Prior to this agreement, Canada’s largest airline was preparing to gradually cancel flights over a three-day period and was poised to halt all operations as early as 12:01 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, September 18.
With the new agreement in place, Air Canada and its subsidiary Air Canada Rouge, which operate nearly 670 flights daily and serve approximately 110,000 passengers along with freight, will continue their operations as usual.
The airline stated that the specifics of the agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents over 5,200 pilots, will remain confidential until a ratification vote by its members is completed, expected within the next month.
According to ALPA, the agreement is projected to provide an additional C$1.9 billion (approximately $1.40 billion) in value to its members over the four-year duration, marking a 46% increase compared to the previous contract that expired in September 2023.
“After several weeks of intensive negotiations, significant progress was achieved on critical issues such as compensation, retirement, and work regulations,” stated First Officer Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada ALPA master executive council.
Negotiations for a new contract have been ongoing for the past 15 months, with pilots seeking wage adjustments to align more closely with their peers at major U.S. airlines like United Airlines.
Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon remarked on X that the hard work of the involved parties and federal mediators helped prevent travel disruptions for Canadians.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau indicated on Friday that the Canadian government would not intervene in this dispute, unlike its previous actions last month to resolve a strike involving the two largest rail companies, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National Railway.
Air Canada previously proposed a wage increase exceeding 30%, along with enhancements to pension and health benefits. However, the union contended that this offer fell short of meeting the expectations of their members, who have been operating under pay rates and quality-of-life terms established in 2014.
In contrast, pilots at U.S. airlines have secured substantial pay increases in new contracts over the last two years, driven by a surge in travel and staffing shortages. For instance, United Airlines' recent pilot contract featured pay hikes of approximately 42%.
Consequently, data from the pilots' association indicates that some United pilots now earn 92% more than their Air Canada counterparts, compared to a mere 3% pay gap in 2013.