WestJet resumes operations after tentative deal ends cabin crew strike (updated)

Onex

03/08/2026 11:38

    * WestJet gradually resumes operations after tentative labor
deal
    * Full operational recovery will take time, airline warns
    * Union says agreement addresses pay gap with Canadian peers
    * More than 900 flights canceled; deal faces vote within 30
days

 (Adds union's comments in paragraphs 7-9)
    By Rajesh Kumar Singh, Amanda Stephenson and Nandan Mandayam
    Aug 3 (Reuters) - WestJet said on Monday it was gradually
resuming operations after reaching a tentative agreement with
its flight attendants, ending a strike that caused hundreds of
cancellations during a Canadian holiday weekend.
    The airline, however, warned that a full return to normal
operations would take time as it repositioned aircraft and
crews, and said some flights could continue to be disrupted. It
did not provide a timetable for restoring its full schedule.
    The tentative deal adds to a broader shift in North American
airline labor, where cabin crews are challenging pay systems
built mainly around flying time rather than every hour on duty.
    Air Canada  AC.TO , American Airlines  AAL.O , Alaska Air
 ALK.N , Delta Air Lines  DAL.N  and United Airlines  UAL.O 
have introduced pay for boarding or other specified ground time,
increasing pressure on other carriers to recognize more of the
hours attendants spend on duty.
    WestJet's agreement addresses the same issue by adding a
premium that would pay attendants for more of their time on
duty. The union did not disclose the size of the premium, how it
would be calculated or how much it would increase their pay.
    The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents
4,400 WestJet flight attendants, had sought compensation from
the time members check in for work until they clock out. It
remains unclear whether the tentative deal fully meets that
demand.
    Alia Hussain, president of the union representing WestJet
flight attendants, said the agreement "certainly" addressed the
wage gap between WestJet attendants and their counterparts at
other Canadian airlines, but declined to provide figures before
the terms were presented to members.
    Hussain told reporters the agreement must be ratified within
30 days, adding that the bargaining committee would not have put
it to members unless it was highly confident they would approve
it.
    She also said the deal was reached through collective
bargaining without the federal government invoking Section 107
to intervene.
    Canada's Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu welcomed the tentative
agreement.
 
    HOLIDAY-WEEKEND DISRUPTIONS
    Flight attendants went on strike on Sunday after
negotiations broke down. The union said the strike was over and
attendants would return to work.
    WestJet had canceled 922 of 2,365 flights scheduled between
August 1 and August 5, or about 39%, as of 9 a.m. ET on Monday,
according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The figures cover
flights operated by WestJet and exclude regional feeder WestJet
Encore.
    WestJet said on Sunday that about 250,000 travelers had
their flights canceled during the three-day holiday weekend.
Cirium estimates the airline accounts for about 27% of
passengers carried by Canada's major airlines and 62% of the
market at its Calgary base.
    Before the walkout, WestJet, majority-owned by Onex Corp
 ONEX.TO , said it had offered attendants a 13% wage increase in
2026, followed by annual increases of 2.5% through 2029. It said
a proposed duty-period premium would have added compensation
equivalent to a further 12% increase in salary.
    Hussain said the offer had evolved during bargaining but
declined to say how the tentative agreement differed from
WestJet's earlier proposal.

 (Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago, Amanda Stephenson
in Calgary, Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru, and Allison Lampert in
Montreal, additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa;
Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Maju Samuel, Sharon Singleton and
Nick Zieminski)
 ((mailto:rajeshkumar.singh@thomsonreuters.com; +1-313-484-5370;
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