TORONTO — The competition is heating up on leisure market routes across the Atlantic but Transat isn’t worried. “The in-flight experience, that’s what sets us apart,” said Transat’s Dan Prior. “That and the value of our packages.”

At a ‘high tea’ themed event last week Prior outlined Transat’s Europe offering, including 28 different European destinations in 13 countries and more than 300 unique packages and a large selection of a la carte hotel options, plus guided tours and ocean and river cruises as well.

Transat’s newest European destination, Zagreb, Croatia, joins recent adds Prague and Budapest to extend the operator’s further into trendy Eastern Europe. Clients can ‘Discover Croatia’ on a self-drive, or choose from one of Transat’s six cycling tours throughout the continent, also new this year.

Three-quarters of Transat’s European destinations are available with direct flights from Toronto; the other seven flights connect through Montreal. Connections on the Europe flights are also available from Vancouver and Calgary.

Air Transat’s refurbished A330s as well as its A310s offer access to inflight entertainment through mobile devices and no charge for baggage plus all passengers get a free meal onboard. The move to a menu selection of half a dozen hot sandwiches wasn’t a cutback from full meals, said Prior. “We find we can serve the sandwiches more quickly, passengers like them and they like not having to deal with the full tray,” he said.

While the industry is well-versed in Transat’s product offering, client education is key to the Europe program’s continued success, added Prior. “We have to get the client’s thinking away from ‘we’re just a charter service,” he said. “Clients may assume that we’re just Air Transat. We want to make it easier for clients. With our packages, everything is taken care of for them.”