Transat AT is set to temporarily lay off more than twice the number of pilots and flight attendants it did last year as the travel company continues to cut capacity amid its drive to restore profits.
The parent of Air Transat and numerous travel-related businesses said Thursday it will lay off about 50 of its 400 pilots and 550 of 1,800 flight attendants in the coming weeks until business picks up in November. Last year, it laid off 17 pilots and 250 flight attendants.
"It's not something new, it's not something that's happened for the first time," CEO Jean-Marc Eustache said during a conference call about Transat's stronger-than-expected third-quarter results.
Transat lays off workers each year at this time of the year as it parks larger wide-body planes used in the summer to serve the transatlantic market. Those planes require more crews in part because of layovers than smaller aircraft used for sun destinations.
But Transat is laying off more employees this year because it is cutting the number of seats it sells as it tries to boost margins by flying fuller planes with customers paying higher fares.
