Air Canada’s pilots’ union says seven of 10 pilots are looking at other carer options if the next contract doesn’t meet their expectations. Nearly 10% of pilots are “actively engaged” with immigration firms to potentially work in the United States if they don’t like the next agreement, the head of the union says.
The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) held a press event in Toronto on 15FEB in advance of Air Canada’s fourth quarter and 2023 year-end financial report.
Charlene Hudy, Chair of the Master Executive Council for ALPA, spoke with Open Jaw for a one-on-one telephone interview about ongoing talks for a new collective agreement with Canada’s largest airline.
Hudy said she doesn’t see the union’s media availability as going on the offensive.
“If you’ve been following our negotiations since our contract expired at the end of September … we’ve been active trying to make sure our story is known … to the Canadian public. When our company does report their financial results. we typically have been speaking to that. One of our points in this contract negotiation with Air Canada is about investing in this pilot group. That’s going to have a return on their investment, not only as Air Canada, but that also helps the Canadian public, the travelling public, to make sure they have that reliable, sustainable, aviation network.
“We’re just trying to make sure everyone is apprised with the status of our negotiations,” Hudy said.
There has been “incremental progress” in talks with Air Canada, she said.
“We are engaged in a private mediation process with Air Canada right now. We found ourselves with a large gap, if you will. at the table. If you’ve been following the news story or our talking points in the media, we’re coming out from a very stale and outdated, almost decade-long collective agreement, so we have a lot of updating to do.
“We also keep watching and keep seeing our counterparts in the industry, specifically south of the border. They’re making twice as much as ourselves, if not more. So, we really need to close that gap between ourselves and our American counterparts.”
ALPA also represents WestJet pilots, who signed a deal last year that gave them a reported 24% pay hike over four years.
“Obviously I can’t disclose the specifics of what we’re asking for at the table,” Hudy told Open Jaw. “What I can say is I think that the WestJet pilot group for their second collective agreement in their unionized history was a good collective agreement. We as Air Canada pilots are flying for a legacy carrier, a worldwide airline that has, I think, 10 tines the amount of widebodies that WestJet has. When we’re looking at our comparable airlines, we’re looking at United, we’re looking at Delta, we’re looking at American, and that compensation gap we see between ourselves and our American counterparts is untenable. So, we are looking to close that gap.”
Asked about pilot shortage, Hudy said Air Canada needs to work on attracting new pilots and keeping them in the industry.
“We have to get them into the profession and then keep them in the profession. This contract negotiation is a way for Air Canada to solidify their pilot pipeline. We’ve seen pilots leaving Air Canada for other carriers. We’ve been surveying our pilots throughout the negotiations, and we know that seven of 10 pilots that I represent are looking at other carer options if this contract doesn’t meet their expectations. We also know that approximately 500 of the pilots I represent (out of 5,200) are actively engaged with immigration firms to potentially go and work in the United States, again if this contract doesn’t meet their expectations.
“When we talk about the pilot pipeline or pipeline supply issue, Air Canada itself has admitted that some of the route contractions we’ve seen, specifically in Calgary, are due to the pilot supply problem. So, if you invest in us and make this a really attractive profession, you’ll fix that pilot pipeline problem."
In anticipation of Air Canada's fourth quarter results, Hudy predicted, “Air Canada is going to show an ability to invest in its pilot group.”
Air Canada on 16FEB reported record operating income of $2.3 billion for 2023.
Stay tuned for further updates.
