2023/24 Set to Be Banner Year for Transat

There are a lot of exciting things happening at Transat for 2023-24 as unveiled at their Training Academy and trade show in Toronto Wednesday night.

Nicole Bursey, Commercial Director, Transat spoke to a room packed with 300 agents after holding similar events in London, Monday for 120 and just under 175 in Hamilton, ON Tuesday night.

"It's increasingly challenging to reach agents as more and more start to work from home, so these kinds of events are important. Any chance we can get to interact face to face with agents we're of course, happy to do it."

"Our partnership that we have with Transat is amazing," Andi Bachco, BDM for Playa Resorts and Hotels told TravelPulse Canada. "We know people are travelling a lot now and Transat has flights everywhere, especially more to the south. We want to make sure that that partnership continues to grow so that we bring more clients to showcase our properties."

Bursey told the group 2022 was really a recovery year, and they're pleased with how the winter shaped up. Partners were great in the eight Canadian gateways they service and specifically for Toronto, it was all about rebuilding market share.

"It's not really about building new opportunities. And we're not looking for new destinations, or anything like that. It's just doing what we already do really well, just with a bit more capacity out there."

Though sun destinations remained popular especially during the pandemic, Bursey says both interest and capacity are increasing for Europe, Central and South America.

"We were hoping to build on our sales from last winter for 2024. We used to have Winter Europe and Summer Europe with a drastic difference between the two. Now we're trying to even that out a little bit especially for major markets like Portugal and the UK, which we can make a year round program out of, as well of course as Spain and France which was already year round from Quebec."

"Agents know better than anyone the cost of travel has gone up a bit this year. And as much as that can be a bit painful to explain to clients, it is a good thing for our industry as it indicates to all of us that it's a sign of recovery that demand is there, and people are willing to spend a bit extra to travel."

Many airlines are suffering an aircraft shortage due to those demands, and Transat is not an exception. Bursey says they have a lot on order from Airbus, but they planes aren't ready yet, leaving the company lacking the size of fleet they wanted now. They've had to makes some adjustments and Bursey says the changes they've made haven't been too drastic as they've been able to work with partner airlines to cover any shortfalls.

"Sometimes we will look and say our choice is to operate with another partner airline or to cancel the program and we still think it's more important that we run the program and look for a partner. We don't ever want to make drastic changes, two or three months before departure, because that's when it's very hard for agents to find alternative travel arrangements for clients and when the price is then really, high. So I understand it's painful but we try to minimalize the pain as much as we can."

The tools agents can use to sell with Transat have been updated with increased interactivity; for example, while the company has officially eliminated its printed brochures, there is a tool which allows agents to send an itinerary directly to client to allow them to explore their options digitally.

Bursey says it's change can be a difficult thing, but it was important to ensure the company keeps up to date and accurate information on changing programs as well as helping to protect the environment.

"There are sustainability implications; we think it's the right thing to do for the planet. A lot of that waste is sad. When you print a brochure, it's inevitable that there's going to be some changes. The fact is you have to have accurate information in the hands of your customers, digital is the way to go."

With the new tools, group options and overall brand recognition in the industry, Bursey says Transat is a solid choice.

"When you're flying on Air Transat, it's an award-winning airline. We have a great customer experience score, we are recognized around the world as being a great leisure airline. When people book with us, they can feel comfort, knowing that they're getting a great product.

When you're selling Air Transat to your clients who really are selling a reputable brand."