AIR TRANSAT customer review :  12 December 2009 : by M Brulot   (Canada)

I strongly recommend avoiding Air Transat. What you buy is not necessarily what you get. We recently booked a 7 day trip to Mexico. Less then 3 weeks before this surprise trip for my husband, Air Transat changed the flights such that our package was no longer a 7 day package but instead was now 6 days. It now also required us to leave Mexico at midnight which would have been difficult to do with our 4 young children. Air Transat staff clearly could not have cared less, and unwilling to move or honour our reservation at another time. We were told that if we did not like it, we could just cancel. On top of that, even though we were no longer staying that 7th night and therefore not using the 2 rooms, Air Transat did not offer any reduction in the price of the package. Contacting Air Transat did not result in a solution - we eventually cancelled and will not book with Air Transat again. They seem to show very little interest in their customers.

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  15 November 2009 : by L Hopkins   (UK)

We travelled to Toronto in October. We tried phoning as per the website to get seats with some room. Unable to get through until the afternoon and none available. Legroom on the seats was fine, width very cramped. The amount of people they cram in would be fine for short european flights but not for 7-8 hours plus to Canada. The service was poor along with the inflight food. The return trip was even less exciting. Only twice during the overnight return flight did they offer refreshments. The second time was only fruit juice. When I asked for coffee the reply was "we are not serving hot drinks because of turbulence". It was several hours previously over Newfoundland that it was turbulent! This airline in my opinion is really poor at providing the minimum of creature comforts. The only position on this plane with room is at the rear where the rows are 2-4-2, the rest are 3-4-3. If you want a pleasant comfortable flight don't fly with Airtransat.

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  13 October 2009 : by William Radcliffe   (UK)

Dublin to Toronto return - seating comfortable, with good leg room. Cabin crew friendly and helpful. No complaints.

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  8 October 2009 : by Chris Chisholm   (UK)

Newcastle to Toronto in Club (?) Class. Despite booking 7 months in advance we were told that there were no Club seats left on return journey due to 'operational issues'. Bearing in mind that the flight was already returning via Exeter (advertised as non-stop) we opted to fly back from Toronto earlier with Thomas Cook as we had seen the state of Air Transat's Economy class on the outbound flight (2 toilets between over 200 people!).

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  8 October 2009 : by M Doyle   (Canada)

YYZ-DUB/ SNN-YYZ in Club. YYZ-DUB an overnight flight (with a stop in Montreal) and as such crew left everyone alone to sleep, but did regular tours for water etc. Breakfast prior to arriving in Dublin was quite good. Return leg from Shannon was better. Flight crew pleasant and friendly and at the ready to provide water or beverages. Club while not rivalling true business class on BA, AC or other airlines, is nonetheless a comfortable environment in which to travel. My only real complaint is the lack of overhead storage. If you happen to be in row 1 your overhead bins are full of crew bags, oxygen tanks etc. Surely they can find somewhere else for that stuff and not deprive the paying customer of valuable storage, particularly for those in the first row.

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  6 October 2009 : by H Rudge   (UK)

LGW-YYZ, YYZ-BHX. Outward flight lovely - seats comfortable, but narrow, free baggage! Booked standard plus seats - 2 abreast instead of 3. Return flight even better, nice food. Cabin crew super. Really recommend Transat, Cheap and cheery!

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  5 October 2009 : by Hilda Beddows   (Canada)

Barcelona from Vancouver. Our original booking was just right for us; however to our dismay both flights there and back were changed. Going to Barcelona a date change, resulting in an 8 hour wait for our next flight to Menorca. Coming home was worse, a change of date, and we had to come via Toronto, involving a flight by West Jet to home. Sure hope things are better next year should we decide to travel again. Will certainly be Air Transat, have been traveling with you for years now, and are more than satisfied, especially with the on board service and staff. Due to the change of our return flight, we were unable to obtain the bulk head seats we had booked previously.

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  29 September 2009 : by P Moon   (UK)

Toronto-Gatwick. We have flown Air Transat before and were happy enough. We flew out with Thomas Cook which was a better flight. TV's in every seat, more and better food. Queuing in YYZ was quite lengthy. We would fly them again

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  10 September 2009 : by J Laurent   (Canada)

Montreal Rome Economy class. Tickets bought on the Internet. Two seats prebooked at extra cost (40$) near window. Incredibly tight and narrow seats. Difficult to get out to go to the washroom. Trays would stay on the tables for at least an hour before staff would take them away (it keeps everyone at their seat). Passenger in front had her seat back for the whole duration of the flight - made space even tighter. Impossible to see TV (very small screen blocked by tall passenger in front). Food poor. Soft drinks, earphones cost 2$. If you show up for a flight late (1 hour before scheduled flight time) even with pre-reserved seats, get ready to mend for yourselves without any assistance whatsoever from Air Transat or from Avia partners staff. A practice probably due to overbooking. The flight out of Marseille left ten minutes in advance (how many passengers with prepaid non refundable tickets were left behind, I wonder).

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  8 September 2009 : by R Monger   (Canada)

YUL-BOD return. I often fly Air Transat between France and Canada. They are the only carrier flying direct routes to some destinations such as Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseilles, Toulouse from Canada. I choose them mainly for price and for their unique direct route options they offer. But don't expect anything luxurious! You pay for your transport and that's what you get period. They do it efficiently, but with pretty basic service. Seat map was probably designed by an accountant : they use every space and they managed to put 9 abreast rows in aircraft that usually contain only 8. Moreover, they put only 3 washrooms in their 250 passengers A310s (only 2 at the back for 230 people in economy and one for premium economy customers at the front). You can imagine how the line up looks like during a 7 or 8 hour flight? In a recent flight one of the 2 washrooms was out of order - it was pretty messy! Overall I recommend them for the price and for the Europan routes they have from Canada (changing at CDG is a mess, so direct flights, even if a bit uncomfortable, really make the difference !).

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  4 September 2009 : by Chris Mitchell   (UK)

Newcastle to Toronto. Booked flights last year and used this airline because of the 'nonstop' flight from the North East (states this on the booking form ) and the reasonable price. Flight out was fine - no real problems - although food was bland and entertainment limited but it is a relatively short flight. We were informed two weeks before the holiday that we would be returning via Exeter - it is within their policy and obviously they can do it but the short notice and lack of compensation are annoying. Check in lines were long at YYZ but everyone was processed quickly. Flight back was short but food was poor. Stop at Exeter was not well planned or catered for - lack of staff to cope with influx of passengers wanting refreshments and it added a couple of hours onto the journey. No Air Transat staff available to direct proceedings at Exeter and it was a bit of a farce to say the least. Having read the rest of the reviews it seems that stops en-route are becoming a bit of a habit for Air Transat, and it puts me off using them. You get what you pay for and the cheaper price is reflected in the quality of food/entertainment/luggage allowance. I'm afraid it will be back to BA and the trek through LHR for me in future which is a shame, because a non-stop flight to North America from the North-East is a great advantage.

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  4 September 2009 : by B Underwood   (Canada)

My 4 month pregnant wife and I flew Montreal to Paris. Sure it's not as luxurious as some of the main carriers, but we got there and back in one piece, and that is what you pay for. The seats were not as small and uncomfortable as I'd heard - I've had worse on North American domestic flights. The food is airline food, but not all that bad. If you are looking for a long-distance flight without completely going broke, then I think you will be satisfied with Air Transat.

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  15 August 2009 : by H Albright   (UK)

I have traveled with Air Transat a number of times. They are not my first choice, but every time I have used them they have got the job done. My main problems with them are the low baggage allowance and lack of modern inflight entertainment. They have also been more expensive than BA or Air Canada recently. I should point out to Stan Glass and others who might be confused by the terminology that he did, in fact, get a direct flight. What he did not get was a non-stop flight. The two are different things. A direct flight may make an intermediate stop, and may even involve a change of aircraft as long as the flight number remains the same. If you want a flight that goes from A to B without landing at C on the way, you need to look for a non-stop flight, which is not the same as a direct flight.

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  14 August 2009 : by Stan Glass   (Canada)

I booked a flight from Toronto to Edinburgh for July 21, returning July 29.. I was told it was direct. Instead, it stopped at Exeter, where we had to get off, with all our carry on's. We then had to go through another security check. This took a considerable time, at an airport, with very little facilities. And now for the return flight from Edinburgh to Toronto. Overbooked - I had to go to Glasgow and get a flight by Thomas Cook the next day. A day late getting home, and lost wages for 1.5 days. Along with this, there was not any offer of compensation. I submitted a complaint to the travel agent over a week ago, without any response. I get the feeling, Air Transat will stall, and hope I go away. Not a chance.

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  31 July 2009 : by G Landolt   (Switzerland)

It was awful. Bought the ticket since it was the cheapest one way I could find. Whatever I might have saved, I paid in luggage fee. I paid as much for my seat as I did for my luggage. For the same price, I could have taken a regular flight. Instead, I had to live with a small portion of horrible food, a small television screen miles away from my seat, angry and rude staff, lots of children (since they do a lot of family promoting), and a very uncomfortable seat.

AIR TRANSAT customer review :  20 July 2009 : by P Cooper   (UK)

Air Transat Club Class from London-Gatwick to Toronto last month and very impressed. Club Class is really Economy Plus in terms of seating, as the seat pitch is 35" and a touch wider - however service and food is on a par with the major airlines (if not better). We also travelled with a 10 month old baby who decided to be sick all over us a couple of times, yet it didn't faze the cabin crew at all who went out of their way to help us.