The excitement of living a truly magical moment was evident in the eyes of children who, accompanied by their families, boarded three Air Transat Airbus A310s this afternoon and headed for the North Pole in search of Santa Claus. Air Transat offered the exclusive flights — departing from Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver — to the Children’s Wish Foundation to fulfil the dreams of children with serious illnesses. During the 90-minute flight, Santa Claus appeared on board the aircraft and distributed presents.

This is the second year that Air Transat has partnered with the Children’s Wish Foundation. After the flight, Air Transat presented the Foundation with a cheque for $600,000, courtesy of the airline’s passengers and employees.

Samuel, 6 years old, said: “The Santa Claus flight was so much fun. We flew at nighttime, there were lots of elves, and we found Santa! He even came on board the plane. It was amazing.”

For his part, Chris Kotsopoulous, National Executive Director for The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, said: “Air Transat, our platinum partner, contributes to our mission of helping children by providing us with equipment and all of the resources we need to fulfil the dreams of sick children. We are grateful for the support and the enthusiasm of the entire Air Transat team.”

Added Air Transat’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Allen B. Graham: “Our Change for Kids program, which was implemented two years ago, consists of collecting foreign currency from our passengers returning from holiday. Thanks to contributions made by passengers, employees and this special flight, the Foundation is able to make the dreams of these youngsters, who are battling so courageously against illness, come true. Our employees are proud to be the Number 1 partner of the Children’s Wish Foundation.”

The Flight in search of Santa event was made possible by the generous contribution of several partners and Air Transat employees, who participated on a completely volunteer basis.

About The Children’s Wish Foundation
The Children’s Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to fulfilling a favourite wish for children diagnosed with a high-risk, life-threatening illness. In its 22 years of existence, the Foundation has made 12, 000 wishes come true across Canada and has never refused the wish of an eligible child.

About Air Transat
Air Transat is Canada’s leading holiday travel airline. It carries some 2.5 million passengers annually in 25 countries. Air Transat has a fleet of 15 Airbus A330s and A310s. The company employs approximately 2,000 people. Air Transat is a subsidiary of Transat A.T. Inc., an integrated international tour operator with more than 60 destination countries and that distributes products in over 50 countries.