Transat A.T. Inc. receives final court approval to increase permitted foreign ownership levels to the levels permitted under the Canada Transportation Act

MONTREAL, May 8, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Transat A.T. Inc. ("Transat") a leading integrated international tourism company specializing in holiday travel and active in air transportation, accommodation, travel packaging and distribution, is pleased to announce that the Quebec Superior Court issued earlier today a final order approving the previously announced plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act effecting amendments to Transat's articles of incorporation to align the permitted level of non-Canadian ownership and control of its voting shares within its articles with those prescribed by the new definition of "Canadian" under the Canada Transportation Act (the "CTA") as amended in June 2018.

Prior to the CTA amendments, no more than 25% of the voting interests of a Canadian air carrier (or a Canadian air carrier's holding company) could be owned or controlled by non-Canadians. The Government of Canada's stated purpose in implementing the CTA amendments is to attract more foreign investment and encourage growth in the aviation sector by increasing, from 25% to 49%, the permitted level of foreign ownership of Canadian air carriers. At the same time, the CTA amendments introduced two new limitations on voting ownership and control, by capping the voting rights of single non-Canadians and of the aggregate of non-Canadian air carriers at 25%.

Transat will file its amended articles and expects them to become effective on or about May 8, 2019. Further details regarding the amendments are set out in the management proxy circular of Transat dated March 19, 2019 and in Transat's February 15, 2019 news release which are available on SEDAR under Transat's profile at www.sedar.com.

About Transat
Transat A.T. Inc. is a leading integrated international tourism company specializing in holiday travel. It offers vacation packages, hotel stays and air travel under the Transat and Air Transat brands to some 60 destinations in more than 25 countries in the Americas and Europe. Based in Montreal, the company has 5,000 employees. Transat is firmly committed to sustainable tourism development, as reflected in its multiple corporate responsibility initiatives over the past 12 years, and was awarded Travelife certification in 2018 (TSX: TRZ).

SOURCE Transat A.T. Inc.