Calgary (Alberta) and Montreal (Quebec), February 14, 2007
Transat A.T. Inc. (TSX: TRZ.B; TRZ.A) and WestJet (TSX: WJA) have renewed their partnership agreement for three years, from November 1, 2007, to October 31, 2010, with renewal option. The agreement allows tour operators Transat Holidays and Nolitours, both Transat units, to charter WestJet aircraft flying out of more than 20 Canadian cities to a total of approximately 20 sun destinations. WestJet and Transat have signed the first such agreement in 2003; the current agreement expires October 31, 2007.
“With this agreement, more Canadians will be able to take advantage of direct flights to sun destinations, because WestJet’s Boeing 737s allow us to expand our footprint in smaller and regional markets,” explained Nelson Gentiletti, President, Transat Tours Canada, a Transat subsidiary that manages the Nolitours and Transat Holidays brands.
Sean Durfy, President of WestJet, said: “We are extremely pleased to renew our partnership with Transat through October 2010. This association has been very beneficial to both our organizations and we are very enthusiastic about the idea of further extending this cooperation in order to be able to provide travellers across Canada with excellent service and schedules.”
For this winter season (2006-2007), Transat—Canada’s largest tour operator—is offering sun packages out of 22 Canadian gateways from coast to coast, some 20 of which, including Comox, Kelowna, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Regina, Ottawa, Moncton and Fredericton are wholly or partly served through WestJet. Transat handles about 85% of its flying capacity requirements through its subsidiary Air Transat, a holiday travel specialist with a fleet of 15 wide-body jets (11 Airbus A310s with 259 seats and 4 Airbus A330s with 362 seats). Transat partners with other carriers, including WestJet, to complete its offering.
About WestJet
WestJet is Canada’s leading low-cost airline offering scheduled service throughout its 31-city North American network. WestJet pioneered low-cost, high-value flying in Canada. With increased legroom and leather seats on its modern fleet of next-generation Boeing 737 aircraft, and live seatback television on its 737-700 fleet, WestJet strives to be the number one choice for travellers.
About Transat
Transat A.T. Inc. is an integrated international tour operator with more than 60 destination countries and that distributes products in over 50 countries. A holiday travel specialist, Transat operates mainly in Canada and Europe, as well as in the Caribbean, Mexico and the Mediterranean Basin. Montreal-based Transat is also active in air transportation, destination services and distribution. (TSX: TRZ.B, TRZ.A)