Transport committee  Sure. It's no surprise to anybody on this committee that many of the large city airports are in close proximity to the U.S. border. It goes back to the user-pay model that I spoke to earlier, which forces significant fees through to the users. In another jurisdiction, such as the United States, where airports and air travel are not viewed as a tax-generator for general revenues, as far as I understand it, those fees and charges are much less.

Transport committee  I would like to say on behalf of my 4,000 colleagues at Air Transat that we're very grateful for the generous financial support of the government to get through this unprecedented pandemic. As I mentioned earlier, Air Transat was shut down twice and significantly impacted by omicron.

Transport committee  Thank you for the question. Yes, we were closed for a long time, so the consequences will be felt in the future. We think a user‑pay model should be considered. Without users, there are no payers, so the system doesn't work. This could be an opportunity to look at how the Canadian system is funded and look at best practices elsewhere.

Transport committee  I think you'll hear an industry position emerging.

Transport committee  Thank you for the question. I want to point out to everyone that Air Transat was closed twice during the pandemic, for a total of 10 months. This winter, we were also affected by the omicron variant. So the impact has been great. Our industry was among the first to be affected by this crisis and is among the last to emerge.

Transport committee  Thank you for the question. Thank you also for the invitation to appear before the committee. The answer to your question is yes. We're very proud of this agreement and we anticipate that there will be others. It's very encouraging to travellers, because it greatly facilitates the customer's experience.

Transport committee  I would direct the question to my colleagues who are in regional transportation. Having said that, Air Transat certainly supports any policy initiative to encourage regional tourism. Canada has a lot to offer, and regional tourism is an important economic driver in almost every region.

Health committee  That we weren't flying. Absolutely.

Health committee  Mr. Chair, if I may, I'll answer for Air Transat just very briefly on the cargo question.

Health committee  I'm pleased to say that as part of our restart plan, we have converted two wide-body Airbus 330 aircraft to freighters, and we're in the process of reaching out to different partners and stakeholders. Just as we repatriated Canadians home at the end of our flying, once we get back in the air, our intention will be to help out in offering lifts to the provinces and the government to bring PPE in from China and other markets.

Health committee  No, I am not talking about refunds. Everyone has been offered a travel credit. We are not giving refunds.

Health committee  Thank you for the question. I'll answer and see if my colleague Captain Bourdages wants to weigh in. I think, on behalf of all of us, that nobody wants to get this wrong. First and foremost, the UN civil aviation organization, ICAO, has laid out its CART protocols, and we, the airlines and airports, are working now with the federal government and interdepartmental committees to look at all of this suite of restrictions and make sure we get it right.

Health committee  I do not exactly understand the question. To date, we have issued credits to our customers worth approximately $500 million on approximately $600 million in sales.

Health committee  Sure. I'm happy to jump in as well for Air Transat, just to say that if we are able to safely restart, as we hope, in about a month's time, we're looking at about 15% capacity. In our leisure business, summer is do-or-die. We're already well into summer. Again, we're looking at offering about 15% of our offerings.

Health committee  Thank you for the question. Just to clarify, we will be flying from Toronto to Rome as of the end of July, so that's the good news. More generally, to your question, I want to be very clear. First and foremost, our industry requires our customers, and we as a company put our customers first.