An Air Transat Airbus A330 approaches for landing in Lisbon just before sunrise, on July 22, 2024. AP Photo/Armando Franca
Transat A.T. Inc. says it has secured up to $150 million in federal aid to help offset the soaring price of jet fuel caused by the Middle East war.
The Montreal-based travel company, which runs Air Transat, says the size of the loan will be based on the difference in the cost of fuel between the next few months and the same period last year, ending on Oct. 31.
The financial relief comes seven weeks after Ottawa announced a loan lifeline available to airlines struggling to cope with sky-high oil prices and the slashed flight schedules and lower profit forecasts that followed.
Air Canada suggested earlier in the summer it would not need to draw on the aid, while WestJet said it “strongly opposes” the move because of its market-distorting effects.
Transat says the loan will be drawn in monthly tranches, with an initial $125 million disbursed from Ottawa on Tuesday.
The loan has a four-year timeline with an annual interest of 3.91 percent.
