WestJet Cancels More Than 300 Flights as Flight Attendants Strike Over Pay

Flight attendants at WestJet, Canada's second-largest airline, went on strike Sunday over pay, prompting the carrier to cancel more than 300 flights and upend travel plans in the middle of a three-day weekend.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the airline's 4,400 cabin crew members, announced the walkout on its Facebook page. WestJet, a Delta Air Lines partner, confirmed the strike and said it had canceled more than 300 flights as of early Sunday.

At the center of the dispute is how flight attendants are compensated for duties performed while still on the ground. The union said some of that work goes unpaid. The company said its staff is compensated, pointing to a "credit hour" system rather than an hourly rate.

"We presented a proposal that would have set a new standard for cabin crew in Canada, making WestJet the only airline to offer an hourly rate covering all time before and after flights, plus a double-digit wage increase in year one among other priorities the union raised," said Alexis von Hoensbroech, CEO of the WestJet Group. "Unfortunately, it wasn't accepted."

Alia Hussain, president of the union chapter representing the cabin crew, said negotiators "tried until the very last minute to get a fair deal that recognizes the value of the work cabin crews do."

"WestJet's offer did not go far enough," Hussain said.

Both sides said they were willing to return to the bargaining table.

The airline said it could not operate any of its scheduled flights on Boeing 737s or 787s. Travelers will be refunded or re-accommodated, WestJet said, and the airline will contact passengers who booked directly by email. Those who booked through a travel agent or a third-party platform should contact them, the company said.

WestJet Encore flights operated on the Q400 turboprop, as well as code-share flights operated by partner airlines, are not affected.

The walkout follows a similar dispute last summer at Air Canada, the country's largest carrier, where a flight attendants' strike stranded more than 100,000 travelers during peak season, partly over the same question of unpaid ground work. That work stoppage lasted three days before the two sides reached an agreement.