Air Transat Reviews 409

World most rubbish Airline, nothing can be worse than air Transat. There ground staff steal stuff from booked luggage including money etc. they don't gives you compensation at all. leg room is worst. Easy Jet and ryan air are far better than Air Transat. Better spend £100 or so more and travel other airlines.

If I could give zero that would be probably best score!

Flew from Vancouver to Toronto and then to Zagreb Croatia.
Horrible experience!! Delayed from
Vancouver to Toronto 2.5h barely made it to my connecting flight.
Last night also delayed 1h small
Plane that needed rebooting because it was hot!
Domestic flight was 5.5h without any food , just some coffee small pretzels! No in flight entertainment! , I will and I repeat NEVER choose this company again in my life ! There are many more things but im too tired to write 🥵
Sanela H

THIS REVIEW is specific to the Air Transat check in staff at the LISBON AIRPORT. the 'club class' line up upon our return to Toronto, at the Lisbon airport luggage check in line. There was a very long line up for economy passengers. Our Club Class line was much shorter; however, it took the same amount of waiting time for us to reach the agent (approximately 40 minutes). Our line was finally funeled to two agents-club class and options class agents. When we finally got to the counter and i could see what was going on, my observations were that the two young agents were BEING VERY SLOW ON PURPOSE. There is careful, and then there is SLOTH SLOW. this is so disappointing when paying the premium price for priority. The nice AT agent who was chatting with the passengers in line, encouraged us to do our best and beat the economy passengers to the options counter. I then proceeded to tell him that it was not our job to try and bud in... but rather on AT leadership staff to ensure that the proper passengers were being checked in accordingly!! It was also mentioned to me that the portuguese do not like to 'treat club class passengers differently'. This is an Air Transat issue that needs to be addressed. It was actually ridiculous and very disappointing. If AT wants to receive high payments for club class, then the experience starts at luggage check in in other countries also.

We booked an Exoticca excursion on Dec 31, 2024, through Uniglobe; their invoice mentioned Air Transat for return YUL-LIS flights, nothing of luggage charges. We would have greatly preferred a Star Alliance airline like the previous 4 Exoticca tours to add flight points to our Aeroplan accounts.

When we got the full tour package from Exoticca, the flight info page indicated “Your international flights do not include checked luggage. If you require checked luggage, please visit the airline's website directly to manage your booking.”

In Jan-Feb, I phoned Air Transat to question why luggage charges for an international flight (booking 4BC8DP), a never seen before in 50 years for us frequent flyers and cruisers. The agent said we had basic tickets, and it would cost us $75 for each checked luggage. We expected $0 since it was an international flight, or worse case scenario $35 like our flights to the USA, especially in this case, there were no hauling of luggage between planes since this was a direct YUL-LIS flight.

We reduced checked-in luggage to one. In the 24-hour window prior to YUL-LIS June 4 flight departure, even though Air Transat totally failed to send me an email to proceed with the online heck-in like all the other airlines do, I went online to check-in on June 3 on the so very slow Air Transat site.

Then, I was shocked and flabbergasted to read that the checked luggage fee had increased by over 26% to $95. The Jan-Feb Air Transat agent in the phone call had never told us (read this as utterly failed to tell us) about that money-grab checked-luggage fee increase inside the 24-hour check-in window, a never seen case in any of our travels.
To add insult after injury, I got the message that Air Transat couldn’t produce the Boarding passes, a real bummer, and that we had to go to the YUL check-in terminal to get the boarding passes. So, why force us to go online if we must restart the process in YUL and go in a line-up to do so.

The Air Transat YUL-LIS & LIS-UYL terrible flight times (1. arriving in Lisbon hotel at 7:30 AM when our rooms were only available in the afternoon, and 2. departing way-to-early in the morning cancelling our night sleep and hotel breakfast, in fact, the worst times in all our return Trans Atlantic flights in the past 25 years) and high checked-luggage rip-offs were the subject of discussion and cursing among the 43 tour group members of our tour, whom most vouched to never ever take Air Transat again, restating that again on the long June 12 very early morning LIS Air Transat line-up. We all lost our breakfast at the hotel due to Air Transat unreasonable departures, unlike other airlines.

A chap from Vancouver who flew Air Transat from Vancouver told us all that he had phoned Air Transat and complained so heavily that luggage shouldn’t be charged for international flights, that the agent finally removed the luggage charge for him. He showed us the Air Transat papers as proof as he was basic and didn’t pay luggage charges. That really charged up the other 42 that got screwed by Air Transat. Most were insulted after listening on-flight to Air Transat bragging of being voted World's Best Leisure Airline. Some said if Air Transat is voted best, they wouldn’t want to see worst…

On our June 12 LIS-YUL return, to avoid paying again the ridiculous $95 money-grab instead of $75, I had to go again to the slow Air Transat site in Porto, Portugal, on June 10 to pay the $75, a process that took me over 45 minutes (e.g. $75 of my time… during supposedly relaxing vacations) because it was impossible to find where to do so in the dysfunctional anti-client non-tested site, and worst the system kept on telling me that I was paying luggage fees again for the June 4 YUL-LIS flight, yes the June 4 flight.

On the next day (June 11), I had to go back to the Air Transat site and do the slow online check-in. I noticed Air Transat had put my wife and I in different locations. What! Hello! Air Transat knew we are married partners travelling together under the same booking 4BC8DP. There were no 2 free side-by-side seats.

To add even more insult after injury, I get the message that Air Transat couldn’t produce the Boarding passes, another slap in the face, and that we had to go to the YUL check-in to get the boarding passes. So why online check-in?

On June 12 (having to get up at 3 AM to take such an early flight, not having slept at all and missing our pre-paid breakfast at the hotel), we arrived at the LIS airport terminal starving and exhausted, and had to wait an hour in line for the Air Transat check-in. Air Transat’s excuses were system’s issues (no line-ups for the other airlines). How’s that for a big finale to our vacation!

Other isues: not putting us side-by-side on the plane & damaging our luggage. After 2 tries, a Air Transat AI rep replied they'll do nothing.

Waited 17 mins on hold, when i finally get through to someone, they did not even speak. You could hear the background noise, the guy actually swearing in french, then hang up. Crazy customer service!

We just came from Barcelona, Spain using Air Transat and I can say that our experience was amazing, the whole crew was very friendly and the flight was very punctual and pleasant. I must mention that the service we received at the Barcelona airport counter was just excellent, the young lady called Carmen was extremely helpful and went and extra mile since she saw we were travelling with young kids and helped us handling a potential stressful situation with the luggage. If you’re considering an affordable air carrier to travel from/to Montrel then Air Transat is a great option

Avoid this airline at all costs!

This is by far the worst airline I have ever "flown" with—if you can even call it that. They cancelled our flight without any notice, leaving us completely stranded with no way to reach our destination and ruining our vacation.

The most frustrating part? Customer service is non-existent. We tried every possible way to contact them and got absolutely no response. No one picks up, no one replies, no one takes responsibility.

Honestly, this airline operates like a complete scam. If you don’t want to risk losing your holiday and wasting your money, book with someone else. I wouldn’t recommend this airline to anyone. Ever

The worst airline ever!
First they declined to check me in for the second flight to my final destination, they only checked me in for the first one. Then they gave me a seat which had a broken chair and tried to explain to me that all chaira have this malfunction...
Finally, they lost my luggage and I have no idea when I will get it back!
The whole time with little to none infirmation on the next steps, to provode some reassurance.
The worst airline ever!

On June 19, the day before our scheduled flight with Air Transat, a close family member experienced severe medical complications. We called customer service three times, simply asking to postpone our flight so we could be by her side (she passed away the next day). Each time, we were met with zero compassion and no flexibility — solely because we were within 24 hours of departure.
Despite explaining the tragic situation, we were denied any option to change the flight, even with fees. Supervisors refused to speak with us, and employees coldly repeated that it was “our fault” for missing the 24-hour change window. We were told to book new tickets at full price — no refund, no partial credit, no gesture of goodwill (not even a free checked bag, even though our original fare included it).
Air Transat showed no empathy, no understanding, and absolutely no humanity. Their response to our formal complaint? A robotic message confirming their rigid policies, with no acknowledgment of the human side of the situation.
This experience was heartbreaking. Losing a loved one is hard enough — begging an airline for basic compassion made it worse. I’ll never fly with Air Transat again, and I urge others to think twice if you expect care or flexibility in a time of crisis.

Flew from London Gatwick to Vancouver - YVR. This had a layover in Toronto, as well as a partner airline Porter for the YYZ to YVR leg.

Both website pages state sports equipment are welcome: bike bags were what I was looking to bring.

So, I booked the flights, and called in advance to pay for the bag. The associate on the call said they would process all of that at the check in counter, including my bike bag, and to not worry.

The day of flight, I am at the counter and they re-direct me telling me I can not take the flight path with my bike bag.

I provided the call history I had, and asked them where on the site or ticket does it say this is not allowed - where they had no response.

Ultimately, to make my original plans, I rebooked day of with West Jet (costing a significant amount). And had to forgo the original YYZ to YVR leg with Porter.

-- Wrote to and filed the complaint in August 2024, to this day, there has been no resolution. They state they have escalated to those at the highest level and that the website was clear. Which is simply not true.

Took this to social media on X, and funny enough a fake Airtransat company tried to impersonate them, to which they also didn't care.

Finally, now we are taking the LinkedIn and emailing their leadership team approach. What a shame.

The very first vacation I took my family on was very disappointing. We booked king sized beds, then were told on site there was no such thing over double. It was the only listing showing king beds, I should have figured (I have screen shots that I sent to Air Transat). Our ceiling air conditionner was leaking on the floor, the water faucets were not working and we had to move rooms. The next room looked nicer but was right beside the party area, and the music was blasting until 12 pm and even up to 2am when a couple got married. I had to ask a manager to come into my room to see for himself if the noise level seemed suitable to him before they turned it way down. It was so loud, I took videos and sent it to Air Transat to show them. Let’s just say that my kids are used to a full night sleep…this was NOT that. We were sick, they avoided giving us more than 2 bottles of water per day for 4 people. We would call or go to the front, they would say they were sending someone and never did. The food choice was disappointing too, never going to a small resort again. Two à la carte meals and the rest being buffet is not a good idea, even if it’s a cheap trip, I promise you. The two restaurant meals had the saltiest food I’ve ever eaten in my life, so that did not help. I even asked to go home after 4 days and Air Transat refused to help, they would have charged us 4000$ on top of the price of the trip to go home early. Perhaps this is standard procedure, but it goes to show how bad of a time we had if we wanted to cut our vacation short. I met with the Air Transat representative there and he promised to come find us and get back to us…he did not. I wrote a complaint and they never even got back to us. We were told to give them plenty of time to respond and it has been 6 months. Lesson learned, book with a travel agent, avoid Air Transat. Viva Tangerine by Wyndham, definitely to be avoided. The resort flooded 2 feet high the day before we arrived. Where are they getting Trip Advisor 4 star reviews from? The people selling time shares chuckled and told us it was a 2 stars at best. Puerto Plata, Air Transat, Viva Tangerine by Wyndham…not a good mix. Hopefully my review can help someone avoid this for their family.

I’ve never experienced such a lack of compassion from an airline. We had a trip to Italy booked through Air Transat, but days after, we had a death in the family, and my husband was in a serious accident. He was not cleared to fly.

I sent all medical documentation and even a death certificate. I called over 9 times and asked for a manager. No one would speak to us. Eventually, they sent a cold rejection email—no refund, no credit, nothing.

Meanwhile, my relatives on the same trip—booked through three different airlines—received full refunds with no hassle.

I even used Air Transat for my destination wedding, but after this, I’ll never use them again. If you value customer service and empathy, I strongly advise you to look elsewhere.

Air Transat flight in Punta Cana was delayed for 5 hours 50 minutes, only reason given was "late arrival of aircraft" so the delay caused us to miss our connection and to stay a hotel. Air Transit denied compensation saying it was a safety issue due to a braking issue but that was never communicated at the time and they just said deal with your travel insurance for compensation for hotel and missing connection. Aso, it was unpleasant, uncomfortable trip, aisle seats are noticeably smaller than the rest with less foot room due to seats being smaller. Took one of the resort pkgs, we both ended up sick and spend most of the time in the hotel room when I wasn't at the hospital. Would never travel with them again.

We have used Air Transat for several years. We have been very pleased with flights and service. We recently dealt with the customer service and the service was excellent.

Staff is rude and visibly annoyed with the customers. Also served us sandwiches that were wet and when politely asked about it they just said “its normal, anyway these are the last ones on the flight”. We deserve better.

I have a flight with a stopover from Porto (Portugal) to Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), within 2 days, and I cannot contact the company to buy an extra leg-room seat.

Basically, they provide a phone, but they don't have available agents, or because inform it is holiday, etc.

This lack of service quality needs to stop. Get a call center where ever you want, but have people available to solve customer's issues.

Terrible experience...

I purchased a ticket SFO -VCE on trip.com (suggested to me by an air transat agent). The price was great, everything was great...then...one day I got a message that they changed my flight to another airline. The times were okay, but the return flight was changed by 17 days (later). I did not accept the change and now they are refusing to return the flight to the original date (I even said a few days either way would be fine) OR refund the flight. I just lost $2000. It's almost surreal, they don't even disagree with what I just wrote, they said they just don't have the ability to fix or refund the flight. The customer service reps are very nice...they just have no ability to help. Trip.com is trying to help, but Air Transat won't honor the original ticket. I am not sure who's to blame. I've spoken with both and neither are willing to take the $Loss and fix the problem (since the ticket prices have gone up)

In a budget airline with limited space for each passenger you need to stop seats being reclined.

I had the most ridiculous experience on my way back from Portugal. We had only brought carry-ons and checked-in online, but to get our boarding passes they made us get in line and go through check-in anyway. When we get to the front a worker INSISTS that my carry-on is too big, even though we took the EXACT same plane on the way there and there was no issue!! I tell her "this makes no sense. We flew with you guys here and I KNOW it fits in the over head" so she tells me to weigh it... and says it's overweight.. turns out the rules online say the weight requirements are "light enough that you can lift it without assistance" so that was complete b/s from her...

SO they make me pay 76 EUROs to check it and then I find out the flight was full. I guess they were trying to make room, but instead of asking people to check their carry-on for free like normal, they wanted to ring more cash out of people who specifically booked a flight with just carry on bags. Scummy behaviour. I take 6 trips a year with the same carry on bag and have never experienced this. Will not be flying with them again.

I would give NO stars if I could!
Awful , awful airline
We were about to board & we then told that there would be a delay of 1 hour
because of a crew change & a pilot that hadn’t shown up !
After the hour we were then told that the flight was cancelled 😡
After this , total chaos
No one to ask what to do , wrong information about getting luggage after getting our vouchers
We are here now queuing to get a voucher for a hotel & food & it’s taken 2 hours & no sign of getting to the end of the queue
Eventually someone handed out bottled water
We are then going to be shuttled into buses to a hotel somewhere in Toronto
Back tomorrow & hopefully no more drama