Air Transat Option Plus Review: Is this upgrade worth it?

An honest Air Transat Option Plus review from my flight from Canada to Mexico

Everyone loves a flight upgrade, right? Especially those of us who are travelling on our own dime, not for business. It’s why I mostly fly Air Canada—because I’m an avid Aeroplan points collector which I use for things like business class flights and privileges. But I recently booked with Canadian budget airline Air Transat and noticed their Option Plus service. I had read about this from another travel blogger who got it on a trip south and enjoyed it. It was a birthday trip, so I thought “hey, gift for myself let’s make this flight more comfortable.”

I paid $69 for the Air Transat Option Plus on my flight from Toronto to Cancun in January 2025. Was it worth it? I’m not sure. So I’m going to break down what they advertise, and what I got, and by the end of this blog post let’s decide!

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What does Air Transat Option Plus include?

• Extra checked baggage
• Seat Selection
• “Priority services”
• “On-board perks”

I’ve seen this kind of thing before with budget airlines. They advertise a low price, and everything is an add-on. In Air Transat’s case, Option Plus is available for international flights that in their Eco Budget and Eco Promo fares. I generally ignore these bundles and just purchase what I actually need or want ala carte, which is usually seat selection. But, again, it was my birthday so thought why not.

Extra Checked Bags

Air Transat Option Plus includes 1 piece of checked baggage up to 23kg. If you’re on the Budget or Promo fares, that normally costs $35.

When I booked, I calculated this as a perk I would use. But then I heard from a good friend that the Cancun airport was so understaffed she and her mom recently had to wait several hours to get their checked luggage upon landing. So even though the Option Plus says it comes with “priority baggage handling” I just went with carry-on. Not Air Transat’s fault but this was no value to me.

Priority Check-in and Boarding

One of my fave things about biz class flights is faster check-in. So this perk caught my attention right away. Sadly, I didn’t read the fine print because that doesn’t include Toronto’s Pearson airport! If you are flying out of Montreal, Ottawa or Vancouver, Air Transat’s Option Plus gets you priority queue at airport security check points. Which I think is a great feature. I wish I could have used it!

They also advertise “check in at an exclusive counter.” But I did my check-in online. Like, most people these days, right? So again, that was no value for me.

Priority Boarding was something I did take advantage of. My boarding pass showed me in Zone 3 which sounded pretty good, and it was. I took my seat earlier than most passengers and had my choice of overhead spot for my carry-on. Not essential, but nice.

Advance Seat Selection

This is a must-have for me when travelling. Especially on a flight where I want to sleep, like this one which left at 6:30 in the morning.

Paying for a standard seat on this flight would have cost me $27. Meaning that at this point, I paid $42 extra for priority boarding.

On-board perks

Here’s where Air Transat Option Plus really flopped for me. The first perk is a “comfort kit” of a blanket and a sleep mask. There’s also a set of earbuds. But they don’t come around to distribute these until the flight is in the air, about 30 minutes after take-off. So if you’re waiting for that to watch an in-flight movie, you’ve sitting there for a while. (And why I still brought my own earbuds.)

Maybe the sleep mask was in the bag with the blanket and fell out, but I didn’t see it. The blanket was good quality and I enjoyed it. But at the end of the flight, I didn’t have the space in my bags to carry it with me so I left it behind. It did however convince me to purchase my own cozy travel blanket for future flights that pack down into my carry on.

The most disappointing part was that you get an alcoholic beverage (worth $9-$10). But I don’t drink alcohol. So they offered me instead a bottle of water (worth $4). Never mind that airlines should be working towards less single-use plastic on board. But not everybody drinks. They should offer a non-alcoholic drink of equal value and interest. There are so many ready-to-drink mocktails and sparkling waters in aluminum cans they could add to their menus.

Speaking of menu, the “snack from the Bistro Menu” was a choice between chips and chocolate bar. I do always enjoy a can of Pringles (worth $4) and probably would not have bought one so that was a treat.

At this point, I’ve paid $69 for $35 worth of stuff (plus priority boarding and use of a blanket).

Is Air Transat Option Plus worth it?

If I was to take this exact flight again, I would not buy Option Plus – I would instead spend the money on a Preferred seat alone.

However, if I was flying out of Montreal, Ottawa or Vancouver with a checked baggage, I think it’s a very good bundle.

Note also that Option Plus is non-refundable. So if you decide to bid on an upgrade to comfort and get it, you lose that $69.

I hope this honest Air Transat Option plus review is helpful for you to book your next flight!