Air Transat prepping for A321LRs by rapidly expanding in Europe

Air Transat executives are describing the company's rapid European summer expansion as part of a long-term strategy to remain competitive in transatlantic markets. The airline will dump 15% more seats into Europe this summer – and do so with widebody aircraft that executives concede are not ideal for the job. But starting next year, Transat will begin defending newly-acquired turf with an expanding fleet of efficient Airbus A321LRs. "Our first goal [is] to increase frequencies so that we are able to protect our market share," said Annick Guerard, COO of Air Transat parent Transat. "We need to take our place in those markets that we see are highly profitable." The 15% capacity gains will be carried on existing routes by A330s and A310s. "Do we have the exact right aircraft to operate these routes? The answer is no," Guerard says during the company's fiscal second quarter earnings call. "We preferred to have smaller models like the A321 long-range, which is coming up in our fleet."<br/>