ABOUT TRANSAT

Transat A.T. Inc. is a leading leisure travel company offering vacation packages, hotel stays and air services under the Transat and Air Transat brands. Founded in Montreal 38 years ago, the company serves approximately 60 destinations in more than 25 countries across the Americas, Europe and North Africa, and employs nearly 5,000 people. Air Transat stands out as a leading international leisure airline and was voted World’s Best Leisure Airline for the seventh time at the 2025 Skytrax World Airline Awards, as recognized by its customers.
Vertically integrated, Transat relies on an extensive network of subsidiaries and internal distribution channels. Listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange since 1987 (TSX: TRZ), the company is also recognized for its commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainable tourism, notably through the renewal of its fleet with energy‑efficient aircraft.

For more information, we invite you to visit Transat’s website.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Role Purpose

The Vice President, Network is responsible for defining, structuring and leading Transat’s network strategy, in alignment with the company’s objectives for profitable growth, optimal fleet utilization and competitive positioning across its key markets.

This role sits at the core of the airline’s economic performance. It combines long‑term strategic vision with strong short‑ and mid‑term execution capabilities across network design, market development, capacity planning, schedule optimization, and governance of the route publication and evolution process.

The role holder plays a critical part in balancing growth, profitability, operational feasibility, regulatory constraints, strategic partnerships and the customer experience.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Define the Company’s Network Strategy

• Develop the medium‑ and long‑term network vision in alignment with Transat’s corporate objectives.
• Identify drivers of profitable growth, geographic diversification and reduced seasonality.

• Set network development priorities based on market demand, competitive positioning, fleet capacity and partnerships.

• Contribute to strategic thinking around the evolution of the destination portfolio, hubs, frequencies, operating seasons and target customer segments.

Lead Network and Capacity Development

• Oversee the development of the annual and seasonal flight schedule.

• Decide on route openings, closures, adjustments and redeployments.
• Arbitrage capacity decisions by market, season, frequency, aircraft type and schedule structure.

• Maximize the overall economic contribution of the network in close collaboration with Revenue Management, Pricing, Alliances, Sales, Tour Operator and Finance teams.

• Ensure alignment between network strategy and fleet availability and productivity.

Optimize Network Performance

• Continuously monitor the commercial and economic performance of the network.

• Implement robust optimization governance to enable rapid adjustments based on booking trends, competitive signals, external risks and operational constraints.

• Challenge demand assumptions, business cases and capacity trade‑offs.

• Ensure network decisions are based on rigorous, value‑creation‑oriented analysis.

Oversee Schedule Publication and Implementation

• Ensure disciplined execution of the network publication process, including slot requests, system integration and commercialization.

• Ensure cross‑functional coordination with operations, fleet planning, airports, operations, distribution, sales, marketing, IT and tour‑operator teams.

Support Strategic Partnerships and Alliances

• Work closely with Alliances and Commercial Strategy teams to integrate existing and future partnerships into network development decisions.

• Assess growth opportunities related to codeshares, joint ventures, bilateral agreements and other connectivity levers.

• Ensure network decisions maximize the value created for Transat through its strategic partnerships.

Exercise Strong Organizational Leadership

• Lead, develop and mobilize multidisciplinary teams covering network strategy, network development, planning/publication and optimization.
• Establish a clear, efficient and high‑performing organizational structure with well‑defined roles, responsibilities and interfaces.
• Strengthen analytical capabilities, execution quality and a collaborative culture within the Network function.
• Act as an influential leader across the organization, with strong credibility among peers and internal partners.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Experience

• Minimum of 12–15 years of experience in the airline industry or in a closely related aviation environment.

• Significant experience in network planning, strategy development, schedule planning, network‑fleet coordination or a related field.

• Proven experience in a senior leadership role managing expert teams.

• Experience working in complex, matrixed and highly interdependent environments.

• Exposure to alliances, joint ventures, tour‑operator activities or revenue optimization is a strong asset.

Key Competencies

• Strong strategic thinking and structuring capabilities.

• Deep understanding of the economic drivers of airline networks.

• Strong analytical skills and results‑oriented mindset.

• Ability to make decisions in ambiguous, fast‑evolving and constrained environments.

• Ability to balance commercial, operational and financial considerations.

• Inspirational leadership, executive credibility and influence.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• High level of rigour, prioritization skills and execution ability.

Personal Attributes

• Visionary yet pragmatic.

• Strong managerial courage and sound judgment.

• Intellectual curiosity and continuous‑improvement mindset.

• High resilience and ability to operate under pressure.

• Collaborative spirit while maintaining the ability to make firm decisions.

Education

• University degree in business administration, engineering, economics, mathematics, aviation, transportation or a related field.

• MBA or postgraduate degree is an asset.

Language

Full bilingual proficiency in French and English, both written and spoken, is essential.

SUCCESS INDICATORS

Success in the Vice President, Network role will be measured, in particular, by:

• the quality and coherence of the proposed network strategy;

• profitable network growth;

• improved economic performance across operated markets;

• effective utilization of assets and fleet;

• robustness of planning, publication and optimization processes;

• ability to drive effective cross‑functional collaboration;

• development of a strong, credible and high‑performing Network organization.

Candidates interested in taking on this strategic challenge are invited to apply by completing the application form below.

All applications will be reviewed and assessed by experienced Phelps recruitment consultants. AI will not be used in the candidate pre‑screening process.