Air Transat inaugurated last Thursday evening its new non-stop air connection between Toronto and Berlin. The inaugural flight, identified as TS418, departed from Toronto Pearson International Airport and landed on June 20 at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, marking the beginning of a strategic route that will operate twice a week until October.

The new connection positions Air Transat as the only airline to provide direct service between Canada and the German capital. Sebastian Ponce, Chief Revenue Officer of Transat, emphasized the importance of this route not only to strengthen the company's European presence from Toronto but also to create new travel opportunities between the two continents. Thanks to the joint-venture with Porter Airlines, the route allows travellers to enjoy seamless connections to and from other major Canadian cities, including Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax. This facilitates both access for Canadians to Berlin and for German travellers to various destinations across Canada.

Kurush Minocher, interim Chief Commercial Officer of Toronto Pearson, highlighted how Berlin has long been one of the most significant untapped European markets for Toronto airport. Last year, indeed, 15,000 passengers travelled between the two cities, all with at least one intermediate stop. Air Transat’s new route therefore aims to improve choices for travellers and enhance Toronto's global connectivity.

The route is operated with an Airbus A-321LR, a narrow-body aircraft which, being a Long Range (LR) variant, offers greater flight autonomy—namely the ability to cover longer distances without refuelling—configured in a two-class layout with 199 seats (12 in business and 187 in economy).