Marseille–Québec: Air Transat opens a new gateway to North America
Marseille Provence Airport is expanding its long-haul network with a direct service to Québec City, inaugurated today. It reflects a deliberate strategy of measured growth, where each new route must create value for the region.
A strengthened transatlantic connection
This is a first for the Provence platform. Since May 2026, Air Transat has been operating direct flights between Marseille and Québec City, complementing the airline’s existing daily summer service to Montréal. The route is aimed at a mixed customer base: on the French side, travellers seeking Canada’s wide-open spaces and road trips between Québec City and Montréal; on the Québec side, visitors looking for the authenticity of Provence. Traffic is evenly balanced between inbound and outbound flows, reflecting genuine demand on both sides of the Atlantic.
This new route is operated with the Airbus A321neo LR, a 185-seat single-aisle aircraft from the latest generation — more fuel-efficient, quieter, and ideally suited to transatlantic routes with optimised load factors.
“The arrival of the A321neo LR in fleets, which had been anticipated for several years, is a game changer,” explains Julien Boullay, Commercial, Marketing and Services Director at Marseille Provence Airport. “These aircrafts enable airlines to operate profitable routes on niche markets without the excess capacity of wide-body aircraft.”
A selective growth strategy
Far from pursuing growth for volume’s sake, Marseille Provence is championing a “measured” approach to expansion. Every new route is assessed against three criteria: economic value, regional relevance and environmental impact. Long-haul services, by nature associated with longer stays — averaging one to two weeks — and stronger economic benefits for the region, fit fully within this framework.
Figures from the Regional Tourism Committee (CRT) highlight the stakes: the South region records around 90 million international overnight stays each year. While foreign visitors account for only one third of all tourists, they generate nearly half of total tourism revenue. Attracting transatlantic travellers with strong spending power therefore represents a strategic lever for the local economy.
Heading for 10 new long-haul routes by 2030
Marseille–Québec is only one step in a broader ambition. The airport aims to open ten new long-haul destinations by 2030, with the United States and the Middle East clearly in its sights. The success of the Shanghai route, which carried more than 40,000 passengers in one year with an 80% load factor, is regarded as a benchmark. Hotel overnight stays by Chinese tourists in the Bouches-du-Rhône rose by 97% in the second half of 2024, including a 202% increase in Marseille itself.