The first of Transat's training academies kicked off in Toronto Wednesday night, their first official in-person training event since the pandemic and also a celebration of the company's upcoming 35th anniversary in November.
It's the first of five this week, with three others happening in Quebec and one Nova Scotia. Over the course of the pandemic, Transat continued to stay connected with agents and industry reps with things like their "parking lot parties" but holding the first live Academy since 2019 was a welcome return to normal.
TravelPulse Canada spoke with Nicole Bursey, Commercial Director, Transat before the event, who told us it's an exciting time for Transat.
"Some of our partners took the pause time of the pandemic to upgrade their properties," Bursey explains. "There are a few additions to some hotel chains for example and others took the time to shut down parts of their hotels and make some improvements, which we're really excited for.
Agents are quite optimistic about this coming winter season."
Having agents excited and optimistic will go a long way as the industry continues its rebound and works out the kinks of returning to full operation after two years. A large part of that optimism with Transat is due to their ground crew and their BDMs who throughout the pandemic worked tirelessly to maintain those relationships.
"We were proud of our flight crew during the pause and then when we started flying again. They're a very dedicated group of people, I'm sure there's quite a few who have a star tattooed on them," Bursey quips.
"Our BDMs pulled out of their regular business development role during the pandemic. Our goal was to offer support to agents because that's what we needed to do; support more on administrative and important issues than building business. Now that there's a little bit less to manage on the administrative side, they can get back out on the road with consumer events. We're ramping up that side of the business and agents are ready for that."
Bursey stresses the importance of agents because customers want "to talk to a real life, human being" a lot of times when booking their travel, an immeasurable expertise she says agents brings to the conversation when planning trip.
"I think if nothing else we learned during the pandemic, it was quite clear that if and when something goes wrong, having that professional that's there and accessible to you is a big thing. Agents were put in a horrible position at times when they were trying to get the answers and it wasn't always easy to get answers. But they really showed the true value of a travel professional and showed their professionalism. They hunted down answers, they calmed people down, they were our frontline face to the customer on our behalf. And we really appreciate them."
Transat is celebrating their 35th anniversary this November and Bursey says in addition to prizes at the Academies, there are some contests that start this week, where agents can earn some trips, just by booking with Transat over the next few weeks. Throughout the year, there will also be some little surprises as they continue the celebrations.
Bursey says Transat will continue to grow in all their different pillars, making for a larger Transat, but a healthy one. Agents can expect to see growth on the airline side of things, though there is no immediate plan to return to Western Canada.
"Overall, I think we're ready to put the last two years behind us, while still being sensitive to the fact it's not completely over. We want to start more conversations about the future and growing business, and tonight is a great kickoff for that."
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