Air Transat comes highly recommended by the City Girl Network community, particularly by those who regularly travel between the UK and Canada. After hearing so much praise for its direct routes and good-value fares, we were keen to experience it for ourselves.

In June, we flew from London Gatwick to Toronto in Club Class (Air Transat’s Premium Economy), before returning overnight from Montréal in Economy Class with Option Plus after nine days travelling through Ontario and Québec.

This gave us the chance to experience Air Transat’s two travel classes and understand exactly what the Option Plus add-on in Economy gives you.

In this article, we want to help you decide which option is right for you: Club Class or Economy Class, and showcase what Option Plus offers in Economy.

Club Class and Economy Class explained

Air Transat has two travel classes: Club Class and Economy Class.

Club Class is their Premium Economy offering. It offers an exclusive 12-seat cabin with wider seats, more space, gourmet food and drink, an amenity kit and attentive service. It’s also inclusive of priority services, a cabin bag and two checked bags.

Economy Class is the standard cabin offering inflight entertainment on personal touchscreens, a meal with a wine/beer, included soft drinks, a pre-landing snack, comfortable seating and welcoming, friendly service..You can choose between three fare options depending on what’s important to you, each offering all the inclusions of Economy, from Eco Budget inclusive of a cabin bag, to Eco Standard inclusive of a checked bag and Eco Flex for when you need to be able to change plans.

Option Plus is not a third class. It is an add-on to an Economy Class booking. You still sit in an Economy seat, but receive extra benefits before, during and after the flight.

Option Plus includes:

One 23kg checked bag
Free standard seat selection
Dedicated check-in counters
Priority boarding
Priority baggage handling
Priority security screening at Montréal and Ottawa airports

Priority baggage handling means your suitcase is tagged to be offloaded first, although operational constraints can sometimes affect this.

The choice is therefore fairly simple.

Choose Club Class when space and an elevated onboard experience matter most.

Choose Economy with Option Plus when you want the value of Economy with added convenience – the extra baggage being a big bonus for those taking a longer trip like we did.

Why the route worked so well

We flew directly from London Gatwick to Toronto and returned from Montréal rather than travelling back to our original arrival city.

This allowed us to build a natural journey through Eastern Canada, travelling from Toronto to Ottawa, Outaouais and Montréal without retracing our route at the end.

Our outbound flight left Gatwick at 12:40 and arrived in Toronto at 15:40 local time. The return flight left Montréal at 22:05 and arrived at Gatwick at 09:50 the following morning.

For our nine day trip, this saved time and made the itinerary much easier to organise. It also meant that the journey between Toronto and Montréal became part of the adventure.

What Club Class was like

Our Club Class experience began before boarding, with priority airport services helping the journey through Gatwick feel smoother.

We sat together in the middle section in seats 1D and 1G. Both seats had direct aisle access, so we could get up without climbing over each other.

The Club Class cabin has just 12 seats and is separate from Economy Class. The seats were wider, there was more personal space and the service felt attentive without being overly formal.

For us, flying in Club Class was the perfect way to start our incredible adventure.

Food, drinks and onboard extras in Club Class

The food and drink service was one of the clearest differences between Club Class and Economy.

As passengers were boarding, we were offered a glass of sparkling wine or orange juice, which helped us start the journey in style.

Soon after take-off, we were served a delicious pork loin meal from a choice of six gourmet meal options. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, along with snacks, were then available throughout the flight, so we could order whenever we wanted.

A few hours before landing, we were also served afternoon tea, which was a lovely way to break up the journey before arriving in Toronto.

We received an amenity kit containing socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste, earbuds, an eye mask, L’Occitane lip balm and hand cream. A separate bag contained a soft blanket.

The products were genuinely useful, particularly the blanket and earphones, which allowed us to curl up and watch films like Sinners and A Star Is Born. Together, the welcome drink, meal service, unlimited drinks and snacks, afternoon tea and comfort kit made Club Class feel like more than simply a wider seat.

Was Club Class worth it?

Club Class made the biggest difference once we were onboard.

The wider seat, additional room, smaller cabin and upgraded service made the journey more comfortable. It was especially well suited to a daytime flight because we were awake to enjoy the food, drinks and extra space.

Landing at 15:40 also meant we had enough time to travel into Toronto, check in and enjoy our first evening.

Club Class is likely to be worth considering when you:

Want more personal space
Prefer a quieter cabin
Value upgraded food and drink
Love to stretch your legs on flights
Are celebrating a special trip

It is the more expensive option compared to Economy, but the difference is noticeable throughout the journey, and it provides a good value premium travel experience.

What Economy with Option Plus was like

We returned from Montréal in Economy Standard with Option Plus.

The key point is that Option Plus does not give you a wider seat or move you into another cabin, it’s a perk added to your Economy booking. Once onboard, you enjoy all the inclusions of travelling in Economy: a meal with wine/beer, soft drinks, inflight entertainment and ergonomic seats.

Compared to our Club Class experience, the seat was narrower, the cabin was busier and there was less personal space, however this on par with Economy Class we have experienced on other long-haul trips.That said, it certainly felt like a lot more space than the economy classes when travelling locally across Europe.

It’s also worth noting, if you don’t have plug in earphones, that you can buy these onboard to be able to watch the in-flight entertainment, which was $6 when we flew. You can also buy the blankets and amenity bag that we had in Club Class too.

Option Plus made the practical parts of the journey much easier. We could choose our standard seats in advance, our checked baggage was included and we had access to priority check-in, security, boarding and baggage handling.

After nine busy days travelling, those extras were genuinely useful. We knew where we were sitting, didn’t need to calculate separate luggage costs and had a smooth experience through Montréal Airport.

Does Option Plus offer good value?

This is where Option Plus is likely to appeal most to travellers who already choose Air Transat for its value.

It allows you to keep the more affordable Economy experience while adding useful benefits around the flight.

Option Plus is particularly useful when you:

Need to check a suitcase
Want to sit with your travel companion
Prefer selecting your seat in advance
Value dedicated check-in and priority boarding
Want access to priority security in Montréal or Ottawa

Special meals and allergies

Air Transat offers a good range of special meals on transatlantic flights, including gluten-free, no-lactose, vegetarian, vegan, diabetic, low-calorie, low-fat, low-sodium, kosher, Hindu and halal options.

These can be requested through Manage My Booking up to 72 hours before departure, which is worth doing as early as possible.

As the meals are prepared in an external facility, Air Transat cannot guarantee a completely allergen-free environment. Travellers with severe nut or peanut allergies should let the airline know in advance. Cabin crew can then make a general announcement asking other passengers to avoid consuming nut or peanut products, without identifying the person affected.

Which option should you book?

Choose Club Class when you want more space, an exclusive cabin and an elevated experience.

Choose Economy with Option Plus when you are happy with a standard Economy seat but want checked baggage, seat selection and priority airport services included.

Choose Economy when keeping the fare as low as possible matters most (whilst still enjoying all the essentials included) and you are happy to add extras separately, if needed.

You can also combine them.

Flying Club Class on the way out made the start of our trip feel special, and felt a more sensible option with the longer journey time of 8 hours. Returning in Economy with Option Plus gave us the practical benefits on a slighter shorter flight of 6 and a half hours.

For travellers working with a set budget but keen to give themselves a treat, upgrading one direction could be a sensible compromise.

Our verdict

Air Transat’s reputation as a leading Canadian leisure airline offering value for passengers is a major part of its appeal, and our experience showed how that value can work across different budgets.

Club Class offered the most in terms of comfort. The wider seat, exclusive cabin, upgraded service and enhanced food and drink made the journey to Toronto feel like part of the holiday.

Economy with Option Plus offered a different kind of value with the baggage, seat selection and priority services that made the journey home easier.

For maximum comfort, choose Club Class.

For the best balance between price and convenience, Economy Class is likely to be the sweet spot.

Book your flight

This article was created in partnership with Air Transat as part of the City Girl Guide to Canada.

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