WestJet and its Swoop subsidiary have begun flight cancellations as a Friday pilot strike looms, the carrier announced Thursday.
On Monday evening, the Air Line Pilots Association International issued a 72-hour strike notice, which would start at 3 a.m. Mountain Time on Friday, after negotiations failed to result in a new contract.
“After nine months of negotiating, management still fails to understand today’s labor 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,” chair of the WestJet ALPA Master Executive Council Bernard Lewall said Monday in a statement.
In response, WestJet on early Tuesday morning issued a lockout notice, yet both parties have remained at the bargaining table as negotiations continue.
“We are extremely disheartened to find ourselves in a place where we have to activate our contingency plan and subsequent takedown of our network as a result of the strike notice served by ALPA and their inability to accept a reasonable offer,” WestJet Group CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said in a Thursday statement. “We remain at a critical impasse with the union and have been left with no choice but to begin taking the painful steps of preparing for the reality of a work stoppage.”
WestJet is parking a majority of its 737 and 787 fleet. WestJet Encore and WestJet Link as well as limited 737 flights will continue to operate, according to the company.
Customers traveling on the carriers are advised to check their flight status prior to leaving for the airport.
