Air Transat, the leading charter carrier in Canada, today inaugurated its Montreal-Toronto-Winnipeg-Vancouver route. Flight TS 428 arrived from Toronto at 11:30 am (Winnipeg time), thus marking the carrier’s official entry at the Winnipeg International Airport.

“With the establishment of this new route, Winnipeg becomes the ninth city served by us in the domestic market,” noted Sylvie Bourget, Air Transat’s Vice-President, Marketing. “It’s a first step in further developing what we offer out of Winnipeg, especially to sunshine destinations starting with the 2000-2001 winter season,” she explained. “It gives us great pleasure to welcome Air Transat to Winnipeg International Airport,” stated Coleen Rogers, Executive Vice-President of the Winnipeg Airports Authority.

“The presence of a new carrier will certainly make a dynamic contribution to our operations as a whole, especially in terms of the broader spectrum of possibilities now available to travellers in the Greater Winnipeg region,” she added.

Until the end of October, Air Transat will fly the Montreal-Toronto-Winnipeg-Vancouver route, return, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. The regular fare for a return flight from Winnipeg is $299 for Vancouver, $189 for Toronto, and $259 for Montreal. To mark its entry at the Winnipeg International Airport, Air Transat is offering a $50 discount to summer travellers departing from Winnipeg who purchase their tickets by June 25.

“We are very pleased with the interest shown by travellers in the Winnipeg region,” added Sylvie Bourget. “Even before arrangements for the official inauguration of the flight got under way, we had more bookings for Winnipeg departures than for departures from our two main airports, Toronto and Montreal. These initial results are very promising, and we thank travellers and travel agents for their support,” she concluded.

About Air Transat
Air Transat, an air carrier, specializes in charter flights from several Canadian cities to vacation destinations, mainly in the south during the winter months and in Europe during the summer. Year-round, Air Transat links Canada’s principal cities. In addition, Air Transat is one of the designated scheduled carriers between Canada and France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Cuba. Air Transat flies to 87 destinations in 25 countries. It has a fleet of 20 aircraft and 2,300 employees. In 1999, Air Transat carried close to 3 million passengers.

Air Transat is a subsidiary of Transat A.T. Inc., the leader in Canada’s holiday travel industry. Transat A.T. Inc. is also a leading player in France, and has operations in the Kingdom and in the United States.