Transat France and Transavia France solidify their business relationship
Montreal, Canada, and Paris, France, July 19, 2010
Transat A.T. Inc., one of the world’s leading tour operators, and air carrier Transavia France have reached a three-year agreement under which Transat France will charter narrow-body Boeing 737-800 aircraft, mainly for its destinations in the Mediterranean Basin. The agreement was signed today at a ceremony attended by Jean-Marc Eustache, President and Chief Executive Officer and founder of Transat, and Lionel Guérin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transavia France. Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Chief Executive Officer of Air France KLM (Transavia France’s majority shareholder), Christian Boireau, Chief Executive Officer of the Supervisory Board of Transavia France, as well as Patrice Caradec, President of Transat France (which operates tour operators Vacances Transat and Look Voyages) and Michael DiLollo, President of Transat Tours Canada, were also present.
With this agreement, Transavia France becomes the partner of choice of Vacances Transat and Look Voyages for their medium-haul chartered flights and seat needs. Mr. Guérin said: “Transat has had a presence in France for almost 25 years. Our longstanding partnership has allowed us to expand to new summer destinations opened up by Look Voyages, such as Rhodes, and has provided us with many chances to display the seriousness and service quality that we offer our customers. We are delighted with this long-term agreement, which builds on the work accomplished by our teams and will enable Transavia France to add new destinations that meet the needs of Look Voyages or Vacances Transat. The agreement also allows Transavia France to reinforce its position in the leisure travel market.”
“We are thrilled to be strengthening our ties with Transavia France,” Mr. Eustache said. “And our customers will certainly be glad to be able to count on the high-calibre service provided by Transavia France, which now becomes our main carrier and preferred partner for medium-haul travel.” Mr. Caradec added: “Together, Look Voyages and Vacances Transat serve nearly 600,000 customers per year, with a good percentage of them boarding medium-haul flights to Mediterranean Basin destinations. This agreement, which enhances and consolidates our offer for the years ahead, is extremely promising, and we are very proud to be partnering with Transavia France.”
Transavia.com is the French low-cost airline founded by Air France/KLM and transavia.com in the Netherlands. In France, Transavia.com strives to offer competitive prices on schedules and non-scheduled flights to leisure destinations to direct customers and tour operators. This summer, the company offers 25 destinations from Paris Orly-Sud: Agadir, Antalya, Catane, Djerba, Fès, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Héraklion, Hurghada, Ibiza, Izmir, Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Louxor, Marrakech, Monastir, Olbia, Oujda, Palerme, Porto, Reykjavik, Rhodes, Séville, Tenerife et Tozeur. From Nantes, 7 destinations are offered: Djerba, Funchal, Héraklion, Marrakech, Monastir, Palma et Porto. From Lyon, 3 destinations are offered: Djerba, Heraklion et Monastir. In the Netherlands, transavia.com offers Rotterdam from Nice and Bergerac, Amsterdam from Biarritz, Montpellier, Nice and Toulon, as well as Copenhagen from Nice.
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, accommodation and distribution. (TSX: TRZ.B, TRZ.A)