WestJet pay debate sets scene for Air Canada's pilots

A faceoff this week between WestJet Airlines and its pilots over pay could set the stage for aviators' demands in future bargaining with Air Canada. Pilots at Onex Corp-owned WestJet gave notice on Monday that they could go on strike as early as Friday, raising fears of travel disruptions during Canada's Victoria Day holiday weekend. On Thursday, WestJet said it had already cancelled its flights in anticipation of the strike. The airline said it remained at the bargaining table with the pilots but was ready to "weather labour action for as long as it takes to arrive at a reasonable outcome." It would be the first major pilots' strike in Canada since 1998, according to a spokesperson for Canada's Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan, who is at the talks. For both sides, pay remains a hurdle. While WestJet is pricing salaries to the Canadian market, their aviators represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) want to capitalize on U.S. gains, following a recent deal with Delta Air Lines that delivers a 34% pay increase over four years. Air Canada's estimated 4,500 pilots who joined ALPA this week are not currently in negotiations, but could kick off bargaining this summer before the end of a decade-long agreement reached in 2014 with Canada's largest carrier. ALPA president Jason Ambrosi recently told Reuters that a key priority is to narrow the pay gap between Air Canada pilots and their U.S. counterparts, echoing the union's demand for a "North American" contract at WestJet. "It's going to be on AC's desk real soon," said John Gradek, a faculty lecturer in aviation management at McGill University in Montreal, referring to Air Canada. Gradek added there is a group of Air Canada pilots "who have been chomping at the bit" to get a significant bump in wages.<br/>