Air Canada, pilots avert strike with midnight deal

Air Canada and its pilots union reached an eleventh-hour deal on Saturday night that averted a strike at Canada’s largest airline.

Pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), were expected to issue a 72-hour strike notice on Sunday that could have grounded the airline as soon as Sept. 18. Air Canada was prepared to begin canceling flights on Sunday as it wound down its mainline and Air Canada Rouge operation.

The four-year tentative agreement between Air Canada and ALPA includes roughly C$1.9 billion ($1.4 billion) in wage increases, work rule improvements, and retirement benefits for pilots over its term, the union said.

“After several consecutive weeks of intense round-the-clock negotiations, progress was made on several key issues including compensation, retirement, and work rules,” said Charlene Hudy, chair of the master executive council at the Air Canada chapter of ALPA, in a statement. “This agreement, if ratified by the pilot group, would officially put an end to our outdated and stale decade-old, ten-year framework.”

Air Canada said in a statement that the pact “recognizes the contributions and professionalism” of the carrier’s pilots, and provides “a framework for the future growth of the airline.”

The deal is subject to a ratification vote by Air Canada’s more than 5,400 pilots, and the airline’s board of directors.

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On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would not block a strike by pilots at Air Canada.

“Every time there’s a strike, people say ‘Oh, you’ll get the government to come in and fix it’ — we’re not going to do that,” Reuters reported he said. “We believe in collective bargaining, and we’re going to keep pushing people to do it.”

A strike at Air Canada would have affected travelers well beyond Canada’s borders. The carrier and its partner United Airlines are scheduled to fly nearly 57% of all seats between the U.S. and Canada in September, Cirium Diio schedules show. And many American travelers connect over Air Canada’s Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver hubs on longer trips to Asia or Europe.

Air Canada will allow travelers who changed their travel plans to avoid the potential strike can change back to their original itinerary at no cost if space is available, the airline said.

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