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| - Check-in - Toronto to Athens
We encountered a very rude agent who upon expecting our papers that clearly said Business Class barked at us to go over to the Option Plus counter. I didn't know what the difference was so I barked back that we were business and we were standing at the correct counter (Club Class). I later checked on the website that Option Plus is just a package you can purchase for economy seats that allow you to have priority boarding, a dedicated counter, headsets, alcoholic beverages, food...basically all the benefits of Business class minus the seat.
The Plane.
If it was not for Club Class seats, I do not know how we would have survived the 10 hour flight to Athens. For starters, Air Transat is a chartered plane which means nothing to me really, except, that seats are very, very, small. I sympathized with the larger or taller passengers on board as there was literally no room to move in the economy section. To be clear, Club Class seats on an Air Transat are worlds apart from business seats on an Air Canada for example: seats do not recline flat, there is no foot rest (which makes a HUGE difference), no individual entertainment system, and room is much tighter - essentially, your seats are just slightly wider than economy seats for chartered planes. However, the food choices would be equivalent on any business flight: free flowing booze, sparkling wine or juice upon arrival, amenity kit, aperitifs, newspaper and proper cutlery with cute salt and pepper shakers. The food to Athens was actually very delicious!
There are normally only 3 rows to Club Class seats with a seating arrangement of 2, 3, 2. Bulk head seats (first row) can be quite noisy and distracting as the front of the plane is where the washroom is and where the hosts prepare food and drinks. In other words, if you are trying to get a good rest, you will be constantly woken up by food carts, passengers and flight attendants trying to do their business. I would say the best Club class row is the 3rd row (where we sat from Athens to Toronto).
FYI. Try to avoid the 4th row of the plane or 1st row of the Economy section because there is no wall separating Club Class and Economy. What this means is that when the Club Class seat reclines, the seat is literally in your face and you could be stuck with a loud, snoring person who will not even bring the seat back in the up right position when you are trying to eat your meal...add to that 10 hours and you have a fight (better entertainment than Diary of a Wimpy Kid).
Lounge. None. Chartered airlines do not have lounges even for their 'Business' passengers.
Check-in - Athens to Toronto
What a difference from the miserable agent in Toronto. No sooner did we walk up to the counter, an agent directed us to the check-in desk where we met with another nice agent who helped us with luggage's and everyone was all smiles. It must be the Mediterranean sun and air.
Conclusion.
In the end, I think if you are going to take Air Transat for long flights, then Club Class seats can be considered as an option. Unless you are not the type of person to care about seats, it really makes a difference. If you have the money of course, then don't even bother with chartered flights. Just to provide a picture - Air Canada Business roundtrip to Athens (as of July 2011) per person was about $6300 including relevant taxes while Air Transat Club roundtrip to Athens (as of July 2011) was $1900 including relevant taxes.
In the end, would I take Air Transat again? That would have to depend on two factors: Price because sometimes Air Canada or other Star Alliance planes do have great Business fare deals and location - my seat choices are irrelevant if the flight is only for 2 hours. All in all, something to consider in the future as an alternate flight seating arrangement for long flights.
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