Air Canada says there’s been no change in its proposed deal to buy Air Transat.

Published reports and rumours this week have suggested Air Canada wants out of the planned purchase and has made that clear in meetings with the Trudeau government in Ottawa. The reports could be linked to a story last week that said the European Union is looking at the AC/Transat deal and is concerned about too much concentration of Canada-European routes in a combined AC/Transat operation.

Air Canada last year offered to buy Transat at $18 a share. The move is being examined by authorities in Euroipe and also here in Canada.

With COVID-19 battering airline shares around the world, there has been speculation that Air Canada could walk away from the Transat deal.

“There is no change to what we have said previously, which is we are awaiting the outcome of the regulatory review process,” Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick told TravelPulse Canada.

He also said that all meetings registered by Air Canada with government ministers in Ottawa “relate to the impact of COVID-19, not the Transat acquisition.”

Transat officials could not be reached for comment by press time.

Transat shareholders overwhelmingly approved Air Canada's offer last year.

"Today, we are very confident that we will get the approval of these different regulatory authorities," Transat board member Jean-Yves Leblanc said at the time.