Air Transat travellers and Canadian travel advisors can rest easy, after the airline announced that 62.7% of its flight attendants voted in favour of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service mediators' recommendation, ratifying a new collective agreement and effectively lifting the strike threat.
The collective agreement is retroactive to November 1, 2022, and will be valid until October 31, 2027.
Julie Lamontagne, Transat's Chief People, Sustainability and Communications Officer. (Photo Credit: Transat)
"Our flight attendants play a key role in Air Transat's success, and following an unprecedented process, we are pleased to offer competitive working conditions,” says Julie Lamontagne, Chief People, Communications and Sustainability Officer.
“This outcome will enable us to continue the dialogue of the past few months and move forward. We are also grateful for the patience and trust of our customers during these uncertain times."
According to CUPE’s Airline Division, which represents Air Transat's 2,100 flight attendants, the new collective agreement that makes them the highest paid in the industry in Canada. Following information meetings held from February 19 to 22, they voted to accept the recommendation of federal mediators which provides for total compound salary increases of 30% over five years – retroactive from November 1, 2022 to October 31, 2027.
It also provides for the abolition of the first two salary levels, meaning that flight attendants with less than three years of seniority will immediately access the third level, which represents a significant increase in salary.
CUPE says the new collective agreement will also secure the number of crew seats on all flights lasting 7 hours or more and those departing Canada after 10 p.m. It will also increase the number of personal leave days and vacation days.
"It's been a long and complex process, but we're finally crossing the finish line with substantial pay increases for our flight attendant members,” said Chantal Bourgeois, CUPE National Representative.
“This will be an extremely well-deserved adjustment after years of effort to help the company through financial difficulties, followed by the catastrophic years of the pandemic and a period of high inflation,"
The Air Transat Component encompasses two local unions based at airports in Montreal (YUL) and in Toronto (YYZ). It is part of CUPE's Airline Division, which represents more than 18,500 flight attendants employed at Air Transat, Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, Sunwing, WestJet, Encore, Calm Air, Canadian North, Pivot Airlines, Flair Airlines, PAL and Pascan.
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