MONTREAL, March 3 (Portal) – Air Canada (AC.TO) pilots are pushing for higher salaries ahead of new contract negotiations after pilots at the US airline Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) union made recent gains, a representative said Portal.
A deal between Delta and its pilots, which took effect Thursday, includes a 34% pay rise over four years, putting pressure on other U.S. airlines to make similar deals.
It also galvanizes pilots at Canada’s largest airline. Delta’s latest hourly wages are up to 45% higher than Air Canada’s current hourly wages, the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) announced via email.
Air Canada pilots have received a 2% pay increase per year since 2014, said the ACPA, which represents about 4,500 pilots. They could potentially start salary talks as early as this year or 2024, the union said.
“Pilots in the US have recently pushed through significant wage increases and other contract improvements, creating an embarrassing gap with Canada,” Charlene Hudy, a top ACPA union leader, said in a statement.
last update
Watch 2 more stories
The talks come as North American airlines collectively recruit thousands of pilots to meet a rebound in travel demand after a pandemic-related slump. Air Canada did not respond to a request for comment.
The ACPA is in talks to potentially join the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the world’s largest pilots’ union, representing more than 60,000 pilots.
Tim Perry, president of ALPA Canada, said many US airlines recognize the importance of crew to their business model, “by offering their pilots improved wages and working conditions that, in most cases, far exceed those of their Canadian counterparts.”
Pilots north of the border are now trying to make a profit. Pilots at Sunwing Airlines in Canada secured a 23% wage increase earlier this year and a further 2.5% increase next January as part of their existing four-year deal, union Unifor said.
Some airline executives are concerned that hefty pay rises for pilots will drive up fixed costs and make it harder to repair indebted balance sheets. Delta has forecast a first-quarter profit decline as the pilot contract is expected to drive up operating expenses.
Air Canada, which plans to return to 2019 capacity levels next year, is also under cost pressure.
Salary is also a priority for pilots in negotiations at Canada’s second largest airline, WestJet.
The US airlines American Airlines Group (AAL.O) and United Airlines (UAL.O) are also negotiating with their pilots.
Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal. Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago Editing by Matthew Lewis and Susan Fenton
Our standards: The Trust Principles.