Transat is us

Now that’s what you call a change of direction! In 1999, after 16 years in the financial world followed by an intensive course in computing, Patrice Laforest is starting a new career as a programmer at Transat Tours Canada.

Today’s travel and tourism industry is being buffeted by technological change. The advent of the Internet is accelerating the development of centralized reservations systems. And so the job of Patrice and his team is to ensure that tour operators like Transat Holidays and Nolitours remain at the leading edge of technology.

That might mean repatriating at Transat Tours Canada systems that were managed by different suppliers or automating price changes — the latter no small task when you consider there are 20 million annually! “The most interesting part of the job is that we deal with a little bit of everything: analysis, development, architecture and even quality control,” Patrice says. “And as Co-ordinator, I also monitor the work.”

Familiarity with computer languages is not enough to ensure the success of these projects; you also have to be highly creative. “We need to be versatile and inventive,” he notes. “Because technologies evolve quickly, you sometimes have to be able to see things differently in order to find the most effective solution.”

It’s not only technologies that are changing. Transat is constantly growing, which means ever-more-complex and stimulating projects for Patrice and his team. “There were 23 employees when I joined the Information Systems department in 1999,” he recalls. “Today we’re more than 200…but what’s great is that the atmosphere is still just as pleasant.”