In Canada, the acquisition of the Thomas Cook agencies in 2006 brought the number of Transat's travel agencies to more than 400. With that transaction, it became the largest travel agency in the country, with numerous brands complemented by Transat's presence on the Internet. To round out the mix and open more revenue streams, in 2007 Transat created a five- hotel, 1,600- room joint venture with the major Spanish chain H10 Hotels in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Transat has a long way to go to match the size of some of the world's very largest tour operators, but with thousands of tourism service providers in some 60 Air Transat DECEMBER 09 www. bus- ex. com 39 Allstream is all business Helping Air Transat provide vacations. The business of charter vacations is serious business, requiring first- class communications to connect an incredibly complex logistical web - often spanning continents - that enables airlines to operate safely and effectively. For over ten years, Air Transat, a leading charter vacation airline, has relied on Allstream, a Canadian communications provider focused exclusively on serving business customers. Leveraging the entrepreneurial spirit and skills of its 3,000 employees, Allstream provides customers like Air Transat with network connectivity and infrastructure, business communications services and collaboration capabilities. Allstream