"Air Transat maintains its leadership in safety management by meeting the highest international safety and operational management standards," says General Manager Jean-François Lemay

MONTREAL, Aug. 8, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Transat, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transat A.T. Inc. that has been registered under the International Air Transport Association's IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) program since 2008, has now become the first airline in the world to renew its IOSA Registration based on the E-IOSA methodology. This latest achievement follows a stringent audit recently completed with success.

IOSA provides a standardized audit program for airlines' operational management and control systems, based on internationally recognized standards and supported by a rigorous quality assurance process that aims at improving operations and safety in the airline industry. The program comprises more than 900 stringent standards that contribute to airline operational safety in the areas of management, safety and security of flight operations, operational control, aircraft engineering and maintenance, cabin operations, ground handling and cargo operations.

In 2011, IATA added new elements to the program and introduced E-IOSA, which involves ongoing internal assessment processes, to provide enhanced value and continuity of the audit process. At the request of IATA, Air Transat participated in the development of the new program, which will be mandatory for IATA member companies from 2015.

"We are extremely proud to be the first airline in the world to renew its IOSA Registration based on the E-IOSA methodology," said Jean-François Lemay, General Manager of Air Transat, adding that "Air Transat maintains its leadership in safety management by meeting the highest international safety and operational management standards".

"We congratulate Air Transat for becoming the first airline to complete the rigorous standards of the Enhanced IOSA audit process. Their commitment to support implementation of Enhanced IOSA is commendable and paves the way for other airlines to follow suit," said Guenther Matschnigg, IATA's Senior Vice President, Safety and Flight Operations.

About Air Transat
Air Transat is Canada's leading holiday travel airline. Every year, it carries some 3 million passengers to nearly 60 destinations in 25 countries aboard its fleet of Airbus wide-body jets. The company employs approximately 2,000 people. Air Transat is a business unit of Transat A.T. Inc., an integrated international tour operator with more than 60 destination countries and that distributes products in over 50 countries.

A picture is available upon request.

Image with caption: "Air Transat is the first airline in the world to renew its IOSA registration under the Enhanced IOSA (E-IOSA) methodology. To mark this achievement, Jean-François Lemay (right), Air Transat's General Manager, welcomed Guenther Matschnigg (left), Senior Vice-President, Safety and Flight Operations, IATA, to the airline's head office in Montreal. (CNW Group/TRANSAT A.T. INC.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130808_C4608_PHOTO_EN_29722.jpg

SOURCE: TRANSAT A.T. INC.