What did the 2023 contract give WestJet pilots?

Under the agreement in principle reached in May 2023, WestJet pilots were set for a 24 per cent pay rise over four years, The Canadian Press reported from a copy of the summary. That included a 15.5 per cent rise in hourly pay in 2023, retroactive to 1 January, and a further cumulative 8.5 per cent from 2024 through 2026. The deal was reached on 19 May 2023, hours before roughly 1,800 WestJet and Swoop pilots could have walked out. Ratified in June 2023, the second agreement between WestJet and ALPA is retroactive to 1 January 2023 and runs until 31 December 2026.134

What could a WestJet captain earn?

In a May 2023 memo seen by Global News, WestJet's vice-president of flight operations said the airline's offer would have raised pay to about $300,000 for a narrow-body captain and $350,000 for a wide-body captain, before overtime and other stipends. That offer expired once the strike notice was issued, and ALPA said the figures were cherry-picked and did not reflect what most pilots would earn.2

What comes on top of pay?

WestJet says it pays 10 per cent of a mainline pilot's eligible earnings into the CAAT Pension Plan, with a required one per cent contribution from the pilot. After 180 days, staff can put up to 20 per cent of base salary into the WestJet Savings Plan, which the company matches dollar for dollar; the maximum varies by role and department. Profit sharing is linked to pre-tax operating income and paid twice a year, in May and November, and a performance award targets $100 a month.56

What about Swoop and WestJet Encore?

WestJet folded its budget carrier Swoop into the mainline airline, with the merger due to be completed by 28 October 2023; Swoop employees moved to WestJet. Regional carrier WestJet Encore has its own contract: about 79 per cent of voting pilots ratified a five-year deal in June 2024, retroactive to 1 January. Two months earlier, ALPA had described Encore pilots as among the lowest-paid regional pilots in Canada.478

Where are WestJet pilots based and how much do they fly?

Boeing 737 pilots are based in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal, work a maximum of 16 days a month (18 on a reserve line), and overtime starts at 85 credit hours. WestJet asks for 2000 hours for a 737 first officer, while Encore asks for 750 hours for a first officer and 2000 hours for a direct-entry captain.5