WestJet resumes operations after tentative deal ends cabin crew strike

By Rajesh Kumar Singh, Amanda Stephenson and Nandan Mandayam

Aug 3 (Reuters) – WestJet said on Monday it was gradually resuming operations after reaching a tentative agreement with its flight attendants, ending a strike that caused hundreds of cancellations during a Canadian holiday weekend.

The airline, however, warned that a full return to normal operations would take time as it repositioned aircraft and crews, and said some flights could continue to be disrupted. It did not provide a timetable for restoring its full schedule.

The tentative deal adds to a broader shift in North American airline labor, where cabin crews are challenging pay systems built mainly around flying time rather than every hour on duty.

Air Canada, American Airlines, Alaska Air, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have introduced pay for boarding or other specified ground time, increasing pressure on other carriers to recognize more of the hours attendants spend on duty.

WestJet’s agreement addresses the same issue by adding a premium that would pay attendants for more of their time on duty. The union did not disclose the size of the premium, how it would be calculated or how much it would increase their pay.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 4,400 WestJet flight attendants, had sought compensation from the time members check in for work until they clock out. It remains unclear whether the tentative deal fully meets that demand.

Alia Hussain, president of the union representing WestJet flight attendants, said the agreement “certainly” addressed the wage gap between WestJet attendants and their counterparts at other Canadian airlines, but declined to provide figures before the terms were presented to members.

Hussain told reporters the agreement must be ratified within 30 days, adding that the bargaining committee would not have put it to members unless it was highly confident they would approve it.

She also said the deal was reached through collective bargaining without the federal government invoking Section 107 to intervene.

Canada’s Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu welcomed the tentative agreement.

HOLIDAY-WEEKEND DISRUPTIONS

Flight attendants went on strike on Sunday after negotiations broke down. The union said the strike was over and attendants would return to work.

WestJet had canceled 922 of 2,365 flights scheduled between August 1 and August 5, or about 39%, as of 9 a.m. ET on Monday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The figures cover flights operated by WestJet and exclude regional feeder WestJet Encore.

WestJet said on Sunday that about 250,000 travelers had their flights canceled during the three-day holiday weekend. Cirium estimates the airline accounts for about 27% of passengers carried by Canada’s major airlines and 62% of the market at its Calgary base.

Before the walkout, WestJet, majority-owned by Onex Corp, said it had offered attendants a 13% wage increase in 2026, followed by annual increases of 2.5% through 2029. It said a proposed duty-period premium would have added compensation equivalent to a further 12% increase in salary.

Hussain said the offer had evolved during bargaining but declined to say how the tentative agreement differed from WestJet’s earlier proposal.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago, Amanda Stephenson in Calgary, Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru, and Allison Lampert in Montreal, additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Maju Samuel, Sharon Singleton and Nick Zieminski)