Canadians' travel appetite still healthy, but desire to visit U.S. fading: Transat

The head of Transat A.T. Inc. says Canadians' appetite for travel remains unsated even as pocketbook worries grow amid a trade war with the United States. Travellers continue to book transatlantic flights with the tour company, said CEO Annick Guérard, though she acknowledged demand for American destinations dropped sharply over the past few months. “Besides the U.S. market ... we have not seen — yet — other negative impacts on our booking curve following tariff announcements,” Guérard said. “We are well aware that the current environment is affecting overall consumer confidence, and this could eventually affect travel demand. But we haven’t seen any impact over the last weeks.” Transat currently flies to only two U.S. destinations, in Florida. But those nearly 300 trips per month, while shorter and lower priced, still make up nearly 12% of its total flights. The company also opted to cut capacity to the state by about 10% last month as bookings declined amid the backlash to tariff threats levelled by U.S. President Donald Trump as well as a weak loonie, according to figures from aviation data tracker Cirium.<br/>