Transat Q3 loss $10.1M as revenue falls 10.3% to $441M: SARS, slack economy Canadian Press / Thursday, September 11, 2003 MONTREAL (CP) - Blaming SARS and a generally slack travel market, Transat A.T. Inc. has reported a loss of $10.1 million in the quarter ended July 31, as revenue descended 10.3 per cent to $441 million. The charter airline and tours operator also said Thursday it is phasing out its six Lockheed L-1011s while adding four Airbus A310s to its fleet, and it has arranged a two-year agreement with WestJet Airlines Ltd. to charter WestJet aircraft for southern vacation flights. Transat said the $441.1 million in revenue during its third quarter compared with $495.4 million in the year-earlier period. The $10.1-million loss, 33 cents per share, was down from net income of $5.7 million, 15 cents per share. The latest quarter included a $4.3-million after-tax restructuring charge on operations in France and Canada. "The effects of SARS on our Canadian operations combined with the economic situation and the overcapacity in the market in France led to a 19 per cent drop in travellers in the current quarter," stated Jean-Marc Eustache, president and CEO of Transat A.T. "We expect SARS to have a lingering impact into the fourth quarter and expect our results for the fourth quarter to be below the results of the corresponding quarter of 2002. We also expect Look Voyages to continue to incur losses in the next quarter." The move to "harmonize" the fleet will result in a charge of $34 million before tax in the current quarter to eliminate the L-1011s. Transat (TSX:TRZ) said the charter arrangement with Calgary-based WestJet (TSX:WJA) "will enable the corporation to broaden its service offerings in new markets and better serve its existing customers." © Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press