AIR TRANSAT review :  10 March 2009 : by C Radley  (Canada)

Gatwick to Toronto on 5 March 2009. When I got to Airport and went to check in I placed my bag on the scales and was 0.2 of a kilo under the permitted weight, so far so good, then I was told I was not on the flight list, they could not find my name and I now had to go and see someone at the information desk upstairs. When I went to see them at the information desk they told me they had overbooked the flight by 8 seats and I was one of the 8 who had been kicked off. I was told to wait until one hour before take off and they would see if they could get me on the flight - one hour before take off me and seven others waited to see if we had a flight to Toronto. 25 mins before take off my name and 2 others were called to board the plane when low and behold my case now weighed in at 4.5 kilos over the limit for which I had to be charged 45 pounds when asked if I could use the scales that I had used earlier I was told no, I asked if I could take my bag off and zero the scales since it could not have gained that amount of weight - the answer was no. Would I fly with them again - never and I cannot recomend them to others either.

AIR TRANSAT review :  26 February 2009 : by S Walsh

Gatwick - Toronto Return. Have to say was pleasantly surprised. Legroom was ok for economy. For the return flight we prebooked extra legroom seats and got exit row seats so much better. Entertainment was ok for a long flight - not much choice. Cabin crew were friendly and helpfult. Food was average - I agree only choice was chicken or vegetable curry and a bread roll this was exactly the same on the return flight. Overall for the price we paid they were great I wouldn't hesitate flying with them again.

AIR TRANSAT review :  17 February 2009 : by R Harris

I agree with Mr Sanchez about the level of service in Club Transat. I have recently returned from a visit to Toronto and was extremely pleased, as always. I travel to YYZ three or four times a year and always use Air Transat Club as an alternative to schedules carriers as they offer much better value for money. Where I would disagree however is that, while the service level and food are as good as business class, the product is strictly speaking not business class. It is a premium cabin on a charter airline, and compared to premium cabins on most charter airlines it has to be one of the best.

AIR TRANSAT review :  16 February 2009 : by Phil Sagar

YYZ-MAN Economy Class. Checked into Pearson Terminal 3 and the que was average, however the check in agents were very fast and efficient. The agents looked happy and even chatted with me for a few moments. The plane was delayed due to the incoming plane coming from Venezuela, but the flight was about 35 mins late which is pretty good considering that the weather was also very cold. The seat pitch was about 32 inches on an aisle seat and I have experienced far worse. I am 6ft2 but managed to get comfortable enough for some sleep. The only negative is that the aisles are so narrow it's a wonder how even the flight attendants walk down them. Passengers watched movies on overhead TV's. Flight attendants appeared very pleasant. With all charters you get what you pay for and was pleased overall with the service.

AIR TRANSAT review :  27 January 2009 : by Luis Sanchez

Montreal-Porlamar (Venezuela) club class. I was pleasantly surprised with the service level that Air Transat offers in Club Class. Flights on time, flight attendants were extremely attentive. Flight started with champagne before taking off. Shortly after take off hot napkins were given followed by a selection of wine and an appetizer. Main course served a few minutes later with 3 different choices dessert was excellent, followed by liqueurs. On the way back they had the same great service. In addition, champagne was given shortly before mid night for the new year's countdown. It is definitely worthy to upgrade to club class. The only drawback is that seats are not as comfortable as other business classes. Also there is no personal entertaining system. I wish they would offer club class at least a personal DVD player as other airlines do. Overall it was a great experience.

AIR TRANSAT review :  26 January 2009 : by Jon Postal

I ended up on Air Transat when I booked an all inclusive vacation with Nolitours - I guess they are the same company. Anyway, the flight from Vancouver to Punta Cana is about 7 hours or so each way and knowing that we would be on a cramped old plane we paid about $15 per person each way to reserve seats ahead of time. Not only did we not get the seats that we reserved, but on the way home my wife and I did not even get seats beside each other! To make things worse, when I called them for a refund of the money I paid to reserve the seats I literally had to argue my case for 10 minutes. 2 months and several phone calls later I finally got the refund on my Visa. No apologies, no vouchers for future travel - nothing.

AIR TRANSAT review :  26 January 2009 : by D Larrivee

YYZ-MBJ in Club Class. Flight down on time, flight back delayed 45 min due to weather in Toronto. They lost a bag on the way down, and no real answers provided while in Negril - a lot of "maybe today" and "maybe tomorrow". Bag still lost. On the return flight they checked all the strollers at the gate, and when we arrived we had to wait 45 more minutes (in addition to the regular baggage wait) to get the strollers (loaded last) off the plane - many parents, many who were right pissed (it was now 6pm and kids were getting cranky and hungry). Club class was all right - get row 2 for the better seats. Club service was good

AIR TRANSAT review :  17 January 2009 : by N Parziale

Montreal to Rome roundtrip in July. Despite peak season, price about 20% cheaper than Air Canada. Economy class seat 4A both ways. Very good legroom as there is no wall at the bulkhead. Seats are a little narrow (more narrow at bulkhead as tray tables are in armrests). Attentive flight attendants. Good inflight entertainment; large viewable screens. Only downsides - both flights were delayed 35 minutes and only 3 lavatories - 2 for 239 economy seats (do not book seats in the last 10 rows as the line extends that long!). Nothing special, but for a charter airline it was good.

AIR TRANSAT review :  31 December 2008 : by M Pollard

Toronto to Manchester. Aircraft was on time. Staff attentive and very good with our children. Food was what you expect on an airline. Seats narrow, and not much legroom but for the price it was good value. You get what you pay for.

AIR TRANSAT review :  27 December 2008 : by Chris McPhee

Toronto to Manchester Club. I've heard everything now - my daughter has a nut allergy, nothing serious but it can be discomforting for her. We asked if a part of the meal contained nuts and our stewardess said "I haven't a clue, why don't you try it and see?". Absolutely unbelievable. Apart from that and the late take off - delayed 4 hours, but that's understandable in the current Canadian weather - club class is not worth the extra. I had the end seat of the centre 3 and I lost count of how many times I was woken by staff bumping into me or my seat. The aisles are far too narrow, the staff don't seem to be concerned about waking you - why should they, you're off the plane in a few hours. Food wasn't bad, other service was fine, and no issues with the check-in.

AIR TRANSAT review :  28 November 2008 : by M Houston

Cancun to Vancouver. First, Air Transat ignores our purchase of a direct flight home from Cancun and reroutes the flight to Montego Bay. The fun really gets going on the ground in Jamaica because they have double booked most of the seating. Chaos everywhere, cabin crew unable and some unwilling to help. Ground staff from the airport trying to make sense of it all, some of them on the verge of tears. What a mess.

AIR TRANSAT review :  21 November 2008 : by Chris Cook

London Gatwick - Toronto in Economy Class. We flew with Air Transat last week and it wasn't as bad as we were expecting. We pre-booked double seats at the rear of the cabin and found them comfortable with plenty of leg room and satisfactory width (maybe the 3 abreast seats are narrower, I couldn't tell). However, they are all leather which makes for more comfort. We didn't bother with the inflight entertainment as we both brought our own video players but two movies and several short programs were shown on overhead monitors. The flight attendants were fine and the aircraft ok, cleanliness-wise. What I was really disappointed with was the so-called 'meal' provided. Having read earlier warnings about the quality etc I was still shocked to be offered either a chicken or vegetarian curry TV dinner, a stale-tasting bread roll (no butter) and two bite-sized cakes as a 'dessert'! In my opinion, this is unacceptable for a scheduled airline. Not withstanding the fact that there was no alternative for those of us who don't like curry, the presentation of the food still inside its shelf packaging etc plumbed new depths for airline catering. It's almost as if Air Transat were doing the very bare minimum to satisfy some sort of regulatory requirement to provide passengers with a meal on trips over a certain duration. My advise is to either fill up at an airport restaurant before take-off or bring your own munchies on board!

AIR TRANSAT review : 15 November 2008 : by S Ko

Customer Rating :  0/5

I agree with other people's comments about unbelievable narrow seats on Air Transat. My family had a one week vacation in Dominican Republic and we flew from Vancouver to Dominican Republic then flew back with Air Transat. Everything was great except flights were horrible. I am not a complaining person, but Air Transat flights ruined our vacation.

AIR TRANSAT review : 27 October 2008 : by M Tolley

Customer Rating :  1/5

The worst airline I have travelled. Very, very narrow seat, very uncomfortable - no room to move, scruffy plane. TV advertising that goes on repeating for hours on end. We paid £174 for 3 extra legroom seats - what a waste of money. The person in the end seat was constantly knocked by cabin crew and passengers alike in a 8.5 hour journey.

AIR TRANSAT review : 21 October 2008 : by C Gill

Customer Rating :  1/5

Toronto to Gatwick. Appalling from start to finish. Check in staff at Toronto did not understand baggage allowances and tried to charge me for excess baggage. They weigh all your bags together (cabin and hold) then proceed to tell you are overweight for hold baggage when you're not as they seem to forget you also have a cabin baggage allowance. Seats on the aircraft are the smallest I've come across. Don't expect much more comfort for paying for an extra legroom seat as it's no better due to the fact you're wedged into such a tiny seat. Aircraft old and dirty, crew attitude poor, food, condiments etc just thrown at you. You get what you pay for and that isn't a lot with this airline.

AIR TRANSAT review : 21 October 2008 : by Roger Buhlman

Customer Rating :  4/5

LGW to Toronto & return with AirTransat. Admittedly it was Club Class (not a huge price hike, and well worth the extra). A good experience. Good service and plenty of legroom.

AIR TRANSAT review : 9 October 2008 : by J Baker

Customer Rating :  1/5

Vancouver - Gatwick. Nothing good to report about this airline. Check in chaotic due to complaints about cost of excess baggage. Staff under stress as manager seemingly disappeared. Food inedible and 'thrown' at passengers. The most uncomfortable seats I have ever sat in and shortage of blankets. Passenger told to 'bring own food' next time due to allergies. Never again.

AIR TRANSAT review : 3 October 2008 : by B Barnes

Customer Rating :  2/5

Montreal-Nice. Narrowest seats I've ever experienced and the worst food I've had - a small chicken curry TV dinner type with a little brownie for dessert. Crew friendly.

AIR TRANSAT review : 29 September 2008 : by C Atkinson

Customer Rating :  1/5

Gatwick to Toronto return. Seat width terribly small (very glad we paid extra for emergency exit seats). Given a meat curry (no alternatives) for dinner followed by small cake, roll but no butter and no tray to put meal on. Hostesses did not respond to call button. Refused blankets on return flight. Toilets appalling by the end of the flight- not cleaned. Finally, my partner’s suitcase was damaged on the way out and mine was completely damaged beyond repair on return. I've flown all over the world in economy class- and this was one of my worst experiences. If you must use Air Transat, suggest you use for short haul only.

AIR TRANSAT review : 28 August 2008 : by William Sedef

Customer Rating :  4/5

Vancouver to Paris on Air Transat. Airbus 330-200 with 9 abreast instead of the usual 8. The seats weren't that bad, seat pitch is 32", food quite edible & entertainment was decent. Overall a very pleasant flight with on time departure and early arrival. Highly recommended for discounted travel.

AIR TRANSAT review : 28 August 2008 : by P Hurricks

Customer Rating :  1/5

Calgary to Gatwick. Really awful flight, packed in like sardines in the tourist section. Seat pitch just about okay at 31ins but seat width much reduced on the Airbus 310 by packing in 9 seats across, very uncomfortable. The food served was rubbish. The evening meal was a plastic dish of rice with a couple of pieces of chicken in it and a stale roll with no butter supplied. Subsequently we were given 2 chocolates to finish the meal. For breakfast we had a small cake. I will never fly with this lot again.