Air Transat To Fly To Lyon Year-Round
The airline will begin year-round service to Lyon this upcoming winter
Air Transat, the Canadian airline from Montreal, has announced they will begin a year-round non-stop service to Lyon. The route will go through Montreal, Canada to Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport, formerly known as Lyon Satolas Airport.
Air Transat currently services eight French cities, although the only two on a year-round schedule are Paris and now Lyon.
Winter Route
Air Transat will begin offering this route in the winter of 2023-2024. The trip from Montreal to Lyon is said to allow Canadian travelers to discover the famous city and also enjoy skiing in the French Alps, a world-class ski destination.
This route is already utilized during the summer, but the Canadian airline will be the first airline to operate this route year-round. The goal for Air Transat this upcoming winter is to operate the route from Montreal to Lyon three times a week.
Air Transat’s Chief Revenue Officer, Michèle Barre, spoke about the route expansion, saying:
“As the leading carrier between Quebec and France, it was natural for us to add Lyon and its region to our winter program. The airline will look to use this route to take advantage of the new generation Airbus A321LR.
“Route annualizations are part of our development strategy and, incidentally, our A321LR fleet is the best tool to meet this goal. We are delighted to meet the growing demand between Canada and France, which will benefit winter sports enthusiasts, business travelers, and the ex-pat community alike.”
The new Airbus A321LR features spacious cabins, brand-new in-seat entertainment systems, and the lowest fuel consumption in its class.
The route during the summer
During the summer, Air Transat typically flies from Montreal to Lyon around seven times a week. Air Transat will begin flying this route in May and continue flying through the winter.
The summer is very active for this destination from Montreal. This route peaks in late summer, around August and September, as the airline is currently projecting 28 flights a month for each of these. In each of these months, Air Transat projects over 8,500 seats utilized. Eventually, the flights per month will slow as Air Transat will get down to its goal of flying the route three times a week during the winter.
Air Transat continues expanding
This announcement comes several months after Air Transat released their Q4 earnings, in which they showed growth even after posting a slight loss. Air Transat is projected to operate at a 90% capacity of 2019 levels. The airline continued to work towards recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to the airline expanding its routes for 2023, it will also look to utilize the newest aircraft that have been ordered. Air Transat announced the order of two Airbus A321LRs in November 2022, as well as ordering four Airbus A321XLRs in the third quarter of last year. These orders will bring the airline up to nearly 25 next-generation aircraft that are either in use or on order. Air Transat is continuing to expand its fleet as the airline projects a higher capacity in 2023.
