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Transat speaks of a level of activity at around 20% of a summer program normal.
After 112 days of interruption, Air Transat has resumed its commercial flights Thursday, on a reduced scale. The 23 July is the day of resumption of activities for the air component of tour operator Transat A. T. After nearly four months of detention, the air activities resume with three international flights (Montreal-Toulouse, Montreal-Paris and Toronto-London) and three domestic flights (Montreal-Toronto,Toronto-Montreal and Toronto-Vancouver). “By August 2, it is the whole of her summer program reduced its 24 flights to around 20 destinations that will be implemented “, one can read in the press release.
“The first flights are pretty much filled,” pointed out Christophe Hennebelle, and the bookings are good destinations such as France, Haiti or Portugal. “We feel a real interest of customers, even if the application is still far from what one would see during a normal state. “In his email, the vice-president, human resources and public affairs, also notes that the capacity of the carrier is obviously much lower for the moment. Transat speaks of a level of activity at around 20% of the summer normal, which allows him to remember gradually about 1,000 of the 4,000 employees were temporarily laid off in the spring, according to The canadian Press.
Annick Guérard, chief operating officer of Transat A. T., has put this long period of inactivity in perspective, making a parallel with the September 11, 2001, “the event, with the most marked and transformed our industry” in the last two decades. “Already on 13 September, two days later, Transat announced the gradual resumption of its flights. “
One feels a real interest of customers, even if the application is still far from what one would see during a normal
— Christophe Hennebelle
Plans for the winter season are not yet arrested. Also Transat specifies on its website that the policy cancellations were relaxed. If, for any reason, the tour operator is in the hands always of a policy of travel credit, this credit will not have expiry date and will be fully transferable.
Restrictions
For the time being, the canadian government does not recommend always non-essential travel outside of the country and the quarantine of 14 days remains in force for travelers arriving in the country. “Occupancy rates are the best in the start of the Canada that on the return. We hope that the canadian government will relax the measures of access to the country and quarantine, in a spirit of reciprocity vis-à-vis countries where the pandemic situation is under control “, adds Christophe Hennebelle.
The other specialist canadian travel vacations, Sunwing, which focuses on the Sun destinations to the south, has begun the process of reopening phase-in of its resorts on July 15, but has extended the suspension of its flying activities until 31 August. In an interview with BNN, Bloomberg, at the end of the month of June, the president of the air component Sunwing Airlines, Mark Williams, was also of the view that barriers may be lifted in a safe manner. He talked in the corridors with countries, such as Canada, have mastered the curve of the pandemic and adopted protocols similar to ours.
The airlines and other air transport stakeholders and the tourism industry were signatories of a letter addressed to Ottawa. In their eyes, many of the restrictions on travel still in application, aimed mainly to the closure of the borders to all international visitors, and the obligation of the quarantine, no longer have their reason for being. They want a resumption of ties and alignment with the countries that have already implemented hygiene protocols and biosecurity.
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