Hi

I just want to know if anyone has used Air Transat in the past. Are they good? Air Canada and BA is charging £850 and above for London-Calgary return in July. Air Transat is charging below £500 for the same trip.

Do they issue electronic tickets or paper ones? I check on their website but nothing is mentioned about e-tickets.

I have booked my flight for Calgary but I am just wondering about the tickets now. It also mentioned Thomas Cook airline on the day I am travelling.

Any advice pls.

Cheers

Ibby

I've flown with them several times. Sometimes the tickets were paper, sometimes electronic, sometimes one of us got one of each. They're not time reliable so don't book close connecting flights (AC and BA aren't time reliable either but, if you miss your connection they'll buy you another flight). The flights were cramped, a bit smelly, but cheap. It's just a flight so I'd take them again.

We've used Canadian Affair which have both Air Transat and Thomas Cooks flights - we have had both. Never had a problem with either (nor have any family members).

In each case, we've had e-tickets, which we printed off once payment/confirmation was sorted out. Felt a bit strange going to check in with a sheet of A4 paper I'd printed - but all was in order and no problems.

Hi Ibby,

Our experience has been the same as Nicola...Air Transat, Thomas Cook have both been OK for us as have e-tickets, which are becomming more and more the norm nowadays. Good advice from dbd33 too re not risking close connecting flights but I imagine you are flying direct so that may not matter. Here's hoping you and yours have a very successful recce.

Kind regards

Eamonn & Janet.

Given the choice I'd take Thomas Cook Airlines. I'm 6'4" and the extra 2" of legroom that TC provide is priceless! We flew back a couple of years ago on Air Transat and I was in agony for half the flight.

Advice from experience. My daughter flew AT to Gatwick allowing seven hours for her connecting flight to Switzerland. She missed the connection and a ticket at the same-day price was required. I didn't enjoy that bill.

If it's a Thomas Cook flight (I think they use the same planes but stand corrected if I'm wrong), the leg room is great but the seats are really crammed in. We were issued with 'real' tickets which came through the post, but I've also used e tickets.

Ditto above, found staff really friendly and helpful on the air transat flight and also had e ticket

We have just returned from a recce in NS. We flew out with Air Transat and returned with Thomas Cook. If I had a choice I would highly recommend Air Transat over Thomas Cook. Here's why:
Air Transat - friendly and considerate staff, more comfortable seating, even though the leg room was less than TC (i'm 6ft), complimentay drinks throughout the flight, had to pay on TC (apart from tea and coffee with meal)
better quality food than TC, better quality tv's!!
We found that the staff were great with AT, nothing was too much trouble and they made a point of talking to the kids. TC staff were a bit 'robotic' and lacked any kind of personality!! I guess thats the difference between Canada and the UK.
Oh and another thing, headphones were $2 on the AT flight to buy. On TC they were £2.75. We hated the flight home as that was the early reminder that we were heading back to 'rip-off Britain'.

Guess where we are going to live??

I agree with much of what was said above. Air Transat service/freebies was better but the leg room on TC was far better making the flight more comfortable (and I am only 5' 4")

Check out zoom too as they are sometimes cheaper if they fly where you are going.

I flew air transat last week, back home from holiday in the UK. They are OK but I do prefer TC. lBut then I am only 5ft with two small kids. The food was better with TC I thought, as last week and the two weeks before when I left Canada it was all about Curry from presidents choice microwaved! Next time I a bringing me sandwiches for me and the kids. But any budget air line is pretty much the same as the next......lets face it, you get what you pay for eh?

If you fly from Calgary AT let you book in first with a young family.....however they don't in Gatwick, so I was stood there like a bit of a twit to be honest and was then told no can do.

Safe journey whatever!

Mrs Miggins

Surely even with premium airlines one should bring sandwiches, lord knows I wouldn't want to survive on AC rations.

Chances are they won't let you on with your sandwiches anyway.

That's only problematic if you go via the US. My ex had her salami confiscated in Chicago, next renegotiation she had the seperation agreement amended from "annual flights home" to "annual direct flights home". I couldn't blame her, salami is shit here and she lost hers inbound.

We tried to take sandwiches on the plane Gatwick direct to Halifax as the kids generally don't really like the in-flight meal (who does). we were told that we were not allowed to take food on the plane.

Sounds like it just depends who is on the desk.