Transat marks 25th with new look

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Transat A.T. Inc gave itself a nifty birthday present, unveiling the first Air Transat Airbus A330 that features its new, fully redesigned cabin interior. Travellers in both Club and Economy classes will now enjoy comfort innovations and improvements, notably roomier, ergonomically designed leather seats with state-of-the-art touchscreen-based personal entertainment systems. The aircraft will seat 333 in Economy and 12 in Club class, for a total of 345 passengers. The lavatories have also been entirely redesigned, as have cabin layout features overall, with the aim of better fulfilling travellers’ needs. Passenger comfort will be further enhanced thanks to the brand-new mood lighting system, which employs sophisticated technology to vary cabin lighting levels and colours, smoothing the transitions between the various phases of a flight. The first of Transat’s newly refurbished aircraft was unveiled during a special event at Pearson Airport in Toronto yesterday and Allen B. Graham, president, Transat Canada and president and CEO, Air Transat, told the 500 attending the event that: “We care more than ever about our passengers’ in-flight experience, and the changes introduced today address our ultimate objective: to deliver value-added tourism services and exceptional standards of quality. As we introduce these cabin improvements, today we also reiterate our commitment to providing best-in-class, professional in-flight services.” Cabin interior refurbishments for the remainder of the Airbus A330 fleet will be completed gradually over a two-year period at a cost of $4 million per aircraft. Three A330s with the new interiors will be in service by this summer, flying Air Transat’s Europe routes. Transat A.T.’s president and CEO, Jean-Marc Eustache said during the event that: “The Transat adventure began 25 years ago, and is continuing in style in this anniversary year with a renewed range of unique, high-quality products. We are intensifying our efforts to differentiate, and the related investments are being made according to an overall strategy and following a coherent vision geared toward achieving a key goal: to deliver the best customer experience on the market.” Transat will unveil its newly refurbished plane in Montreal on May 17. The newly redesigned aircraft interiors, also add a green bonus — all of the A330s in the fleet will also be lighter once the cabin redesigns are complete, which will mean substantial fuel and cost savings. In the case of the first aircraft, the weight difference is two tonnes. This key feature complies with Air Transat’s environmental stewardship philosophy and serves its long-term objectives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Go to http://www.transat.com for more.