Pilot strike at Air Canada: What Canadians need to know

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Pilots at Air Canada, Canada's largest airline, could walk off the job as early as September 17 after 98 percent of voters voted to give their union a strike mandate. Here's what that would mean for travelers.

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What do the pilots want?

Charlene Hudy, head of the Air Canada contingent of Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) – Air Force Pilots Associationtold the Canadian Press that wages were a big issue for members.

Last year, WestJet, the country's second-largest airline, agreed to a deal that included a 24 percent pay increase over four years.

Over the past year and a half, new contracts have been signed between the four largest U.S. airlines and their pilots, meaning some of those workers now earn about twice what Air Canada pilots earn.

“We all fly passengers as part of the Star Alliance,” Hudy said. “So we fly the same passengers in the same airspace on some of the same routes, and these pilots are paid significantly more than we are.”

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When was the last collective agreement signed?

The current collective agreement dates from 2014 and expired last September.

ALPA, which represents more than 5,400 Air Canada pilots, is negotiating with the airline with the help of a federal arbitrator since June 2023, reports the Canadian Press. These talks are scheduled to end on Monday, with a three-week cooling-off period, which means a strike could begin on September 17 at the earliest.

“It's an outdated, obsolete contract,” Hudy said of the previous agreement, according to the Canadian Press. She added, “There are elements of our collective bargaining agreement right now that date back to the immediate post-bankruptcy period,” referring to the time when the airline filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

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What does Air Canada say?

Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Air Canada's chief human resources officer, said in a video message last week that both sides had agreed on “numerous provisions” of the collective agreement.

She noted that despite a decade of stable employment at the airline, “a 10-year contract creates some pent-up demand. So it's time to refresh that agreement.”

According to a report by the Canadian Press, Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau told analysts this month that the two sides agreed on several points and he hoped to reach an agreement in the coming weeks.

In an email to Bloomberg News, Air Canada downplayed the strike vote, saying: “Such a vote is a normal step in a negotiation process and does not mean there will be disruption.”

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What happens if the strike takes place?

Air Canada pilots would have to give 72 hours' notice before going on strike. According to ALPA, a strike would ground about 1,000 flights a day and affect more than 120,000 flights daily.

Passengers could look for alternative airlines or other means of transport, but the impact of so many cancelled flights would make this difficult.

Could the federal government intervene?

In the recent labor dispute between Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City railroad companies and their unions, the government forced both parties into binding arbitration, after which rail operations resumed on Monday.

A similar tactic could be used in this case, although it should be remembered that railroad unions are still fighting this move even as they return to work. And when the federal government tried to prevent a strike by mechanics at WestJet in June, the strike went ahead and both sides agreed to a settlement a few days later.

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How much does an Air Canada pilot earn?

A recent job advertisement at Air Canada states that the captain of a narrow-body aircraft (single aisle) can earn between $215,000 and $290,000 per year, while the captain of a wide-body aircraft can earn between $315,000 and $350,000, plus overtime and expenses.The airline also offers comprehensive benefits, including a pension plan and an annual incentive plan,” the ad said.

According to Epic Flight Academy, a first officer (co-pilot) can expect to earn $56 an hour, or about $107,000 a year.

How worried should we be about a strike?

Duncan Dee, a former Air Canada COO, told Global News he was confident a strike could be averted, noting that two recent potential strike actions by WestJet pilots had been agreed to, “albeit at the very last minute.”

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He also pointed out that the last time there was a pilots' strike in Canada was in the late 1990s. “Ultimately, I think we should remain somewhat optimistic that they can come to an agreement.”

Unionized pilots are planning demonstrations at airports in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Winnipeg on Tuesday.

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