Air Transat from Toronto?

[stefanospops]

So I waited for Southwest to release their fares through January and see that their prices are only about $500 less than flying out of Toronto strictly based on the flight. I still need to factor in my driving time to Buffalo and the cost of a hotel room for the night/parking. I don't need to pay for parking in Toronto since I live 10 mins from the airport. So my question is if anyone has flown with Air Transat and what they thought. There will be 6 of us flying, my 70 year old mother in law, a 5, 3, and 1 year old and my wife and I. Thoughts?

 

[Tower]

So I waited for Southwest to release their fares through January and see that their prices are only about $500 less than flying out of Toronto strictly based on the flight. I still need to factor in my driving time to Buffalo and the cost of a hotel room for the night/parking. I don't need to pay for parking in Toronto since I live 10 mins from the airport. So my question is if anyone has flown with Air Transat and what they thought. There will be 6 of us flying, my 70 year old mother in law, a 5, 3, and 1 year old and my wife and I. Thoughts?

It's been decades since I've flown Air Transat, but take another look at the pricing. We're a family of 5 and, though it's $500 more on Air Transat, that $500 is $500 more to spend at Disney. For us, the Air Transat flight leaves too early in the AM for us and our cruise, and we can't just leave the car in Buffalo while we divert to YYZ.
Good Luck!

 

[bluebelle99]

We flew Air Transat this past February (2010).

Flight was on time, luggage arrived without problem. Seats were ok (other than that they were of some leather like material and felt cold), but many people seem to complain that the seats are small/tight.

No free food on board -- if that is important to you. Also no free headsets etc for adults (only kids). If you would like a pillow/blanket etc, you have to buy a convenience pack for $6 or $7. For a 2.5 hour flight, these things did not matter to me.

We cleared US Customs/Imm. in Toronto. All we had to do in Orlando was claim our bags and go.

I would fly with them again anytime the price is right.

 

[poohbear37]

We usually fly out of Buffalo however this year I'm planning on Air Transat. The buffalo prices don't seem as good as they were last year and by the time I add in a night at a hotel dinner that night and driving to Buffalo I decided that Toronto would work better this year and we would probably not have that big a difference in the price. Also talked my DH into an extra day at Disney since we wouldn't have that drive home.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The only time my family and I flew Air Transat from Toronto - Orlando I remember our flight left in the afternoon, however they changed it and it was not for the good. Before we landed in Orlando they added that it must stop St. Petersburg - Clearwater International Airport, where only 10% off the passengers got off and the remaining 90% got off in Orlando. So that meant we got to Orlando a lot later then expected. When the reservations were made with our travel agent it was originally a direct flight from Toronto - Orlando. Plus we had to wait half an hour or more before we re-boarded the plane in Clearwater. The only reason we kept that flight is that there was nothing else our travel agent could do, so we couldn't change our flight reservations and why we choose not to fly with them anymore.

 

[zenkatt]

My wife and i flew air transat in january(2010). we got a crazy rate of $180 cad rtn so it was the first time we flew out of toronto(our last 6 trips were out of buffalo).we loved it. we're in etobicoke and 5 minutes away so it was a new experience to land and 5 minutes later we were in the apartment. i am 6'7" and the transat seats were tight for me but manageable. i would fly transat again in a heartbeat.very friendly crew.i don't want to fly out of buf anymore.if you dig hard enough i see yyz fares popping up at $250 or less very often on various cariers.i don't have any complaint about transat though.they were on time and did the job.

 

[stefanospops]

My wife and i flew air transat in january(2010). we got a crazy rate of $180 cad rtn so it was the first time we flew out of toronto(our last 6 trips were out of buffalo).we loved it. we're in etobicoke and 5 minutes away so it was a new experience to land and 5 minutes later we were in the apartment. i am 6'7" and the transat seats were tight for me but manageable. i would fly transat again in a heartbeat.very friendly crew.i don't want to fly out of buf anymore.if you dig hard enough i see yyz fares popping up at $250 or less very often on various cariers.i don't have any complaint about transat though.they were on time and did the job.

All - Thanks for the feedback. I too live in Etobicoke and even though I have flown out of Buffalo in the past it doesn't seem worth it to save a total of maybe $300 when I consider the cost for parking (i park for free out of Toronto since someone in my family can drive and pick us up) and the hotel since the flights are early morning. Factor in the extra few hours of driving and I just can't justify the "minor" savings (in my opinion). The last time we flew out of Buffalo I save at least $1500 total for 6 of us. That is worth it to me. I guess if I have a horrible experience on my trip things may change, but until then I think I'm going to give it a shot. Thanks again all for your opinions.

 

[TorontoGirl]

My only advice to check that you will actually be flying with Air Transat...they own or have agreements with the smaller southern resort based airlines...and not all of THEM go through customs at Person.

We got a REALLY cheap flight to MCO from Air Transit only to see on the paperwork that we were going on a smaller airline that usually only flies direct to the caribbean/mexico for resort guests - this meant that we did not go through customs at Person but were made to wait OUTSIDE the gate area so that we could be patted down and carry on's checked (although this was in Jan after the Xmas terrorist scare - it may be relaxed now?)

Anyway - then we got to Orlando and still had to go through customs before we got to board the Magical Express! We had never had to collect our luggage before! Disney just got it for us and we never saw it after Person until our hotel room. This time we had to collect, go thru US customs and then RE-CHECK the luggage with Magical Express before starting our vacations! Such a hassle and I told my DH (who loves the cheap stuff but insists on direct flights) NEVER AGAIN!

I now wait for the seat sales with Air Canada or WestJet...its just more convienent even if it is a little more expensive!

 

[webworm]

So I waited for Southwest to release their fares through January and see that their prices are only about $500 less than flying out of Toronto strictly based on the flight. I still need to factor in my driving time to Buffalo and the cost of a hotel room for the night/parking. I don't need to pay for parking in Toronto since I live 10 mins from the airport. So my question is if anyone has flown with Air Transat and what they thought. There will be 6 of us flying, my 70 year old mother in law, a 5, 3, and 1 year old and my wife and I. Thoughts?

AirTran has nonstop flights out of Buffalo in January for $89.00 one way or $199.40US return including taxes. Fares put of Pearson are like $450.00 including taxes. If you have to buy 6 tickets then its a no brainer that you fly out of Buffalo.

 

[stefanospops]

AirTran has nonstop flights out of Buffalo in January for $89.00 one way or $199.40US return including taxes. Fares put of Pearson are like $450.00 including taxes. If you have to buy 6 tickets then its a no brainer that you fly out of Buffalo.

I've checked and for the time that I am going I only save $100 on airfare flying out of Buffalo. I have checked Air Tran, Southwest and Jetblue. For 6 I pay $2100US from Buffalo or $2200CAD from Pearson.