Looming WestJet lockout strikes fear into Sask. airports, businesses

The clock started ticking Monday night after WestJet pilots issued a 72-hour strike notice to airline management and the government.

Justin Reves with the Regina Airport said he doesn’t know the full scope of what a lockout or strike would do for operations but said they typically see around eight to 11 WestJet flights a day.

“Whether that means all flights, some of the flights cancelled, (or that flights) will continue to come or go,  we just don’t really know that at this point,” said Reves.

“We’re not the airline. We can’t speak for the airline and tell people exactly what to do, but we’re going to be there to support as best we can … we’re refreshing the pages every few minutes to see if there’s new information that we can share with the public.”

Airport authorities hope to know more within the next 48 hours.

0:50 WestJet pilots issue 72-hour strike notice after failing to reach deal

The looming strike threatens to halt the recovery progress Saskatchewan airports have made in the last year.

“Starting out in 2023, we were stuck at around 70 per cent capacity,” said Reves. “We had some serious challenges this winter with Sunwing and then largely reducing service from eight flights a week down to one flight a week.”

The Regina airport was scheduled to be at 93 per cent pre-pandemic capacity heading into summer but that could change for the worst if WestJet was to temporarily fall off the table.

“The airport itself is a not-for-profit and we’ve lost five million dollars the last two years, even more the year prior. It’s been an incredibly challenging time for us,” Reves said.

Issuing notice doesn’t mean an operations halt will occur, but, if a fair negotiation isn’t reached in the next three days, WestJet pilots will be ready to strike as of 3 a.m. Friday.

The union representing WestJet, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), and the WestJet Group have not reached an agreement yet.

“After nine months of negotiating, management still fails to understand today’s labour market conditions, leading to a mass exodus of our pilots in search of better work opportunities, and more will follow if this agreement does not meet our pilots’ needs,” said Capt. Bernard Lewall, chair of the WestJet ALPA Master Executive Council in a press release.

“Without the economic and job security improvements our pilots require, WestJet will be parking planes, as they will not have enough pilots to operate them or accomplish its own growth strategy.”

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The union claimed that every 18 hours, a WestJet pilot is leaving the airline to fly for competitors.

In a lockout notice from the airline, the company said that the negotiation terms from ALPA are not sustainable.

“The union maintains its expectation of closing in towards U.S.–like wages, despite living and working in Canada,” read the notice. “This expectation is not reasonable and is impeding the WestJet Group’s ability to reach an agreement in advance of the upcoming long weekend.”

The WestJet Group’s notice claimed that they brought forward a contract that would make its first officers and captains “the highest paid narrow-body pilots in Canada, with a significant advantage over the next best paying Canadian airline.”

Talk of a proposed strike began in April when pilots from WestJet and its discount brand Swoop voted in favour of a strike mandate.

9:20 What would a WestJet pilot strike mean for travellers?

On May 11, Jason Aebig of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce wrote to Canada’s Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan to express concerns about what a strike would do to the business community.

“A strike or lockout would take Saskatoon off the radar – crippling our visitor economy and making inbound and outbound travel more expensive and difficult overnight,” read the letter.

Aebig claimed Saskatoon’s visitor economy would crumble, with conferences, events, hotels and restaurants taking the brunt of the impact.

The Chamber called on the government to have contingencies in place, saying the minister could send a strong message to the travelling public and cities that will feel the impacts of a work stoppage.

Minister O’Regan is currently at the bargaining table with both parties.

“We are aware of a conference convener that has now told its Winnipeg-bound delegates to consider driving to Saskatoon stead of incurring the time and costs of flying Air Canada to one of the major hubs in either Vancouver or Toronto,” Aebig told Global News after the lockout notice was released.

“This is the issue around a lack of competition when airlines make decisions that harm competition. For mid-size cities like Saskatoon, it can have real implications.”

“There are times when there are work stoppages that are frustrating. They’re inconvenient. This one could be debilitating for a city of 500,000 people and a province of a million that has only one major airline regional service servicing its interests.”

In the coming days, WestJet said it’d begin taking action to minimize the possible strike impact by beginning preparations to operate a reduced schedule with fewer WestJet and Swoop flights, proactively managing changes and cancellations and “providing flexible change and cancel options for those who wish to make alternate arrangements.”

WestJet assured its customers that if delays or cancellations occur, guests will be refunded or re-accommodated, as applicable.

– with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton