and realizing that the plane has been there all that time. At least six hours later ... we can finally board the plane ... this time, our seating arrangements are met.

It may have been an off-day for AT ... but compared to our flights on other airlines such as Air Canada and (the departure of ) Canadian Airlines, Delta, Northwest, American Airlines, West Jet, British Airways, Continental and so on, the absolute "....." treatment of passengers by AT was inexcusable. Complaints were laid upon our return home and that was the last we heard of it.

On this occassion, AT certainly did not meet this popular adage ... "The customer is No. 1". Like others, we certainly look for the best deals. We agree with wee-haggis that "You only get what you pay for." We will though go the extra mile (and $$) for certain things. Suffice to say, we have yet to fly on AT again.

 

[wee-haggis]

I am really sorry and sympathize with your terrible treatment while traveling with AT.
I know its of no consolation to you but, your not alone in having a "horror story" to tell with regards to one airline or another treating you like cattle or worse.
I our case it was Royal Airlines.I won't go into details but its suffice to say that we never used them again.
I suppose we have either been very lucky with AT or you have been very unlucky .Whichever way you look at it,you have to use your own judgement when it comes to booking flights.
In my case ,its a simple mathematical calculation.
We go online....type in the dates with Expedia,Travelocity or a simlar such company and .....see what comes up.
Other than a couple of US airlines (who sometimes had 2 stop -offs) ...no one could touch AT as far as price was concerned.
As I said, I (and my family) sit for 2hrs 50mins in a crampped seats whether its AT,AC,Delta,United etc.....so its not such a hardship when you consider that you have an extra $700-800 in your pocket to spend in WDW.
Last year when I flew with AT I got talking to a lady sitting next to me from Daytona and she explained that she was using AT for the second time and they beat all the US competitors hands down...she loved them!

 

[Fºoºz]

Yes, unfortunately it seems that it is more frequent that people have their own horror stories about flights ... we had our very first incident of lost luggage ... on a Air Canada flight within Canada! With the rising costs of air travel, it takes a savvy person to dig through all that is out there to get the best deal ... but perseverance usually pays off and that's what makes these boards a great way for all of us to learn from another and share in those experiences. HOLIDAYS ... here I come