(Reuters) – Air Canada said early on Sunday it had reached a tentative agreement with its pilots' union on a new four-year contract, in a deal that would avoid a protracted strike or lockout.
Canada's largest airline said in a statement that the terms of its new agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents more than 5,200 pilots, will remain confidential, pending a ratification vote by its members expected to be finalized next month.
Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, which operate about 670 flights a day, will continue to fly as normal, the airline said.
Before a tentative agreement was reached, the airline was preparing to gradually cancel flights over the course of three days, and completely shut down operations at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on Wednesday, September 18.
ALPA said in a separate statement that its leaders have approved a proposed agreement with Air Canada for member approval.
Labor Minister Steve MacKinnon said in an email to X that disruptions to Canadian travel have been prevented because of the hard work of union groups and mediators.
Air Canada pilots have been demanding pay scales that would narrow the pay gap with their counterparts at major US companies such as United Airlines.
