Air Canada has reached a “tentative” deal with its pilots to avert a strike – just hours before the airline was expected to start cancelling flights ahead of a complete shutdown.
The carrier’s 5,200 pilots had voted overwhelmingly to walk out in a long and bitter dispute in which they were seeking pay more closely aligned with pilots in the US.
On Friday, Air Canada president and chief executive, Michael Rousseau, had warned: “The travel plans of hundreds of thousands of Canadians are hanging in the balance.”
The carrier was planning “an orderly wind down of operations” if a strike, beginning as early as Wednesday, had gone ahead.
But talks continued through the weekend, with an eleventh-hour deal reached. In a statement released on Sunday morning, Air Canada said it had reached “a tentative, four-year collective agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (Alpa)”.
The airline said: “The new agreement recognises the contributions and professionalism of Air Canada’s pilot group, while providing a framework for the future growth of the airline.
“Terms of the new agreement will remain confidential pending a ratification vote by the membership, expected to be completed over the next month, and approval by the Air Canada board of directors.
“Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge will continue to operate as normal.”
Passengers who had moved their flights to another date ahead of the strike have been invited to revert to their “original flight in the same cabin at no cost, providing there is space available”.
The pilots’ union posted on X: “The Air Canada MEC [Master Executive Council] has approved the new Tentative Agreement.”
The deal will be put to members, who are expect to vote to accept. Details of the settlement remain confidential, though Alpa said it would generate “additional value” of over C$1.9bn (£1.06bn) for Air Canada pilots over the course of the agreement.
The strike threat had damaged sales on Air Canada in recent weeks. Many of the 110,000 passengers who normally fly with Air Canada each day had booked with alternative airlines to ensure they would be able to travel.