WestJet starts cancelling flights as pilot strike deadline looms | 24CA News
WestJet began cancelling flights Thursday in anticipation of a pilots’ strike regardless of ongoing talks between the union and the airline.
With a piece stoppage set for Friday, WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech mentioned in a May 18 assertion that the corporate wished to keep away from “abandoning aircraft in remote locations without support.”
WestJet has now parked the vast majority of its 737 and 787 fleet. WestJet Encore, WestJet Link and restricted 737 flights will proceed to function, von Hoensbroech mentioned.
“We deeply regret the disruption this will have on the travel plans of our guests and the communities and businesses that rely on our critical air service,” he mentioned.
“We remain at a critical impasse with the union and have been left with no choice but to begin taking the painful steps of preparing for the reality of a work stoppage.”
Bernard Lewall, who heads the union’s WestJet contingent, has mentioned the employees’ points revolve round pay, job safety and scheduling, and says pilots are incomes roughly half of what a few of their U.S. counterparts make.
WestJet’s chief pilot mentioned in a letter to union members and obtained by Global News earlier this week that the airline had supplied “significant” wage will increase that may make them among the many highest-paid employees in Canada.
The union referred to as that information “cherry-picked.”
With greater than 4,000 flights scheduled over the following seven days, WestJet carries 28 per cent of Canada’s home market, whereas Air Canada runs 47 per cent, in response to flight information agency Cirium.
Low-budget Flair Airlines, a direct Swoop competitor, has added further flights to its Vancouver-Calgary and Vancouver-Edmonton routes in anticipation of WestJet pilots going forward with a strike.
More than 1,800 pilots at WestJet and its Swoop subsidiary are poised to stroll off the job as of 5 a.m. japanese on Friday after the union issued a strike discover Monday evening.
The airline is advising travellers to examine the standing of their flight earlier than leaving for the airport, and to go to WestJet’s Guest Updates web page or Swoop’s info hub for extra info concerning flight standing and journey adjustments.
On Wednesday, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra inspired the 2 sides to achieve a decision, noting Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan and a mediator — Peter Simpson, who heads the federal mediation service — are on the bottom.
“We remain at the bargaining table, unequivocally committed to achieving a deal as soon as possible, but are equally ready to weather labour action for as long as it takes to arrive at a reasonable outcome,” von Hoensbroech mentioned.
“Any guest impact is too high of a cost in the wake of these negotiations and we sincerely apologize that valued guests were caught in the middle of an avoidable conflict.”
— with information from Global News’ Sean Boynton and The Canadian Press
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
