Air Transat’s Flight Attendants Reject January’s Tentative Agreement

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced that Air Transat’s flight attendants union rejected the tentative agreement on January 7th, continuing the months-long contract dispute. While the agreement was negotiated between airline executives and union representation, the 10-day voting period on the agreement resulted in 81.9% of the 2,100-strong flight attendant union members voting to reject the deal, according to a statement.

The vote to reject the proposed agreement included a vote to renew the mandate to strike if a deal is not made, earning 94.6% approval among the union. While union votes can sometimes be difficult in the airline industry as employees are constantly moving, more than 88.7% of the union participated in the vote.

Before the vote, the union spent several days in general meetings to review the deal. At the time, the airline said it was pleased to have reached the agreement. Previous statements from CUPE indicated that the union was responding to rising living costs, which led it to seek salary increases.

With the vote concluded, both parties will resume negotiations, which have been ongoing since April of last year. The union pledged not to issue further comments on the refusal to vote, per the CUPE statement. The previous collective agreement began on October 31, 2022.

Long history of rejection

It is not the first time the union has rejected a tentative agreement reached with the airline. A previous tentative agreement reached in December was rejected on January 2nd, and the previous mandate to strike received nearly 99.8% support.

After that vote, CUPE’s Air Transat President Dominic Levasseur said, “The Air Transat flight attendants clearly indicated to us that the agreement did not relieve the suffering and financial insecurity they experience on a daily basis.”

Photo: Air Transat

Air Transat is not the only airline facing union difficulties. Weeks ago in the United States, negotiations between Avelo Airlines and its flight attendants heated up ahead of a vote for its flight attendants to unionize, while other passenger and cargo airlines have all had high-profile contract negotiations and strikes in the past year. Several airport work groups in Europe have also gone on strikes, shutting down operations at airports in France and Germany.

Last week in Germany, Lufthansa’s cabin crew union called for a 15% pay increase at Lufthansa Cityline, while German inflation increased close to 4%. Other airlines like EVA Air had their pilots’ union vote to go on strike during the Lunar New Year, which runs February 10-15th. Meanwhile, carriers such as Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines have reached deals with their respective pilot’s unions.

Air Transat, reached net profits in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic. The airline’s fleet is comprised of one Airbus A320, 23 A321s, 13 A330s, and five Boeing 737s. Several A321s are A321LRs, which the airline has utilized to expand service to the Caribbean. At the same time, Air Transat also expects to ground some of its A321LR fleet due to issues with its Pratt & Whitney engines.