Air Transat - grim or OK?

[grumpy4squash]

Looking at UK to Canada. Air Transat is by far the cheapest, but it is just a longhaul version of EasyJet?

Would you pay the difference for BA?

It’s cheap because nothing is provided. Reviews online are mixed to say the least particularly if there are delays or other problems. By the time you have paid for extras like bag fees the price difference is far less. This is how such carriers make their money.

I would look at Air Canada as their fares can be reasonable.

It’s cheap and cheerful, but not that bad. BA isn’t necessarily that great these days. If these price difference is minimal, then may as well fly BA, but if it’s significant then I would go with AT. Just make sure you take good and in flight entertainment with you.

We've used them twice Manchester to Vancouver mainly because it's direct . Yes it's cheaper but we didn't have any problems , food ok now t brilliant so take plenty of snacks etc in flight entertainment worked ok , you might want to take your own headphones . Flight attendants were efficient . And it got us there safely and on time . Ba would have been perhaps more comfy but the direct flight is more important for us .

Yes: it’s a budget airline experience. Good prices though!

Dire. But think of the money you’ll save.

We used them a few years ago and I thought they were fine am used to traveling Ryanair and Easyjet though

No frills but like Easy Jet, totally fine.
If you want a bit more to the journey then book Air Canada, but in my experience mildly plusher seats and a paper coaster for your drink does not necessarily mean a better flight. X

It’s not so much any extras but what needs to be also considered is how the passengers are treated when things go wrong. Customer service can be very lacking particularly when this happens because there is no contingency.

Have you looked at Iceland air. They fly to Canada from Scotland and prices can be similar to air transit .

We flew with them about 5 years ago and I was happy with it. Sounds like they may be more of a budget airline now than they were then though. We got meals, blankets, eye masks. The staff were very friendly and helpful.

Flew to Vancouver with them last year for the first time. Had similar concerns but the saving was nearly £1,000 compared with BA/Air Canada etc so figured it was worth the risk but our expectations were low.

We were pleasantly surprised all in all. I was glad we’d packed snacks but other than the food being a bit basic (not much worse than other airlines though, IME), I couldn’t find anything to complain about.

DH has flown with them to Canada and said it was OK. There are films on board and they feed you. He'd rather go with them through our local airport direct than have to go to London and connect to fly with Air Canada or BA. He was going to the eastern part of Canada though, I think if you were going to the west coast the decision would be different.

Flown to Calgary and Vancouver with them this year, they were absolutely fine.
We got meals, drinks, though nothing special - definitely take snacks.
Inflight entertainment was very good - take your own headphones.
Ours was part of a package so we got baggage and seat choices included.

Perfectly fine, but more delays than other carriers.

We flew with them this year -London to Toronto, Toronto to Calgary and Vancouver to London. They really were totally and completely fine. I wd definitely book with them again. No hesitation whatsoever.

Did UK Canada this year and way better than I thought actually. Def better than easyJet. Would fly again. I posted here about them and consensus was ok.

Agree re snacks but I would anyway if travelling with kids.

Could also try WestJet. If you're going to the Canadian west coast, it'll be a lot of connections but maritime Canada or eastern Canada will be fewer connections. I've done Icelandair and enjoy it. They give out (or have in the past) a little activity bag for kids.

My experience was a few years ago but it was brilliant, and we really tested them. We had dd1 5 and dtds 20 months. I also fell ill on the flight home and had to have oxygen. Take extra snacks and it's all good.

They are fine, but look at WestJet too. Bring your ipad as the new planes don't have screens, you log onto their wifi

WestJet fly direct on some days, connections on others, so you might need to be flexible with dates.

Have used them at least 20 times to Toronto!
Biggest benefit is local departure airport/ direct flight and not having to go via London (I typically use BA for other long haul destinations)
Cheap and cheerful 😀 but worth it all in

HTH