WestJet Strike Looming

[Manhattan]

Spoke to a WJ agent. They're only allowing free cancellations on flights between May 15 - 21. Our flight is May 23 so we'll have to wait til possibly 19th for them to allow cancellation at which time AC flight prices will probably skyrocket.

The other angle they mentioned is not all flights will be affected - some pilots will inevitably cross the picket line and certain flights will go ahead as scheduled. Nobody knows which ones will go ahead but I'm hoping international departures have priority. If and when a strike is announced they'll potentially know how many pilots are available for the upcoming week and be able to announce which flights will go ahead and which are grounded for the upcoming week. Forced to take a wait and see approach for now.

[kenny]

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The other angle they mentioned is not all flights will be affected - some pilots will inevitably cross the picket line and certain flights will go ahead as scheduled. Nobody knows which ones will go ahead but I'm hoping international departures have priority. If and when a strike is announced they'll potentially know how many pilots are available for the upcoming week and be able to announce which flights will go ahead and which are grounded for the upcoming week. Forced to take a wait and see approach for now.

My understanding is that WJ issued a lockout notice right after the strike notice so if there's no deal, there will be 0 flights.

[Manhattan]

Would WJ be flying in some independent contractors pilots? Having zero flights would seem to be major 'infrastructure' issue as well as a huge bargaining chip for the pilots since it hurts WJ so much.

I know railways have contingencies for engineer & maintenance strikes. WJ must have some kinda contingency.

[pheoxs]

One thing to check as well is who is piloting your flight. For example going to Vegas there are flights WJ is partnered with delta and there are WJ flights operated by delta. The latter will not be affected by the strike since it's not their crew.

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Would WJ be flying in some independent contractors pilots? Having zero flights would seem to be major 'infrastructure' issue as well as a huge bargaining chip for the pilots since it hurts WJ so much.

I know railways have contingencies for engineer & maintenance strikes. WJ must have some kinda contingency.

That's quite possible, they already have partner airlines and could use some of their staff though I think the whole airline industry is still short on workers.

[Xtrema]

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Sounds like WJ is obligated to cover all your damages on international flights...could end up a pretty hefty expense for them but I'm sure they'll deny it and wait for ppl to take them to court. Would be a real hassle though. I'd still rather proactively cancel and book something else if given the opportunity. Will give them a call tomorrow to see if possible to cancel. AC flights to europe aren't too crazy right now.

https://airpassengerrights.ca/en/blo...are-my-rights?

I will believe it when I see $. 2 months in WJ still owe me like $300 for losing my luggage.

And this:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...s-bc-1.6718743

[msommers]

Anyone else potentially going to be affected by this? They're threatening this Friday if they don't reach an agreement.

We're off to Japan June 9. Historically they haven't striked longer than 2 weeks but frick it's cutting it close. A co-worker is going to Japan on the 21st, wishing him the best of luck!

[suntan]

My youngest is supposed to go to Victoria on the 24th for a school boating trip.

The school really should have chartered a plane.

[benyl]

I was going to go to Japan on Friday. lol that you are worried about June 9th.

[CompletelyNumb]

Looks like a lot of Beyonders hit up that Tokyo seat sale

I'm going week 1 of June, not too worried at this point. Benyl on the other hand might be fucked.

[haggis88]

Did i read somewhere that only actual employed WJ pilots are going on strike, the Westjet Encore and other subsidiary employees won't be doing it? So that's just your major routes woth widebody craft and those of us doing smaller jaunts like from YYC to YQU won't notice anything?

[roopi]

https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/news/2...ations-updates

Does the potential labour stoppage impact WestJet Encore flights?

The current labour negotiations between The WestJet Group and ALPA, pertains to WestJet and Swoop pilots exclusively. WestJet Encore flights will continue to operate in the event labour action occurs.

[KrisYYC]

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Did i read somewhere that only actual employed WJ pilots are going on strike, the Westjet Encore and other subsidiary employees won't be doing it? So that's just your major routes woth widebody craft and those of us doing smaller jaunts like from YYC to YQU won't notice anything?

Only mainline is affected. So 737's and the 787 operated flights. If your flight is on Encore (Q400) or Pacific Coastal (Saab 340) it should still be operating. I think their CEO also threatened to use recently acquired Sunwing Airlines to operate some flights, however that would only be on a few routes and only a small percentage of their normal schedule.

[KrisYYC]

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Anyone else potentially going to be affected by this? They're threatening this Friday if they don't reach an agreement.

We're off to Japan June 9. Historically they haven't striked longer than 2 weeks but frick it's cutting it close. A co-worker is going to Japan on the 21st, wishing him the best of luck!

They served strike notice then immediately after Westjet issued a lockout notice. Sounds like they're nowhere near reaching a deal.

[Manhattan]

Westjet still selling tix on all flights. Any ideas or precedence on what % of flights still go as scheduled in a strike like this? Basically what is their contingency plan and do long hauls get priority?

Are long hauls more profitable to run? Feels like the contingency should be to move Encore and Sunwing pilots over to the long hauls. Just bus the short haul people to their destination.

[Manhattan]

My long haul Europe flight is 3 days after strike action to begin. Gonna have a game time decision once they allow cancellations to either cancel and rebook (at a much higher price) with AC or wait & see what happens. How far in advance would WJ be able to advise of a cancelled flight?

[KrisYYC]

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Westjet still selling tix on all flights. Any ideas or precedence on what % of flights still go as scheduled in a strike like this? Basically what is their contingency plan and do long hauls get priority?

Are long hauls more profitable to run? Feels like the contingency should be to move Encore and Sunwing pilots over to the long hauls. Just bus the short haul people to their destination.

Westjet mainline will not be operating at all. Maybe some Sunwing Aircraft with Sunwing pilots will be contracted to operate some flights. But Sunwing only has 737's and won't be covering any longhaul.

Also Encore pilots can only fly Encore airplanes, and are not type rated or trained to fly the other aircraft types in Westjet mainline. They can't just take a Q400 pilot and throw him in a 787

Not sure how far in advance Westjet will cancel flights. But if the stoppage happens on Friday all mainline flights will be canceled until a deal is reached, and even after a deal is reached I imagine it'll take a couple of days at least to get operations back up and running.

[Clever]

We have a trip to Puerto Vallarta, June 4th. First it was the passport office, luckily that got sorted out, now this? FML.

[littledan]

Supposed to be up to gp/ft st john this upcoming week. Might end up on air crapada or driving...

[msommers]

If the strike happens, are flights cancelled entirely? Do they move you to a different airline or provide refunds?

Half of our tickets were paid for with the WJ companion voucher + $1,500 in WJ dollars. The other half was with a CC with trip cancellation insurance but what a mess to recoup any of this if it comes down to it.

After 2 years we're finally going on a trip, our honeymoon to boot! No pressure lol

[Manhattan]

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Westjet mainline will not be operating at all.

Surely there's some contingency with independently contracted pilots somewhere. From WJ perspective they're looking at such heavy losses. Makes sense to bring a couple pilots in to keep the cash flowing They're backed by a private equity type firm in Onex so have more access to funds but still.

On top of the move to lockout it sounds like WJ CEO wants to play hardball. Supposedly he tweeted something yesterday that made it sound like they weren't close to an agreement...I think tweet has since been deleted? It would be such a mess all around if all the long haul flights got grounded indefinitely.