It has become something of a tradition just before the holiday season for Canadian holiday carrier Air Transat and the Children's Wish Foundation to operate a Flight with Santa Claus.
Hundreds of children were part of the festivities with the hope of finding Santa somewhere in the sky between Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver earlier this week. Upon their arrival, elves and animated characters welcomed children and their families at the Air Transat check-in counters at Montreal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson and Vancouver airports. At the boarding gate, a number of activities awaited everyone before taking place in an Air Transat airplane. Shortly after take-off, mission accomplished: Santa himself appeared in the cabin, delighting everyone.
"At Air Transat, it warms our heart to enable hundreds of children and their families to experience a unique and magical moment", said Annick Guรฉrard, Chief Operating Officer, Transat. "Since 2004, this flight holds a very special place in our hearts and every year, we are amazed by the dedication of the Foundation, our employees, volunteers and collaborators that make this tradition such a wonderful event. They go all out to make this day an unforgettable one."
"The annual Flight with Santa Claus is truly a magical day that brings incredible joy to children diagnosed with a life-threatening illness," shares Chris Kotsopoulos, Chief Executive Officer at the Children's Wish Foundation. "It allows children and their families to create special holiday memories to cherish for years to come."
During this unique event, Air Transat announced a donation of $80,000 to Children's Wish, which represents the amounts collected over the past year as part of the air carrier's Small Change, Big Hearts program and other initiatives, and is in addition to the over $6 million raised for Children's Wish since the inception of the partnership between both organizations in 2004.
About Small Change, Big Hearts
The Small Change, Big Hearts program is supported by the donation of pocket change from Air Transat passengers at the end of each flight. Since December 2009, funds raised through the program have been donated in equal parts to The Children's Wish Foundation and to SOS Children's Villages, an international organization that assists orphaned and abandoned children in 134 countries. Since November 2017, it has also been possible to contribute to Small Change, Big Hearts when booking a package online on transat.com, with a travel consultant or with a Transat call centre agent. Since the creation of this program in 2004, Transat has donated more than six million dollars to both charities.