Air Transat will avoid strike after flight attendants approve collective agreement

Photo: The Canadian Press

The risk of a strike at Air Transat has lifted as flight attendants have voted in favour of a new collective agreement. People look on as an Air Transat plane takes off at Trudeau in Montreal, Sunday, June 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

The risk of a strike at Air Transat has lifted as flight attendants have voted in favour of a new collective agreement.

The 2,100 flight attendants voted 62.7 per cent in favour of the terms recommended by federal mediators.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees says the collective agreement, which is retroactive to Nov. 1, 2022, makes Air Transat flight attendants the highest paid in the industry.

The terms include total compound salary increases of 30 per cent over five years, the elimination of the two lowest salary tiers and other benefits like more vacation days.

Air Transat's chief people officer Julie Lamontagne says in a statement that following an "unprecedented process," the company is pleased to offer competitive working conditions.

Workers had been without a contract for more than 15 months and had twice rejected tentative agreements this year.