WestJet starts to cancel flights as pilot strike looms, negotiations in stalemate
CTV
Talks between WestJet and the pilots' union continue amid the countdown toward a Friday strike deadline, with the airline saying it has started to cancel flights ahead of the anticipated work stoppage.
WestJet has started to cancel flights as talks with the pilots' union remained at a "critical impasse," the company said Thursday, jeopardizing travel plans for thousands of passengers ahead of the May long weekend.
Some 1,800 pilots at the carrier and its Swoop subsidiary are poised to walk off the job as of 3 a.m. ET after the Air Line Pilots Association issued a strike notice Monday.
WestJet issued a statement early Thursday saying negotiations with the union remained "in a stalemate."
"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," CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said in a statement.
WestJet Group is parking the majority of its 737 and 787 fleet in a "measured, phased and safe approach," the statement read. The airline said WestJet Encore, WestJet Link as well as limited 737 flights will continue to operate during this time.
With more than 4,000 flights scheduled over the next seven days, WestJet carries 28 per cent of Canada's domestic market, while Air Canada runs 47 per cent, according to flight data firm Cirium.
The federal labour minister and the government's head mediator as well as WestJet's CEO and the pilots' union leaders have all descended on a hotel near the Toronto airport to work toward a deal.
