Transat rises as Canada grants $570m in crisis loans
Transat, the Montreal-based vacation operator that Air Canada gave up trying to buy earlier this month, obtained C$700m in emergency aid from the Canadian government to stay afloat during the pandemic. The company took loan facilities of C$390m for operations and another C$310m to finance customer refunds for flights canceled during the pandemic. Transat will also issue 13m warrants to the government to buy shares at C$4.50 each. The deal follows a C$5.9b rescue package for Air Canada two weeks ago, reflecting PM Justin Trudeau’s case-by-case approach in supporting the industry. It helps Transat, which announced the suspension of all regular flights on Jan. 29, buy some time in the hope that Covid-19 vaccinations can salvage the summer travel season. “With this support, we now look forward to resuming operations as soon as safe travel is possible and travel restrictions can be lifted,” CEO Jean-Marc Eustache said. “We will then be able to implement our plan to make Transat a solid and profitable company once again, one that will continue to symbolize leisure travel for its many customers in Quebec and elsewhere.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/imagelibrary/news/hot-topics/2021-04-30/unaligned/transat-rises-as-canada-grants-570m-in-crisis-loans
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Transat rises as Canada grants $570m in crisis loans
Transat, the Montreal-based vacation operator that Air Canada gave up trying to buy earlier this month, obtained C$700m in emergency aid from the Canadian government to stay afloat during the pandemic. The company took loan facilities of C$390m for operations and another C$310m to finance customer refunds for flights canceled during the pandemic. Transat will also issue 13m warrants to the government to buy shares at C$4.50 each. The deal follows a C$5.9b rescue package for Air Canada two weeks ago, reflecting PM Justin Trudeau’s case-by-case approach in supporting the industry. It helps Transat, which announced the suspension of all regular flights on Jan. 29, buy some time in the hope that Covid-19 vaccinations can salvage the summer travel season. “With this support, we now look forward to resuming operations as soon as safe travel is possible and travel restrictions can be lifted,” CEO Jean-Marc Eustache said. “We will then be able to implement our plan to make Transat a solid and profitable company once again, one that will continue to symbolize leisure travel for its many customers in Quebec and elsewhere.”<br/>
