Air Transat strike avoided after tentative pilot deal made

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Air Transat has avoided a strike with a tentative deal being reached with its pilots on Tuesday night.

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Transat A.T. Inc., which owns Air Transat, had been cancelling flights and winding down operations in preparation for a potential work stoppage, affecting thousands of travellers.

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The company and the union representing some 750 Air Transat pilots did not release details of the tentative agreement.

Per The Canadian Press, Annick Guerard, president and CEO of Transat, said the airline “greatly preferred” to avoid the threat of a strike.

“We are aware that this period has created significant uncertainty, and we extend our sincerest apologies to our customers whose flights were disrupted in recent days,” she said in a statement on Tuesday night.

“Our priority now is to quickly restore our operations and deliver on our commitment to provide service that meets our standards.”

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Pilots wanted wage increases, job security

The Air Line Pilots Association has been aiming for a new contract that would include increased wages, job security and quality of life after seeing similar gains for pilots at Air Canada and WestJet over the past two years.

Capt. Bradley Small, chair of the Air Transat ALPA Master Executive Council, said the current pilot contract falls behind industry standards in Canada and North America.

“We believe this new agreement meets the needs of today’s profession, consistent with collective agreements other ALPA-represented pilot groups are signing with their employers,” Small said in a statement.

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Vote likely in coming days

It’s expected that union members will vote on the agreement in the coming days.

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Transat’s flight schedule was greatly disrupted this week when it began to cancel flights ahead of a potential labour standoff.

Transat has struggled to manage a hefty debt load, fend off a takeover attempt from an activist investor and turn an annual profit for the first time since 2018.

The carrier’s active fleet of nearly 40 planes carries tens of thousands of passengers on more than 500 flights each week.

The Air Line Pilots Association issued a 72-hour strike notice on Sunday.

Transat responded that cancellations would ramp up ahead of a potential strike or lockout, which could have kicked off as early as 3 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

— With files from The Canadian Press.

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