The WestJet mechanics strike is over. But WestJet today cancelled more than 300 flights for Canada Day and Tuesday, July 2, and said it will take considerable time to get things back to normal.
The good news is that WestJet and its striking mechanics reached a deal shortly before midnight Calgary time. The bad news is that crews and planes are scattered across the country, and it will take time to get everything right.
“As a result of the active labour disruption that began on June 28 and concluded on Sunday, June 30, WestJet parked 130 of its 180 aircraft,” officials said around 2 p.m. ET today. “While labour action has concluded, its impact will continue for additional days, as WestJet works to recover in the following areas:
- WestJet aircraft are parked at 13 airports across Canada, eight of which do not have crew bases, meaning crew need to be transported to the aircraft for retrieval
- As a result of the disruption, work to recover stranded crew across our network will be an immediate priority
- Aircraft that were parked ceased operating on schedule and will require standard maintenance and safety checks before returning to service
- On average,1,600 crew members are required to execute WestJet’s operation each day. As a result of the disruption, many operationally sensitive WestJetters were disrupted, taking them out of position to continue operating their assigned schedule.”
Airline officials had cancelled some 832 flights leading up to and during the strike. Today they announced cancellation of 292 flights on Canada Day, plus 27 more on July 2. That brings the total number of cancelled flights to 1,027, and the total number of people affected at perhaps 130,000.
What kind of compensation they’re entitled to is not clear, and could depend on whether authorities deem the cancelled flights to be within WestJet’s control or out of its control.
I found the following passage on the WestJet website today:
“Under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), a labour disruption within the carrier or within an essential service provider is considered outside of air carrier control. As a result, any disruption in travel plans due to work stoppage or strike are not eligible for compensation under APPR.
“Itineraries involving destinations outside Canada may also be subject to passenger rights programs other than APPR, compensation may be applicable thereunder.”
Europe has strong protection for passengers who have their flights delayed or cancelled, so it’s likely that a WestJet customer who had a flight to Dublin or England cancelled will be better off than someone who was flying domestically.
Meanwhile, both WestJet and the union were putting their own take on the strike.
“The damage to Canadians and our airline is massive, a swift resolution was necessary. We take no victory laps on this outcome, but will sleep better tonight knowing further harm has been prevented,” said Diederik Pen, President of WestJet Airlines and Group Chief Operating Officer. “We will see no further labour action coming out of this dispute, as both parties agree to arbitrate the contract in the case of a failed ratification.”
The CBC said the deal includes an immediate 15.5% wage increase, followed by a pay increase of 3.25% next year, and 2.5% each year for the final three years over the five-year term, according to the union.
“We believe this outcome would not have been possible without the strike, but we do regret the disruption and inconvenience it has caused the travelling public over the Canada Day holiday period,” the union said in a statement. “We are pleased the strike lasted only 48 hours and that service can now return to normal.
The mechanics union said the deal is substantially better than the previous tentative agreement it had, with higher pay and improved benefits.
“Lack of clarity from the government and the decisions taken by the CIRB allowed for a strike to occur amidst binding arbitration,” WestJet’s Pen said. “With no path forward to resolution, both parties made essential movements to find common ground and achieve an agreement.”
“We want to thank guests for their patience during what was an uncertain and stressful time,” continued Pen. “I want to personally thank our teams of WestJetters who were equally thrust into the uncertainty, and who once again demonstrated their care, dedication and resilience.”
“Today we found a path forward and came to a tentative agreement with AMFA, ending the strike action,” WestJet CEO Alexis van Hoensbroech on his X/Twitter feed. “I am deeply sorry for the impact this had on our guests. We will now work to rebuild our wonderful airline as swiftly as possible.”
