Deal ratified by Air Canada pilots to keep the planes flying in Mississauga and across the country

Air Canada’s more than 5,200 pilots ratified their tentative agreement Thursday morning in what’s reported to be the largest contract in the flagship carrier’s history.

The pilots voted 67 per cent in favour of the four-year deal, which was initially struck over the Sept. 14-15 weekend, the Air Line Pilots Association said in an update late Thursday morning. That organization represents the pilots, who were poised to go on strike in mid-September at Pearson Airport in Mississauga and across the country prior to the tentative deal.

“Thank you to all the pilots who took the time to learn about the new agreement and cast their vote,” the association said in a post to social media on Thursday.

Voting on the new collective agreement began on Oct. 1 and concluded Thursday morning. Full details of the deal have not yet been released, but The Canadian Press reported earlier the pact gives pilots a wage hike of nearly 42 per cent over four years.

Still, the agreement had faced scrutiny from some pilots, particularly more recent recruits who aren’t happy with the pay gap between newer pilots and their more experienced colleagues.

Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association averted a work stoppage when they agreed to the tentative deal in mid-September.

The pact was the culmination of more than a year of labour negotiations and it kept some 670 daily Air Canada flights in the air, many of which fly into and out of Pearson.

During the lengthy negotiations, the pilots’ union contended Air Canada has continued to see record profits while asking its pilots to accept below-market salaries.

— With files from The Canadian Press