Sky-High Airline Prices Could Continue, Will WestJet Pilots Go On Strike?

Inflation is running rampant these days, and airlines aren’t immune. A top expert from Hopper says the news could get worse soon for Canadian consumers.

“Canadian domestic airfare in February is averaging $285 per ticket, in line with 2022 prices,” Hopper Economist Hayley Berg told the website MTL Blog.

But she says international flight prices from Canada are up 24% compared to 2022, currently averaging $873 per ticket.

WESTJET PILOTS STRIKE POSSIBILITY

The union representing pilots at WestJet is asking for federal conciliation after both sides have come to an impasse during contract talks.

Canadian Press reports that the WestJet Master Executive Council, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), says it has filed a request for conciliation assistance with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

The federal Minister of Labour now has 15 days to appoint a conciliation officer. Once appointed, the officer would work with the parties for 60 days to reach an agreement. If both parties remain at an impasse following this period, a 21-day cooling-off period begins before the parties can consider other alternatives, including a strike or lockout.

We’re getting very close, in our opinion, to being at an impasse,” said Bernie Lewall, chair of the union’s WestJet Pilots Association, the CBC reports. “I think it is very likely that we’re going to enter conciliation soon — as far as a strike, I can’t say.”

Wine tasting in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.

.FLAIR LAUNCHES EDMONTON-KELOWNA FLIGHTS IN JUNE

The CBC says a Flair Airlines flight from Cancun, Mexico, that was supposed to land in Toronto was forced to make an emergency landing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after a malfunction with the system that pressurizes the cabin and allows passengers to breathe at high altitudes. Flair Airlines says passengers were never in any actual danger.

JIMMY BUFFETT CONCERT TOUR STARTS IN KEY WEST