The fate of Air CanadaB次元官网网址檚 $720-million takeover bid for Transat A.T. Inc. rests with regulators after shareholders overwhelmingly approved the acquisition offer Friday.

In a special meeting, shareholders of the Quebec-based tour operator voted 94.77 per cent in favour of accepting the $18-per-share transaction from the countryB次元官网网址檚 largest airline.

The deal will narrow the field of airline competition, securing for Air Canada about 60 per cent of the Canadian transatlantic market and helping the company maintain a firm hold on Montreal air travel.

The takeover is expected to face intense scrutiny from the Competition Bureau and other regulatory authorities, including in Europe. Transat said it expects the deal to close early next year.

B次元官网网址淭oday, we are very confident that we will get the approval of these different regulatory authorities,B次元官网网址� Transat board member Jean-Yves Leblanc said at a news conference, citing B次元官网网址渢he best advisers that we can have on this planet.B次元官网网址�

Chairman and chief executive Jean-Marc Eustache, who co-founded TransatB次元官网网址檚 predecessor in the early 1980s, tamped down fears of higher fares on flights to Europe.

B次元官网网址淚 have 42 yearsB次元官网网址� experience in that field. I never saw the price going up,B次元官网网址� he told reporters, pointing to competitors on the Montreal-Paris route such Air France, Level Airline and Corsair International. B次元官网网址淧lenty of competition, thereB次元官网网址檚 no problem with that.B次元官网网址�

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While the price of Caribbean flights remains relatively low among ample competition from budget airlines such as Sunwing Airlines Inc. and WestJet Airlines Ltd. subsidiary Swoop, the consumer cost of transatlantic travel threatens to slide upward.

B次元官网网址淚f you are interested in travelling to Rome, London or Paris, the price is going up, because Air Canada and Transat really control this market,B次元官网网址� said Michel Nadeau, executive director at the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations. B次元官网网址淭he temptation will be to boost the price.

B次元官网网址淯p to now itB次元官网网址檚 possible to buy a ticket to Paris or London for less than $1,000, but thereB次元官网网址檚 a danger that after the transaction the price will go above $1,000,B次元官网网址� Nadeau said.

Both Air Canada and Transat are headquartered in Montreal, but worries persist around TransatB次元官网网址檚 head office and potential job losses.

B次元官网网址淲hile imperfect, this transaction could allow Transat to be included in a larger group, thus allowing it to better deal with growing international competition. It is now up to Air Canada to seize the opportunity to increase jobs and economic spinoffs in Quebec,B次元官网网址� the Quebec Labour Federation Solidarity Fund B次元官网网址� the investment arm of the provinceB次元官网网址檚 largest labour group B次元官网网址� said in a statement.

The fund, TransatB次元官网网址檚 second-biggest shareholder at 11.6 per cent, voted in favour of the transaction. Kim Thomassin, head of legal affairs at la Caisse, QuebecB次元官网网址檚 pension fund manager and the No. 3 shareholder at 5.8 per cent, said in a letter to Air Canada this week it would vote for the deal due in part to the lack of another offer and B次元官网网址渁 market where competition continues to intensify.B次元官网网址�

Eustache took pains to quell anxiety over job cuts if Air Canada absorbs Transat, whose subsidiary Air Transat operates a roughly 40-plane fleet.

B次元官网网址淵ou need the pilots, you need the flight attendants, you need the mechanics,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址漌hen you know that it takes between seven to eight crews to fly one plane, that means 14 to 16 pilots to fly one plane. That gives you an ideaB次元官网网址�Those jobs will not disappear.

B次元官网网址淭he people of Air Canada will not take over what the people of Transat are doing today. But for sure you donB次元官网网址檛 need a CEO,B次元官网网址� Eustache added, alluding to his impending retirement.

The approval from shareholders comes after months of turbulence.

Air CanadaB次元官网网址檚 initial proposal of $13 per share prompted other expressions of interest from players such as Group Mach, whose partial bid of $14 a share resulted in a securities tribunal ruling that barred the Quebec developerB次元官网网址檚 offer.

Meanwhile, TransatB次元官网网址檚 biggest shareholder at 19.3 per cent, Letko Brosseau and Associates, said it would vote against Air CanadaB次元官网网址檚 offer until the airline raised its bid by $200 million.

Quebec business magnate Pierre Karl Peladeau also hinted last week he planned to make an offer of his own if the vote failed, and to use his 1.6 per cent stake in Air TransatB次元官网网址檚 parent company to vote against the Air Canada deal, which the former politician had said is B次元官网网址渃ontrary to the public interest.B次元官网网址�

Air Canada chief executive Calin Rovinescu applauded shareholdersB次元官网网址� decision. B次元官网网址淲e will build a combined company greater than the sum of its parts that we can all be proud of,B次元官网网址� he said in a statement.

Transat shares fell nearly three per cent or 42 cents to close at $16.19.

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

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