Air Transat and Sunwing

[homer]

Hello!

Wondering if anyone has any first hand experience with either of these two charter airlines? Looking into taking a winter vacation, and on the travel websites these 2 are usually the least expensive. I know they will be cramped and have little to no service, but just want to find out about things like delays, customer service , any personal stories etc. There's quite a price difference between these two and the majors, so I want to make sure it's worth the savings? Thanks!

 

[DanJ]

Transat at least does have the club class larger seats available for purchase. I don't hear many complaints about either, other than they pack you in there. I'm not sure about now, but at one point, Wesjet was providing flights for Transat on certain routes.

 

[Frankunderwood]

Sunwing has a better record of on time flights, and also accepts exact cash payment for in flight purchases. Transatlantic usually has 3 rows with extra leg room. The choice is yours.

 

[WestCoaster]

Club transat are the only seats on the plane worth sitting in. Pay the extra or you will be miserable. Sunwing offers Elite Plus, with either 35 or 39 inches of pitch, for an extra 50 bucks. The seats are still narrow as shit though. If you are lucky, you get one of the new Transat planes, the new cabin doesn't look half bad. On the older planes (and all sunwing), if the damn thing breaks, they have no spares and delays, sometimes LONG ones, are common. Even flying AC Vacations, if you get stuck on Rouge, sit in Premium or don't bother. I am 6'2" and a bigger guy and none of them are even bearable in the back. Up front or choose another holiday!

 

[danmand]

Both airlines are much better than Air Canada Rouge

 

[spendin2much]

Avoid Sunwing at all costs - they have a bad record of leaving passengers stranded for extended periods of time because they don't have enough planes in working condition. I kid you not when I flew to Cuba on WestJet, there were two Sunwing mechanics flying to Varadero to fix their plane....spend a little more and go with WestJet.

 

[james t kirk]

I flew Transat to Europe 2 years ago.

Excellent service, newer plane, price was right. Far better than AC.

 

[Mencken]

Never had trouble with either one... have flown Sunwing many times, Transat a few. Better service than on regular airlines.

 

[punter]

I didn't like Sunwing but was impressed with Westjet Vacations.

 

[homer]

thanks for all the input, it's kinda like I figured, you get what you pay for. I expect the cramped conditions and minimal service, just was concerned about any problems/delays etc. Even westjet was considerably more money, and had less convenient flight times. Thanks again!

 

[Celine Massage]

Hey Homer. I flew to Paris a few months ago economy on one of Transat's new redesigned cabins. It was really nice! I was on an A330 and the inflight entertainment was the best I've ever seen, the seats were comfortable by economy standards, and everything was pretty sleek and modern as far as Transat economy goes. Service was friendly, as well. I can't say a lot about the food, because I brought my own. However, I gathered that it was better than the usual hearing the comments.

There are "mood lighting" phases inside the cabin! On my overnight flight, the nap time light was a faint blue, around 1:00 a.m., and that was pretty. When snack time came around the lighting went pink (around 3:00 a.m.).

A link describing their redesign:
http://www.airtransat.ca/en-CA/Travel-information/Our-fleet/Our-redesigned-cabin

 

[NaomiNixion]

When I flew to France this may I flew air transit. I didnt feel like it was anything special, there were no televisions though other then one medium one at the front of the airplane. For a short flight Im sure it would be fine but for 8+ hours it was a bit tedious. Hope it all works out for you!

 

[LuxeLadyAmber]

I'd sworn never to fly either after some negative experiences years ago. However, did a package with SunWing recently and it seemed much better. I'd also look into AirCan Vacations though; they usually offer better options on all fronts

 

[Ridgeman08]

As a seasoned traveler, one can't really compare experiences, unless you are comparing equally on a cost basis.

I've traveled with Sunwing, Air Transat, West Jet, all levels of AC, and a host of other North American and European airlines, (Southwest, AA, Delta, Lufthansa, KLM, BA etc.)

I've never really had too many issues, based on what I chose to pay at the time. I've traveled business class and economy, and you get what you pay for. In the end, everyone gets to where they are going at the same time... its just a matter of what you choose to pay.

 

[K Douglas]

Used both multiple occasions. I must admit Air Transat has improved tremendously the past decade. My last flight to Ireland a couple years ago was smooth sailing. Slight delay on the takeoff but decent comfortable seats, food was ok. I just wish they had hotter flight attendants.
Sunwing I've only used to fly down south to Mexico and Bahamas. It was adequate - nothing special but nothing egregious.

 

[mammo]

Have flown Air Transat twice to Europe the last few times. Three years ago, excellent experience, new plane, seats seemed much more wider/comfortable in economy and food was great. Service was top notch, even when we were delayed taking off in TO, the staff were very good at keeping everyone updated

Flew to Italy earlier this year on Air Transat.. completely different experience. Must have been an older plane cause we were shoved in like sardines in economy. Service was so-so, food still good. BUt I would have paid the extra bucks to sit up in Club for the wider seats. Plus, nowadays, 9 hours coming back from Europe is brutal without extra leg room/seating

Bottom line, i would say, is if comfort is key, spend the extra bucks for upgrade unless you can handle 2-3 hours of cramped conditions

 

[peteeey]

I flew Air Transat to and from Europe a couple of weeks ago and was impressed with the service, and especially the easy-to-look-at flight attendants. We were half an hour late leaving Toronto (weather) but were five minutes late arriving. On the trip back home we were half an hour early on arrival.

I even had an airline meal that bordered on palatable. If flying overnight I definitely suggest upgrading to seats with more legroom, but then I'd say so for any airline. Each seat had its own TV screen.

 

[peter4025]

Just fly skygreece for now on. Last week they have an average of 2 days delay on all flights

 

[homer]

Thanks again everyone! Still a long way off, but it pays to do some research. Will be looking for a south destination in January, and all the places I've checked, these two airlines packages are the least expensive (with the same properties). Westjet started out around the same prices, but that was for really crappy flight times. If you changed the time, up went the prices. When I checked out Sunwing and Air Transat reviews, they were mostly negative. Which is what I would expect as most people like to complain, rather than praise. Although it seems Transat had less problems with on time issues.

 

[danmand]

I'd sworn never to fly either after some negative experiences years ago. However, did a package with SunWing recently and it seemed much better. I'd also look into AirCan Vacations though; they usually offer better options on all fronts

Don't. I went south with Air Canada Vacations 2 weeks ago. They flew Air Canada Rouge, no meal, not even a package of peanuts, and would you believe, no pillows for the economy passengers. No entertainment system if you did not bring an Ipad.

Flying south with Sunwing or Air Transat you get a glass of Champagne, a hot meal, wine, coffee, Free headphones for the entertainment system, and even a mint before you land.