Air Transat cancels planned Split service
Canada's Air Transat has confirmed it has cancelled plans to launch flights between Toronto and Split this coming summer season and has suspended ticket sales for the route after several months. The carrier was to fly between the two cities once per week from June 20 until September 12. Air Transat's Marketing Director, Debbie Cabana, told EX-YU Aviation News in a statement, "For commercial reasons, we have decided to cancel our summer 2019 program for Split, Croatia. Nevertheless, Croatia remains a key destination for Transat and, given the interest shown by Canadians in the summer of 2018 and its potential for tourism development, we will be adding a third weekly departure from Toronto to Zagreb. Flights will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays during peak season". She added, "Passengers from Montreal and Vancouver will also benefit from a connecting flight to Toronto to take advantage of this added flight to Croatia. This third flight will make Zagreb accessible from Calgary as well, via return connecting flights to Toronto".
Air Transat previously noted that with the development of longer range narrow-body aircraft it could add more flights to Croatia in the future. The carrier's CEO, Francois Lemay, said that the planned new Airbus A321XLR jet would allow Air Transat to reach several destinations in Eastern Europe and open new markets. Its entry into service is expected in 2023. "It [A321XLR] would easily reach destinations such as Split in Croatia, which Air Transat plans to serve from 2019. The route will initially use the carrier’s fleet of Airbus A330 wide-bodies as it’s beyond the reach of the A321neoLR", Mr Lemay said last October. He predicts that transatlantic flying will become increasingly narrow-body dominated as carriers such as Norwegian Air Shuttle and Aer Lingus embrace the potential of smaller planes with longer ranges.
The new fights would have marked a major development for Split Airport, which has previously said it had no interest in attracting long haul services. Split was to become the third Croatian airport to boast transatlantic and long haul flights over the summer, following the lead of Zagreb and Dubrovnik. This summer season, Split will see the launch of new routes by British Airways, Eurowings, Luxair, Volotea and Laudamotion, as well as the arrival of the world's largest low cost airline, Ryanair. The planned schedule for Air Transat's Toronto - Split flight can be found here.
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