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Air Canada-Air Transat Merger Clears Another Hurdle
Zach Wichter
Aviation Industry Reporter
Zach has been interested in things that go since he was a kid. He previously worked at The New York Times and spent much of his time there covering the aviation industry, including contributing to the paper’s reporting on the 737 Max crisis at Boeing. He grew up in Bethpage, on Long Island, and graduated from Northwestern University in 2013 where he majored in journalism and gender and sexuality studies.
June 27, 2019
•
2 min read
Air Canada-Air Transat Merger Clears Another Hurdle
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Air Canada's takeover of leisure carrier Air Transat moved forward Thursday after the board of Air Transat's parent company unanimously approved the terms merger proposal.
The deal is worth approximately $520 million (Canadian), according to an Air Canada press release.
"We are very pleased to join forces with such a successful player in our industry. The combination with Air Canada will give Transat new perspectives of growth, with the support of a strong network offering many options for connecting traffic," Jean-Marc Eustache, Transat's president and CEO said in a statement.
Related: The 7 Best Starter Credit Cards
Air Transat is a leisure-focused airline and will remain as a standalone brand even after the merger is completed. That includes maintaining Transat's Montreal offices. While executives at both airlines say this is a move to help retain customer loyalty and differentiate their products, the "airline-within-an-airline" model can be a risky business proposition. The Lufthansa Group, for example, recently announced that it would terminate long-haul service on Eurowings, its low-cost subsidiary.
The deal, which was formally announced in May, still has to go through a court-approved plan under Canada's Business Corporations Act before being finalized. It comes amid broader shakeup in the Canadian airline industry. Also in May, WestJet -- Canada's No. 2 carrier -- announced its intention to go private after it agreed to a friendly acquisition from Toronto-based private-equity firm Onex Corp.
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Best for businesses with high spending
TPG Editor‘s Rating
Go to reviewCard Rating is based on the opinion of TPG‘s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
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- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month