WestJet regional pilots reject agreement

53% vote against tentative deal

Pilots at WestJet’s western regional subsidiary Encore have rejected a tentative agreement reached with the airline last month.

According to a press release from the Air Line Pilots Association, 53 per cent of pilots who voted rejected the agreement.

“Despite contract improvements to compensation and scheduling, our pilots held strong in their belief that management isn’t doing enough to address the ongoing pilot attraction and retention issues and low morale that remain at our airline,” said Capt. Carin Kenny, a pilot and chair of the WestJet Encore ALPA Master Executive Council.

In a written statement, WestJet chief operating officer Diederik Pen said the rejection won’t impact airline operations, but added the company was disappointed by the vote results.

“Our tentative agreement represented a robust negotiation process that got us to our final offer, and while we will meet with ALPA to determine next steps, we will hold firm on what is reasonable to ensure we can continue providing meaningful employment and affordable air travel to Canadians,” Pen said.

Despite the reassurance that airline operations won’t be affected, travellers could still be tempted to buy cancellation or interruption insurance. But they shouldn’t mull it over too long, said Martin Firestone, president of insurance brokerage Travel Secure Inc.

“Because a strike or lockout hasn’t been officially declared yet, you should still be able to buy insurance and be covered. But once something’s officially declared, it becomes a known cause, like COVID,” said Firestone.

Terms of the tentative agreement weren’t released publicly.