Last Updated on June 22, 2020 by Iris Sinilong
Air Transat rolled out the red carpet this past Tuesday, May 15th inside a Toronto Pearson International Airport hanger, welcoming more than 500 travel VIPs to view the first of many redesigned A330 planes.
Over the next two years, Air Transat will continue to roll out planes in the fleet, one by one, featuring new cabins, which are said to be much roomier and more comfortable. Three planes are set to take flight between Canada and Europe this summer.
After gutting the interior of the planes, they’ve installed a truly amazing lighting system that changes to give visual cues you aren’t aware of—to help lessen jet lag on long flights. In keeping up with the competition, they’ve now installed touch screen TVs on the backs of all seats—9-inch screens in Economy Class and 12-inch in its new Club Class. They also provide multi-lingual content to accommodate passengers flying from Europe to Canada.
Richard Vanderlubbe, tripcentral.ca’s president, was there Tuesday to witness the big reveal.
“The seat pitch and width in economy is excellent,” he said. “I am 6’3” with long legs and I fit just fine, and the seat design gave a bit more width than they currently have.” He also told us that the headrest is quite flexible on height and positioning, which lets you to rest your neck while sitting or sleeping.
By eliminating bulkheads and widening the aisles, the cabin is now much more spacious. The exit row seats have tons of legroom, and they’re all made of Italian leather – very luxurious. In Club Class, the sides of the seats drop down to make it easier for passengers with less mobility. The floors at the entrance to the aircraft and in the lavatories have a flank-wood look to them. They are brighter and more spacious than before.
The new Air Transat planes will now include a Service Director on all flights. The Service Director will be responsible for maintaining the highest level of in-flight customer service. They are highly trained professionals empowered to make decisions and solve challenges in the moment.
“This is a dramatic improvement in the quality of the interior of the cabin,” Richard said. “Combined with a wide body comfort of the A330, it is a great way to travel.”
The newly designed cabins make the plane 2 tonnes lighter, which is a fantastic improvement in terms of fuel costs and savings. Unfortunately, you never know when or where one of these new Air Transat planes will show up. You can’t book a specific aircraft. But the good news is that within the next 2 years, they’ll all be redesigned and in the air.
