Canadian airline Air Transat and the union representing its pilots have come to a tentative agreement, preventing a planned strike and flight cancellations.
On December 9, 2025, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) announced its approval of the airline’s proposed preliminary contract agreement, allowing its members to vote on it.
“Our pilots have been frustrated flying under a decade-old, outdated collective agreement,” said Captain Bradley Small, Chair of the Air Transat ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC). “This was compounded by months of stall tactics by Air Transat management during our nearly year-long negotiation.”
The union said that more than 750 pilots will vote on the new agreement in the coming days.
The proposed agreement features a 59% salary increase over five years and “major improvements” to working conditions.
According to the union, the new tentative agreement “delivers on the goals of better job security, enhanced compensation, and more flexible schedules to allow for a better work-life balance.”
“Our current pilot contract lags significantly behind industry standards in Canada and North America,” Small added. “We believe this new agreement meets the needs of today’s profession, consistent with collective agreements other ALPA-represented pilot groups are signing with their employers.”
In a statement issued on December 10, 2025, Air Transat confirmed the tentative agreement, saying it “allows customers to travel with peace of mind” as the airline’s operations normalize.
ALPA pilot union and the airline spent 11 months in negotiations without reaching an agreement, with initial contract discussions starting in January 2025 to replace their existing 2015 agreement.
The strike notice was issued on December 7, 2025, after negotiations stalled and the union warned that no meaningful progress had been made at the bargaining table.
This is the second significant strike by a Canadian airline to take place in 2025. In August 2025, Air Canada flight attendants initiated a four-day strike seeking improved pay.
Even though the Air Canada strike was brief, it resulted in the grounding of hundreds of flights and caused travel disruptions for thousands of passengers across Canada.
