Airlines Air Canada bids US$ 520 million for Transat A.T.

The flag-carrier of Canada and the country´s largest airline is lining up a bid of approximately US$ 520 million to purchase carrier Air Transat and its parent company Transat A.T. Inc. The acquisition of all shares of Transat A.T. could result in a big merger.

Air Canada stated, that the proposed transaction would create Montreal-based global travel services company in leisure, tourism and travel distribution across Canada and internationally. The carrier also announced, that it has the required funding to complete the transaction.

Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada said: "A combination with Transat represents a great opportunity for stakeholders of both companies.  This includes the shareholders of both Transat and Air Canada, employees of both companies, who will benefit from increased job security and growth prospects, and Canadian travellers, who will benefit from the merged company's enhanced ability to participate as a leader in the highly competitive leisure travel market globally."

The transaction remains subject to the finalization of all agreements. Moreover, shareholders and other regulatory authorities may give their approval until the deal would be signed. Industry experts suggest, that Air Canada will be the only carrier to bid for Transat A.T.

"The acquisition presents a unique opportunity to compete with the very best in the world when it comes to leisure travel. It will also allow us to further grow our hub at Montréal-Trudeau Airport, where we have added 35 new routes since 2012 to the benefit of the Montreal and Quebec communities, and from which we carried 10 million customers in 2018 alone," Rovinescu added.

Air Canada is the flag-carrier airline of Canada and was founded in 1937 as Trans-Canada Air Lines. The company is headquartered in Montreal since 1949 and employs 36,000 people globally. Close to 10,000 people are being employed in the province of Quebec. The area is very important for the carrier and could become an even more essential part if Transat A.T. is being acquired. Air Canada served more than 10 million passengers in Montreal last year and operates a fleet of 189 aircraft, including 16 Airbus A319s, 39 A320s, 15 A321s, nine A330s, 24 grounded 737 MAX 8s, six 767s, 37 787s and 18 Embraer 190s. Subsidiary airlines are Air Canada Express, Jetz and Rouge.

Air Transat is a Canadian leisure carrier from Montreal. The airline was founded in December 1986 and currently has operating bases at Montreal Trudeau, Toronto Pearson, Vancouver and Quebec City. The current fleet consists of seven Airbus A310s, five A321s, 20 A330s and six 737s.