Most Air Transat pilots will benefit from salary increases of more than 50% under the agreement in principle reached with the parent company, Transat.
A copy of the agreement in principle, obtained by The Canadian Press, reveals that the most experienced pilots would earn nearly $388,000 per year by May 2029, while the salary of experienced co-pilots would exceed $238,000.
This five-year agreement, retroactive to last May, provides a starting salary of $220,500 for captains and $85,000 for co-pilots from their first year of service.
These two amounts represent increases of approximately 47% and 60%, respectively.
This agreement in principle means a supplement of more than $100,000 per year for the most experienced captains.
It also provides for a signing bonus equivalent to 11% of salary, spread over two years.
Representatives of Transat and the Airline Pilots’ Association told The Canadian Press on Thursday that the agreement includes significant benefits that place the pilots on the same level as their colleagues at Air Canada and WestJet.
We are on par with the rest of the industry
said Bradley Small, president of the Air Transat union contingent.
We recognized the value of our pilots, and we achieved productivity gains.
Air Transat’s 750 pilots will conclude the voting process on the provisional agreement on January 6, after reaching an agreement Tuesday evening, a few hours before the strike expires.
This labor dispute would have been the third strike in a year and a half in the Canadian airline sector, with workers seeking gains comparable to those obtained elsewhere in North America, in a context of rising costs of living.
Air Canada pilots obtained a salary increase of nearly 42% over four years last year. The increase dwarfs the significant gains achieved the previous year by pilots at the three largest U.S. airlines, where pay increases ranged between 34 and 40 percent, albeit from a higher level.
In 2023, WestJet pilots received a 24% pay increase over four years.
The ratification vote will begin on December 19, after the union presents the agreement to its members in Toronto and Montreal next week.