Anyone Flown Air Transat YYZ - MCO?

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

JetBlue's flight prices from SYR for August 2014 are awful, and our dates from Buffalo are down right ridiculous.

We can fly from Toronto (which is closer than either option above) via Air Transat for just slightly more than JetBlue from Syracuse and better flight times (which means we won't need a park and fly before or a hotel after). And their flights are non-stop....which is a must.

Never flown Air Transat, nor known anyone who has done so. Anyone been there, done that and care to share your experiences?

WestJet and Air Canada are both more expensive than Air Transat. Sunwing is out.....we found their planes way too cramped for my big fellas.

If I am reading the site correct, there is no extra charge for baggage via Air Transat? But seat selection will cost me more.

DH will not consider Southwest from Buffalo......we are not fans of their open seating. Similarly, we have tried AirTran once and weren't impressed.

Aren't we fussy?

 

[Disneylover99]

Hi Gina,

We flew AirTransat out of Toronto in Aug. 2011. Our flight to Orlando and back to Toronto was on time and everyone on board seemed pleasant enough. Other then that I have no real memories good/bad about the flight so it must have been fine.

Are you finding decent AirTransat prices out of Toronto? Because we are waiting for Southwest to open up their flights for August.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hi Gina,

We flew AirTransat out of Toronto in Aug. 2011. Our flight to Orlando and back to Toronto was on time and everyone on board seemed pleasant enough. Other then that I have no real memories good/bad about the flight so it must have been fine.

Are you finding decent AirTransat prices out of Toronto? Because we are waiting for Southwest to open up their flights for August.

Thanks for the feedback .

Right now, here's what the pricing is currently at for our dates (Sunday, August 17th to Sunday, August 31st), 3 people, nonstop both directions:

JetBlue out of SYR: $1307 (7:55 am departure from SYR, 10:12 pm arrival back home)

JetBlue out of BUF: $2246 (8:05 am departure from BUF, 9:21 pm arrival back home)

Air Transat out of Toronto: $1401 (2 pm departure from Toronto, 8:45 pm return back home)

JetBlue's prices are in USD, so we'd have to factor in the exchange rate (and our dollar has fallen in the past few weeks) and conversion fees. Air Transat is in Canadian funds.

We could use up almost 30,000 TrueBlue points and shave just under $400 off the Syracuse total, but we'd still need at least a park and fly the night before (if not a hotel the day we come home, too....depending on how tired we are).

Ah, decisions, decisions. My problem is I hate trying something new!!!

 

[Disneylover99]

Thanks for the feedback .

Right now, here's what the pricing is currently at for our dates (Sunday, August 17th to Sunday, August 31st), 3 people, nonstop both directions:

JetBlue out of SYR: $1307 (7:55 am departure from SYR, 10:12 pm arrival back home)

JetBlue out of BUF: $2246 (8:05 am departure from BUF, 9:21 pm arrival back home)

Air Transat out of Toronto: $1401 (2 pm departure from Toronto, 8:45 pm return back home)

JetBlue's prices are in USD, so we'd have to factor in the exchange rate (and our dollar has fallen in the past few weeks) and conversion fees. Air Transat is in Canadian funds.

We could use up almost 30,000 TrueBlue points and shave just under $400 off the Syracuse total, but we'd still need at least a park and fly the night before (if not a hotel the day we come home, too....depending on how tired we are).

Ah, decisions, decisions. My problem is I hate trying something new!!!

Well at least you ruled out Buffalo. Personally, based on your prices, (plus I know how much you love Jet Blue) I would choose JetBlue out of Syracuse.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Well at least you ruled out Buffalo. Personally, based on your prices, (plus I know how much you love Jet Blue) I would choose JetBlue out of Syracuse.

Isn't that Buffalo price nuts?!? Totally out of whack!

If the return flight got in earlier at SYR, it wouldn't be such a tough decision. The boy will start college on day after Labour Day, so we kind of wanted to be home at a semi-reasonable time on Sunday so we could have all of Monday to get back to normal.

Our other concern is the size of the plane. The JetBlue flights are on the small planes (2 x 2 seating) while the Air Transat plane is BIG (3 x 4 x 3 seating, I think). I tend to get airsick more often on the smaller aircraft, whether by fluke or by design I'm not sure. I had hoped that the JetBlue flights would be on their larger planes, but nope .

 

[Disneylover99]

Our other concern is the size of the plane. The JetBlue flights are on the small planes (2 x 2 seating) while the Air Transat plane is BIG (3 x 4 x 3 seating, I think). I tend to get airsick more often on the smaller aircraft, whether by fluke or by design I'm not sure. I had hoped that the JetBlue flights would be on their larger planes, but nope .

Wow, I don't remember AirTransat being that big. I thought it was 3 by 3 seating. You can see how observant I am.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Wow, I don't remember AirTransat being that big. I thought it was 3 by 3 seating. You can see how observant I am.

lol, that's a good thing, I would say! Obviously nothing sticks out as negative in your mind.

I just took a peek at the layout of the seating. Its 3 - 3 -3 .

http://staticcontent.transat.com/airtransat/infovoyageurs/content/EN/310_300_CA.html

 

[dennise]

We did YHZ-PIE last spring, on AT, we had no problems, but its was the 3x3 seating, I didn't find it any more cramped than others. It is a charter so they do tend to be a bit smaller. It was a good flight and on time. Direct was the selling point for us.

 

[networktek]

we have used air transat from YYZ to MCO a few times and have never had any trouble the the flight it has always left on time we even got to go in there newest plane. really liked air transat but for us we can get a cheaper flight out of buffalo.

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

Not sure if you have thought of this but I thought I'd put it out there. If prices go down on JetBlue , you can get a credit which is good for a year. So if you have plans to travel in the next year, the credit will come in handy. You are leaving the 16th? If so (I've been watching the same departure date ) so far it has fluctuated between $198 and $238 . Just a thought !

 

[bankr63]

As another big guy, I would strongly advise to check the seat pitch on AT. Most charter carriers give about an inch less room between rows compared to schedule carriers so they can cram in more seats. That inch can make a lot of difference!

Check out your flights on http://www.seatguru.com/ and look at the seat pitch for your flights.

It looks like A-300 from AT has a pitch of 32 in economy. The A320 from JB has a pitch of 34 but their smaller Embraer's have a pitch of 32 as well.

Also, check the price of AT's club seats. It's been a very long time since I flew AT, but they used to charge only $25 per leg more for the premium seats. That used to be a huge bargain!

As far as flight times go, I would take the earlier flight from SYR. Leaving Toronto at 2:00 means your just hitting the ground at MCO around Dinner time. That's a waste of a whole day!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Not sure if you have thought of this but I thought I'd put it out there. If prices go down on JetBlue , you can get a credit which is good for a year. So if you have plans to travel in the next year, the credit will come in handy. You are leaving the 16th? If so (I've been watching the same departure date ) so far it has fluctuated between $198 and $238 . Just a thought !

That's definitely a perk we are keeping in mind (and muddying the waters of our decision). We can leave either the Saturday (the 16th) or the Sunday (the 17th).....either will work. There's currently only one ticket left for the Saturday at $198, then the other two would be at $238. I was hoping to get round trip for around $300-$325 at the most, so $238 one way is a real bummer.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

As another big guy, I would strongly advise to check the seat pitch on AT. Most charter carriers give about an inch less room between rows compared to schedule carriers so they can cram in more seats. That inch can make a lot of difference!

Check out your flights on http://www.seatguru.com/ and look at the seat pitch for your flights.

It looks like A-300 from AT has a pitch of 32 in economy. The A320 from JB has a pitch of 34 but their smaller Embraer's have a pitch of 32 as well.

Also, check the price of AT's club seats. It's been a very long time since I flew AT, but they used to charge only $25 per leg more for the premium seats. That used to be a huge bargain!

As far as flight times go, I would take the earlier flight from SYR. Leaving Toronto at 2:00 means your just hitting the ground at MCO around Dinner time. That's a waste of a whole day!

All good points. The JB flights are on the Embraer so the seat pitch might be the same....I will check it out .

With this being our first two-week trip (our longest southern getaway prior to this has been 8 nights), we're not too worried about a later arrival on day 1. We're most concerned about the super late arrival back home on JB.....the plane doesn't land until after 10. That means we're not on the road (after deplaning, getting our luggage, shuttling back to the hotel, pee breaks, etc.) until 11 pm. Then 3 hours home.......that's a 2 am arrival at best (assuming no delays at the border) .

If the seat upgrade on Air Transat was only $25 pp, I'd be totally up for that. We paid $30 pp on Jetblue for their Even More Space seats last August, and it was well worth it.

 

[papertraveller]

I would sooner go Southwest than Air Transat. But we always buy the early bird check-in, and since we usually book on the day the schedule opens we always have a high A number. We have never had a problem with seating on Southwest.

 

[webworm]

JetBlue's flight prices from SYR for August 2014 are awful, and our dates from Buffalo are down right ridiculous.

We can fly from Toronto (which is closer than either option above) via Air Transat for just slightly more than JetBlue from Syracuse and better flight times (which means we won't need a park and fly before or a hotel after). And their flights are non-stop....which is a must.

Never flown Air Transat, nor known anyone who has done so. Anyone been there, done that and care to share your experiences?

WestJet and Air Canada are both more expensive than Air Transat. Sunwing is out.....we found their planes way too cramped for my big fellas.

If I am reading the site correct, there is no extra charge for baggage via Air Transat? But seat selection will cost me more.

DH will not consider Southwest from Buffalo......we are not fans of their open seating. Similarly, we have tried AirTran once and weren't impressed.

Aren't we fussy? [/QUOTE

Here are some reviews for Air Transat.
http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/transat.htm

 

[pigletto]

Hi Gina!

I think the open seating thing on Southwest is one of those things that sounds scary or overwhelming until you do it, and it really isn't.
Think of it this way.. instead of being assigned a seat, you line up by boarding position number. It's been my experience every time that it has been orderly and really easy. It's even marked where you stand.
I am a super nervous flyer and it calms my anxiety to sit in the front. I also insist on sitting with my family. I will fly southwest and buy the Early Bird Check in. In 10 or 12 trips with them we have always been in the first 10 rows, with my aisle seat and with my kids. We enjoy Jetblue a smidge more because of the tv's but honestly it's the only thing that sets them apart IMO.
If Southwest comes in much cheaper I would advise you to consider it. It's not a free for all rush to the seats. You'll be assigned a boarding position and with the EBCI will have plenty of places to sit together.
The only time I have flown AirTransat was to Scotland. It was a great flight, but a different and much larger class of plane I think. I really don't like Pearson though, so that factors largely into my decision.

 

[grantclaire]

Hi Gina, we flew AirTransat a few years ago and found the plane cramped. Have flown Southwest twice in the past year and will again this December. it is a no frills airline, ie no seatback TV. No real problem with the boarding checked in early online and were in the second group and the 3 of us got seats together. paid for earlybird checkin for the return from MCO should we did not have to worry about being on a computer to checkin. I think they fly the same planes as Westjet. Goodluck.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thanks for the feedback everyone . I appreciate all your thoughts and input.

I think we have decided to go with Jetblue (assuming their prices don't increase any more from where they are now). I know Southwest has a lot of supporters on the Dis, but their seating policies just aren't for us. They would be a last resort, at best.

DH and I have chatted endlessly about the pros and cons, and the overwhelming feeling we have to is "go with what we know". We know Jetblue, we like Jetblue, and our preference is always to fly from Syracuse if possible since its the easiest commute and a super-easy airport.

A Cyber Monday sale for airfare would be perfect. Just sayin' .

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Ah well, no JetBlue Cyber Monday sale . Went ahead and purchased the JetBlue seats today anyway. Nice to have it crossed off the list.

Now to watch fare prices and hope for a decrease that we can bank for the next trip .

 

[TheBig2na]

AT was a terrible experience. The agents in Toronto were arrogant. Wouldn't talks mo or reply questions. Tough ones like how are? How's your day going?

But I can handle that. What I can't handle is when they change not only my flight time but my flight number and airline without telling us. Had a 19am flight cook and I arrived home at 1:30am. Due to it all. They had no reps there. The booking centre said my original flight was still showing on time and told me I must be wrong. After an hour phone call I found out we were coming home on can jet at 4pm. The flight was delayed and then the gate moved and we finally touched down at midnight with our hysterical 1 year old who had no naps and wouldn't sleep on the plane.

Air transacts response to my complaint? Well there wasn't one. Nor was there a reply to my follow up.

Just flew out of tux a couple weeks back and never again. 3 hours from the time I arrived till the time I reached the gate. Air Canada was terrible to deal with when trying to check in. Pre boarding was all done but their kiosk crashed and I couldn't start over so had to stand in line. Then they checked the bags but didn't take them. Carried them through customs and the dumped them on a belt at security. No one scanned or checked them. Just dumped them. Buffalo is the way to go.