WestJet now trying to catch up
The Canadian Press - May 19, 2023 - Business Buzz

Photo: The Canadian Press

CALGARY — The WestJet Group averted a strike after reaching a last-minute deal with the airline’s pilots early Friday, but not before cancelling hundreds of flights and upending the long weekend plans of thousands of passengers.

Travellers stuck at airports expressed frustration with cancellations and delays, while others took to social media with stories of ruined vacations.

WestJet said Friday it’s ramping up operations as quickly as possible but warned that the full resumption of operations will take time. The airline encouraged travellers to continue to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.

WestJet and the Air Line Pilots Association announced a tentative deal to avoid the job action early Friday morning after eight months of negotiations.

Aviation expert John Gradek called it a “landmark agreement,” saying it will set the standard for labour negotiations going forward.

“What you’re seeing is a tectonic shift starting to appear in terms of the way in which union and management labour relations are going to evolve in Canadian aviation,” said Gradek, a former Air Canada executive and head of McGill University’s aviation management program.

The pilot’s union will likely apply the same approach in bargaining with other airlines, he said.

“The pilot wage rate in Canada is going to go up, there’s no doubt about it,” Gradek added.

But he said pilot wages rising likely won’t lead to higher prices for consumers, because of competition from ultra low-cost carriers.

While the tentative agreement avoided a strike, many travellers were still confronted by cancelled flights and foiled holiday plans.

WestJet cancelled 231 flights from Thursday through Saturday, topping the global list two days in a row, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.

The shutdown affected dozens of routes within Canada and to the U.S. and overseas, while flights at the WestJet Encore regional service and the WestJet-owned Sunwing Airlines were unaffected.

At Toronto’s Pearson Airport, WestJet travellers described cancelled and delayed flights, mainly to Central and Western Canada.

Tommy Gilligan was set to be on flight to Calgary early Friday for a family wedding and holiday in Banff, Alta.

“They told us at 4:30 in the morning that it was going to be delayed, and now they just cancelled it,” the 65-year-old from Burlington, Ont., said. “My wife pulled some strings and we’re on a six o’clock flight tonight. I’m not happy right now. My whole family’s waiting for us.”

The strike-related scheduling chaos with Canada’s second-largest airline is “ totally ridiculous” and “not one bit fair to us,” Gilligan said. “I don’t think I’ll use WestJet after this weekend.”

Travellers will likely blame the labour dispute and ensuing flight disruptions on WestJet, not the pilots, Gradek said.

The airline “was concerned about the value of the brand and their market share,” he said. “WestJet basically said, ‘Let’s cut our losses.'”

Still, the bill for hundreds of cancelled and delayed flights will be “in the millions” for WestJet, Gradek said.

WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said the agreement with the pilots provided “meaningful improvements to job security and scope, working conditions and wages.”

“We appreciate we were able to arrive at a deal, however, recognize the impact on our guests and we sincerely appreciate their patience during this time,” he said.


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