Finding Santa at 8000 Feet #SantaFlight

Air Transat has been a Platinum Partner of the Children’s Wish Foundation since 2004. Every year, the company and its employees proudly do their part to brighten the lives of young children who struggle daily with illness and disease.

The key event in the partnership is the annual Flight in Search of Santa, made possible thanks to the volunteer efforts of Air Transat employees and generous contributions from several partners. This year’s Flight in Search of Santa, held December 10th in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, marked the 10th anniversary of a very special experience. And because elves think of everything, the whole event was captured on film so that the kids can share their wonderful adventure with their family and friends.

Each of the three flights sees hundreds of children and their family members take off for the North Pole in search of Santa Claus. During the 90-minute flight, Old Saint Nick himself magically appears in the cabin and hands out presents to the wide-eyed passengers. Celebrity guests as well as Santa’s elves are also part of the festivities.

This year I had the enormous pleasure to join the Toronto flight in search of Santa. I was prepared for an emotional day, but not for the type of emotional day that I found myself in the middle of. From the moment I arrived at the airport I was surrounded  by smiling faces, lively Christmas carols being played by a marching band and so much excitement. The kids were spending time with characters like Elsa and Anna and Captain Jack Sparrow. They had a chance to meet trained bomb detector dogs, get up close to a large predatory bird and get an autograph from one of several firefighters who popped in for a visit.

Of course the highlight of the day was the flight in search of Santa. Some of the children had never flown in an airplane before and most have never met Santa in mid-air! The energy on board the plane was palpable, from the children and adults alike. When the pilot spotted Santa and his sleigh outside, all eyes were on the sky and the kids gasped when the plane shook while Santa jumped on board and climbed into the cockpit. He made his way out of the cockpit and took the time to speak to every single child on board. Even Captain Jack Sparrow tried to get off the naughty list while he chatted with Santa!

I had the chance to meet some special children who were very excited for their flight. Haresh (bottom left) was bouncing in his seat waiting for the big man in red to visit him. His sisters Theepika (wish child) and Narmada (bottom right) were a little more reserved with their excitement but they also enjoyed their time with Santa.

Christian (top right) and his Mom, Marzia, are looking forward to their wish trip to Disney World in February, and Christian was on his very first flight on the search for Santa. Marzia expressed her gratitude for all that the Children’s Wish Foundation has done for her son and hopes that people will continue to donate and support the agency.

Air Transat has been a Platinum Partner of the Children’s Wish Foundation since 2004. Every year, the company and its employees proudly do their part to brighten the lives of young children who struggle daily with illness. Air Transat has raised more than $5 million for the Foundation since the start of the partnership.