Unions balk at Air Transat staffing plans
Pilots, flight attendants unhappy with CanJet agreement
The generally harmonious relationship between Air Transat and its employees is not only fraying, but in danger of collapsing altogether.
The union representing the carrier’s 440 pilots has filed three grievances totalling more than $3 million against the company for what it considers breaches of their collective agreement.
And at meetings in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver this week, flight attendants voted down company proposals to staff aircraft that Transat licences from Halifaxbased operator CanJet Airlines. The company wants to use Air Transat personnel — pilots and cabin crew — on those CanJet planes.
The two charter operators have long had a licensing agreement under which CanJet provided more than a dozen Boeing 737s, an aircraft type Transat did not operate, on a year-round or seasonal basis for thinner routes.
But the two failed to reach a renewal agreement last year and Transat instead announced it would launch its own fleet of about a dozen 737s.
Air Transat employees also made financial and contract concessions to help the company through hard times as it began hemorrhaging cash in 2012.
Transat, however, has yet to deploy most of its own fleet. In fact, it renewed a limited partnership with CanJet recently for one B737 for the year and another for the winter season — in effect, one-and-a half planes.
But one inside source, who declined to be identified, said that flight attendants have no assurance — even from their union leadership — that Air Transat crews will staff those aircraft.
The so-called wet lease from CanJet — meaning pilots are included with the plane — was announced by Air Transat about five weeks ago, the source said.
“That was done before Air Transat has gotten its own aircraft.”
“The company held the votes to modify our collective agreement. The proposal was for a certain number of flight attendants, pursers and flight directors. But they could not confirm to us that (these crews) would be exclusively from Air Transat, as our agreement states. (Union president Peter Buzzell) was asked twice, and he could not confirm it, either.”
Buzzell did not return calls over several days seeking comment.
Patrice Roy, chairman of the master executive council of Air Transat’s chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, said that his union has filed three grievances, one regarding CanJet, and two more serious ones concerning Calgary’s Enerjet, a charter operator launched in 2008 by a co-founder of WestJet Airlines.
That airline also flies routes for Transat out of Alberta and British Columbia, but in clear violation, Roy said, of the pilots’ contract that states that only Air Transat can operate flights designated as TS — Air Transat’s proprietary call-sign.
“They have no right to do this, they don’t have the licence for it,” said Roy.
“They did ask us (the pilots’) permission to do this, but it turned out they had already signed the contract with Enerjet to do it.”
Enerjet did not return calls immediately.
Transat spokeswoman Debbie Cabana did not return calls, but said in an email late Friday that gathering information would take time.
In a memo to employees obtained by The Gazette, Air Transat general manager Jean-François Lemay said that “while I understand the frustrations, I would ask that our flight deck crew personnel (and those of our cabin crew personnel who have expressed their dissatisfaction) to see this contract for what it actually is: the only way for us to train all of the cabin crews we will need to operate our permanent and seasonal B737s.”
The airline insider said that it would disrupt the schedule of flight crews, especially those with seniority.
Whoever volunteers or is assigned to staff the CanJet planes “will no longer be able to do Europe in the summer, nor will they get layovers down south in the winter.”
The assignments would be effective May 1.
“But we’ve just hired 150 people for June 1. So all these new people will come in after they pull people out of our ranks for CanJet.”
Roy said that some CanJet planes will be painted in Air Transat’s livery — a first since the agreement between the two airlines.
“They have the right to fly some of our routes, but when they put on our colours, well, no.”
“People who book with us are looking for the Air Transat experience, the service,” Roy said.
“When there’s a CanJet flight in Air Transat colours at Gate 59 at Dorval going to Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) and a CanJet flight at Gate 59 going to Ft. Lauderdale, and a pilot calls in sick, which flight do you think they’ll operate? I’m pretty sure CanJet will fly its own plane over ours.”