By Rajesh Kumar Singh and Nandan Mandayam
Aug 3 (Reuters) - WestJet said on Monday it was gradually resuming operations after reaching a tentative agreement with its flight attendants, ending a strike that caused hundreds of cancellations during a Canadian holiday weekend.
The airline, however, warned that a full return to normal operations would take time as it repositioned aircraft and crews, and said some flights could continue to be disrupted. It did not provide a timetable for restoring its full schedule.
The tentative deal adds to a broader shift in North American airline labor, where cabin crews are challenging pay systems built mainly around flying time rather than every hour on duty.
Air Canada, American Airlines, Alaska Air , Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have introduced pay for boarding or other specified ground time, increasing pressure on other carriers to recognize more of the hours attendants spend on duty.
WestJet's agreement addresses the same issue by adding a premium that would pay attendants for more of their time on duty. The union did not disclose the size of the premium, how it would be calculated or how much it would increase their pay.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 4,400 WestJet flight attendants, had sought compensation from the time members check in for work until they clock out. It is unclear whether the tentative deal fully meets that demand.
The union said the premium would improve WestJet's existing flight-credit system by recognizing more of the work cabin crew are required to perform. It also said the deal included general increases in compensation for that work, without providing details.
"This tentative agreement represents meaningful progress," CUPE 8125 President Alia Hussain said.
The full terms will be shared with flight attendants before a ratification vote. The union did not say when the vote would take place.
Canada's Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu welcomed the tentative agreement.
HOLIDAY-WEEKEND DISRUPTIONS
Flight attendants went on strike on Sunday after negotiations broke down. The union said the strike was over and attendants would return to work.
WestJet had canceled 922 of 2,365 flights scheduled between August 1 and August 5, or about 39%, as of 9 a.m. ET on Monday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The figures cover flights operated by WestJet and exclude regional feeder WestJet Encore.
WestJet said on Sunday that about 250,000 travelers had their flights canceled during the three-day holiday weekend. Cirium estimates the airline accounts for about 27% of passengers carried by Canada's major airlines and 62% of the market at its Calgary base.
Before the walkout, WestJet, majority-owned by Onex Corp, said it had offered attendants a 13% wage increase in 2026, followed by annual increases of 2.5% through 2029. It said a proposed duty-period premium would have added compensation equivalent to a further 12% increase in salary.
Neither WestJet nor the union disclosed how the tentative agreement compared with that offer.
(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru, Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago and Allison Lampert in Montreal, additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Maju Samuel and Sharon Singleton)
