Air Transat and the union representing its 750 pilots have reached a tentative agreement, avoiding a walkout and a full operations shutdown set for Wednesday morning.
The deal provides a modernized contract that brings the airline closer to current industry standards and provides improved job security, higher pay and greater scheduling flexibility, said the pilots’ union, the Air Line Pilots Association.
The pilots are expected to vote on the tentative agreement in the coming days.
“Our current pilot contract lags significantly behind industry standards in Canada and North America,” said Bradley Small, chair of the pilot group’s master executive council.
“We believe this new agreement meets the needs of today’s profession, consistent with collective agreements other ALPA-represented pilot groups are signing with their employers.”
The announcement came just eight hours before pilots could legally walk off the job at 3 a.m. Wednesday.
As a contingency in case negotiations failed, the airline added extra flights on Monday and Tuesday to bring home passengers originally scheduled to return to Canada on Wednesday.
Pilots and the beleaguered Montreal-based airline have been negotiating a new contract since January to replace the one signed in 2015, with the union demanding “industry-standard” pay and stronger job security.
The agreement reached between the airline and the union marks a “complete overhaul” of the collective agreement, said Annick Guérard, president and chief executive officer of Air Transat.
She added that the airline’s priority now is to quickly restore its operations.
“We are aware that this period has created significant uncertainty, and we extend our sincerest apologies to our customers whose flights were disrupted in recent days,” Guérard said.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) had warned that Air Transat faces a worrying level of pilot attrition due to poor compensation packages, having hired 299 pilots but lost 180 since 2021.
Before Sunday, the airline said it had offered pilots a 59 per cent salary increase over five years, along with improvements to working conditions.
Air Transat’s operating company, Transat AT, has struggled in recent years to turn a profit and right-size its mounting debt, which ballooned during the pandemic with roughly $800 million in government-backed bailout loans.
The airline that underwent a major debt restructuring in March continues to face stiff competition and operational setbacks, including an engine recall that has grounded four of its 43 aircraft.
