MONTREAL — Air Transat may have had some labour negotiation turbulence at the end of 2025, but 2026 is shaping up to be very promising for the airline.

Now that an agreement has been signed with its pilots and its engine issues are nearing resolution, the Montreal-based carrier has far more freedom to continue its expansion.

That expansion was particularly prolific last year: announcements of new flights, year-round services, a multiplication of agreements with other carriers, and the acquisition of several operating licenses for long-haul destinations.

How will the airline maintain this momentum? We put this question and more to one of the key architects of the company’s strategic direction, Transat’s Chief Revenue Officer, Sebastian Ponce, in an exclusive interview.

Q. The pilots’ strike threat last December must have slowed your sales, but did bookings recover quickly after the tentative agreement was signed?

Ponce: “During the uncertainty caused by this conflict, we were a bit lucky in our misfortune: this period came just after Black Friday, which is a very important event for airlines and is followed by a very quiet period. The impact on our sales was therefore negative, but relatively limited. Then, as soon as we signed the tentative agreement with the pilots, things moved very quickly and sales picked up rapidly.”

Q. Now that Air Transat has secured five years of labor peace with its pilots, should we expect rapid development of new projects?

Ponce: “Our strategic growth plans depend on projections based on several factors, such as Canadian demand for international travel and our competitors’ strategies.

“But we also have to take internal factors into account, such as collective agreements, in order to assess our future cost base. From that standpoint, having clarity for five years is indeed important for planning. But we obviously did not wait for the agreement with the pilots to have projects in the pipeline.”

Q. In recent months Transat has announced new flights more frequently than ever before. Can you tell us why?

Ponce: “This season, the pace of new destinations has indeed increased, for two reasons. First, three of our aircraft that were grounded due to issues with Pratt & Whitney engines are in the process of returning to service. These aircraft, A321LRs, offer a fairly low unit cost and can be flown extensively—on average 15 hours a day. In addition, we are expecting delivery of three to four new A321XLR aircraft, which will bring our total fleet to seven such aircraft over the next two or three years.

“The other reason is that since the pandemic, people have increasingly favoured direct flights. In 2024, we opened routes to Lima, Marrakech, and other destinations, and seeing their popularity reinforced our belief that similar demand existed for other destinations.”

Q. In 2025, you surprised the industry by announcing flights to emerging, less-travelled or marginal destinations such as Ghana, Guyana, Senegal, and Albania. What’s the strategy behind these destinations?

Ponce: “Air Transat has always been very active in identifying new markets and niche destinations, as we did with Basel–Mulhouse (Switzerland/France), Lamezia (Italy), Glasgow (Scotland), and several French destinations (Bordeaux, Nantes, Marseille, etc.).

“Our advantage is that we have a model focused on leisure and VFR (Visiting Friends & Relatives) traffic, and we can be satisfied with launching one or two weekly flights, unlike carriers with significant business traffic that must serve a destination several times a week from the outset.

“If necessary, we can quickly adjust our offering if demand is there. That’s what we did last year with the Toronto-Berlin flight, which we increased to three flights per week this year after a first summer at two weekly flights. This year, we did the same with the Montreal-Rio de Janeiro flight, which we initially offered from February to April and have recently extended to June in response to demand.”

Q. In several of your new destinations (Dakar, Accra, Tirana, etc.), VFR customers form an important base. Is this an approach you plan to replicate elsewhere in the future?

Ponce: “This year, we placed greater emphasis on the VFR segment for our new flights. There is a large Senegalese population in Montreal and many Albanians in Toronto. Most of the time, however, we combine this clientele with leisure travellers. For example, while our Ghana flight mainly targets an ethnic market, Agadir also appeals to leisure travellers, even though it has VFR potential that blends well with Marrakech, which is not far away.

“Tirana is a similar destination: it serves as a good gateway to the Balkans and has few direct flights. We see that the VFR segment is responding well there and that there is strong potential for leisure tourism. In North America, the destination is less well known, but in Europe it is emerging and increasingly popular.”

Q. What does Air Transat expect from its new routes to Istanbul and Georgetown, Guyana?

Ponce: “These are two very different destinations. Georgetown is purely oriented toward the VFR market, which was previously poorly served because passengers had to connect via Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago), whereas Istanbul appeals to a mix of the Turkish diaspora in Canada and a strong leisure-travel potential across the country.

“In the latter case, it was also advantageous for us to offer codeshare flights with Turkish Airlines, since that carrier was limited in the number of flights it could operate to Canada, while demand for Istanbul remained strong. As a result, Air Transat passengers also gain access to Turkish Airlines’ vast network – the largest in the world – which notably opens the door to Asia.”

Q. Speaking of Asia, Air Transat obtained licenses from Transport Canada last fall for India, Bangladesh, Lebanon, and Sri Lanka. Will you soon be offering flights to these destinations?

Ponce: “Depending on how our partnership strategy evolves, we could activate these licenses in order to place our code on flights operated by other carriers to these regions, via connections within the Transat network.

“Air Transat continuously evaluates opportunities and the needs of the Canadian market, particularly for leisure travellers and those visiting friends and relatives. We can therefore never rule out launching new routes in the future, even if, in the short term, we do not plan to operate direct flights to these markets.”

Q. In December, you also obtained licenses to serve Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. Do you have any details on your plans for these destinations?

Ponce: “We requested and obtained these licenses solely for codesharing with other carriers, not to serve them directly ourselves. However, South America is part of our plans, and these destinations take time and solid investment to develop. Already, with Georgetown (Guyana), Rio de Janeiro, and Medellín (Colombia), our footprint on the continent is gradually expanding, and we will continue in that direction.

“We have also signed an interline agreement with Brazilian carrier GOL, thanks to which travellers flying Air Transat to Rio airport can benefit from simplified connections to GOL’s extensive network, which includes 65 domestic and 17 international destinations, including major cities such as São Paulo, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador and Belo Horizonte.”

Q. Still on South America, since the recent military intervention by the U.S. administration in Venezuela, threats have been looming over the Caribbean region, particularly Cuba. How are you preparing for potential geopolitical upheavals in these destinations?

Ponce: “In the short term, we find it hard to believe that Mexico and Colombia are under threat, and it is mainly the situation in Cuba that concerns us. For now, Cuban authorities are very clear about their ability to diversify their oil supply, since Venezuela can no longer meet demand as it once did.

“In the event of a severe shortage, or even U.S. intervention, we have a contingency plan and can quickly repatriate our customers using aircraft capable of flying roundtrip between Canada and Cuba on a single fuel load.

“For now, we are monitoring the situation very closely. It is an unfortunate situation that creates instability in the region, but we are prepared for any eventuality.”

Q. For destinations where you foresee growth potential in the leisure market, are you already preparing vacation packages?

Ponce: “We plan to develop packages for several of our new destinations, starting with Morocco. The presence of hotel chains on site with which we already work will make this task easier, and we already have plans for Agadir, as well as Dakar and Tirana.”

Q. For several years now, Toronto has been playing an increasingly important role in your network. Do you plan to continue growing your presence at Pearson, and do you foresee doing the same in other major centres across the country?

Ponce: “Montreal and Toronto are our two main bases, and that should remain the case for a long time. For now, we are focusing on Eastern Canada and do not plan, in the short term, to expand into the West – unless an opportunity arises that would be hard to refuse.”

Q. In that regard, does your agreement with Porter allow you to sufficiently feed these two main hubs?

Ponce: “Indeed, Porter increasingly feeds Montreal and Toronto by routing passengers there from all over the country. Our joint venture is working very well, and traffic has increased significantly, with revenue up 40% over the past year compared to the previous one.

“More and more passengers are becoming familiar with this service, and as they see that connections are seamless and baggage is transferred smoothly, they adopt it. We still need to work on certain aspects, such as communications and marketing, but it’s very promising.

“This year, we will also reach an important milestone, as we will begin selling Transat packages operated on Porter flights. This is phase three of our collaboration, which should be implemented in winter 2026–2027, with sales beginning in the spring of this year.”

Q. Finally, you have recently increased service from smaller markets in Quebec and the Maritimes. What role do they play in your strategy?

Ponce: “Smaller markets represent another pillar of our expansion. Quebec City holds an important place for Air Transat for historical reasons, as the company was founded in Quebec and customers in this market particularly appreciate us. We are, in fact, the only carrier in the country to connect it to Europe with direct flights. We recently increased our capacity to Guadeloupe and Martinique, and next summer we will launch new direct flights to Nantes and Marseille.

“Outside Quebec, we have also invested in other secondary airports such as Ottawa, as well as Charlottetown and Fredericton, two new additions this winter.

“That said, our expansion is sometimes limited by the absence of border services at certain airports. This is the case in Bagotville and Val-d’Or, for example, where the return flight must stop in Montreal or Quebec City for customs clearance before continuing to its final destination.

“All of this costs more and requires stronger operational coordination. We do not rule out serving these destinations one day, but their reality complicates the equation. And for now, we have more than enough to keep us busy elsewhere!”

Lead image caption: Transat’s Chief Revenue Officer, Sebastian Ponce (photo credit Bénédicte Brocard)