Talks between Air Canada pilots and management remained at an apparent standstill heading into the weekend, as the two sides lobbed conflicting narratives in the mainstream press.
Pilots have been attempting to ratchet up pressure on Canada’s flag carrier, with information pickets and statements that indicate a woeful wage gap with U.S. airlines.
But a Bloomberg report has complicated the public relations battle, saying the airline has offered to increase pilot wages by about 30 percent within three years.
Pilots would receive a minimum 20 percent increase up front, followed by annual raises over the next three years, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources who are familiar with the matter.
Air Canada lists the average salary for narrowbody captains at between $215,000 to $290,000 a year, plus expenses; the range for widebody captains with 11 to 15 years’ experience is listed at between $315,000 and $350,000, plus expenses.
Bloomberg said a pilot in the high end of that range would see their wages rise more than $100,000 over the life of the contract. To date, no other media outlets have confirmed the Bloomberg report and neither Air Canada nor the pilots’ union has publicly commented on specific contract offers.
The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), which represents Air Canada pilots, has said current salaries make it “very hard to sustain a family” for pilots living in Canada’s largest cities.
“One quarter of our pilots have a second job, with almost 80 per cent of those needing the job out of necessity,” said First Officer Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada ALPA master executive council, in a statement to Global News.
“We are trying to change that. Additionally, due to our latest 10-year contract, our compensation has not kept up with inflation, nor the levels of our peer carriers.”
ALPA has previously said Air Canada pilots are paid less that half of what their counterparts receive, per Bloomberg.
In August, union members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike if they can’t reach a new collective agreement. A strike could begin as early as Sept. 18.
The pilots have been without a contract for about one year, after their previous deal from 2014 expired in 2023.
There is recent precedent for a massive wage hike: In September 2023, pilots at Chicago-based United Airlines ratified a deal that raised pay by about 42 percent, per Reuters.
Later that year, pilots at Southwest Airlines agreed to a 29.15 percent immediate pay increase, plus wage increases of four percent for three years starting in 2025, followed by a 3.25 percent increase in 2028.
ALPA represents more than 5,400 Air Canada pilots and has pledged a $5 million grant from the union’s war chest to support contract negotiations.
Seriously people who work in other fields are fighting to survive day to day! Take the offer much better then what others are facing. Aside from that I have tickets for September 24 to see my aging parents and I put my trust in you to get me to Ontario safely!
Air Canada has evolved into nothing but a money-grab. All they care about is their bottom line. They charge customers an exorbitant fee to fly with them, while providing increasingly less for said fee. They continue to cram more seats into an already tight space, making air travel something akin to torture, all the while increasing the price. Moreover, if you need to cancel a trip, good luck getting your money back unless you’ve paid a much higher price for the privilege of fully refundable tickets. Why do Air Canada get to keep my hard-earned money for a service I’ll never receive, even though the flights were cancelled months in advance? You KNOW they will easily resell my seat to someone else, then they will have received money for that seat twice. Again, money-grab! Although a pilots’ strike would greatly inconvenience everyone, I don’t blame the pilots for demanding equal pay compared to their peers in the US. If Air Canada continues to under-appreciate their pilots and cabin crew, they will have nobody to fly their planes. I, for one, would be afraid to get on a flight operated by a deeply dissatisfied flight crew.
In current times people are living on much Less than pilots, I don’t understand if someone us making over $300,000 that they would need a second job. There are 2 income families that are making just over$100,000 and they don’t need 2 jobs to survive. Also American pulots might make more but they don’t have the same medical coverage that we have in Canada.
Of course you’re assuming AC is telling the truth regarding the salaries.
I for one, do not believe it. As ALPA also mentions, life has become extremely expensive in Canadas larger cities and if you have to take on a second job, you’re not making $300k
This second job argument sounds like BS. Pilots are not picking up hours as Walmart greeters to make ends meet. They can take second jobs because they have so many free hours available, even though they are earning $300,000, and they are able to use their free hours likely to fly private jets at very high rates of compensation. If you can’t live on $300,000 in a Canadian city, maybe your spouse needs a job?
Toronto paramedics make 120K a year to deal with everything they do.
You guys make 3x as much with and offer to go up to 4.5x
Parity with US pilots – in no other job does a comparison with another country’s pay hold any water. It does not here either. AC pilots live and work in Canada. If they have “US envy” then go and live and work there!
A year 1 first officer at air canada makes $56k a year. These are the folks who are working second jobs. Air canadas biggest bases are in toronto and vancouver where it is not cheap to live.
Obviously the company will push the narative that the average salary is $200k in order to turn the court of public opinion against the group but due to the massive hiring spree air canada has been on a sizeable portion are onnthat lower fugure.
New pilots at westjet, flair and porter are all paid significantly more.
100% right on!
the word “average” is quite misleading and can be used to deceive in very many ways. Never ever use “average” for anything.
In spite of supporting the strike, I am however, bothered by the fact that this wage hike demand is based on a comparison of “counterpart” wages in another country.
Every country’s economy is subjective and we should not base our salaries on the living conditions of another country.
Perhaps, starting wages need to boosted to keep up with inflation and according to province of residence.
Air Canada has increasingly hiked fares and is now charging fees for literally everything because other airlines also do it…
Have a great day!
Air Canada is skewing the numbers saying the “average captain salary (they’re using the average at a 12 year maxed out pay scale.)” This only makes up 10% of their pilots. Half the company are first officers and most of them are making 56k a year after spending a decade building the experience to even get the job.
WestJet, Flair, and Porter pay their pilots between 50-80% more than Air Canada does
Canadian pilots have always made the same or more than American pilots until 2010 when Air Canada started slashing contracts. Today European, Asian, Middle Eastern, and American pilots are all paid the same. Canada is the only outlier. My pilots shouldn’t be tired from working second jobs