By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com -- Following the resolution of negotiations between pilots and the airline at West Jet, the pilot's union at Air Canada (TSX:AC) airline has decided to initiate bargaining discussions ahead of schedule – potentially as soon as this summer.
Air Canada announced on Tuesday that its pilot group has exercised an option to commence negotiations surrounding a new collective agreement one year earlier than anticipated. This development follows the recent tentative deal reached by approximately 1,800 pilots at WestJet and its budget subsidiary Swoop, which includes a substantial 24 percent wage increase over four years.
Since reaching an agreement in 2014, Air Canada pilots have experienced a two percent annual pay increment. While the current deal remains effective until September 29th, its provisions will continue to apply beyond that date.
"The current agreement, which has been in place for nearly a decade, is a testimony of the productive relationship we have with our pilots. We expect the upcoming negotiations to be conducted in this same spirit," said Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick in an email.
The Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA), whose membership of roughly 4,500 recently joined forces with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) – also representing WestJet flight crews – can issue a notice to bargain as early as June 1st. With this merger now established between ACPA and ALPA , Charlene Hudy - council chair of ACPA- states that about "95 per cent" of professional Canadian pilots are now represented under one unified union umbrella.
These negotiations emerge at a time when airlines are grappling with fierce domestic and cross-border competition from ultra-low-cost carriers such as Flair Airlines and Lynx Air. As Canadian airlines aim to recover from substantial losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic – amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars – they face mounting pressure to return to profitability.