AC's pilot contract was due to expire in 2024, but the pilots have exercised an early termination option, bringing expiry of the contract up to September 29 of this year. CBC story here, BNN story here.

Hopefully AC will get a deal done without the disruption that was recently caused at WS. For those who didn't follow the thread in the WS forum, after failed bargaining, then arbitration, WS pilots voted to strike and eventually issued a strike notice. A deal was reached before the strike began, but WS had already pre-emptively cancelled a number of flights, creating problems for many travelers.

AC pilots will be looking for big wage increases (WS cited as +24%, DL +34% as comparables), and it's noteworthy that the AC pilot union (ACPA) recently merged with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which is getting close to monopoly - AC, WS (+ Encore), QK, TS, Bearskin, PAL, Canadian North, F8, CargoJet... Down in the US, they represent pilots at DL, UA, AS, F9, NK, B6, HA, plus a bunch of regionals, cargo, etc. I understand AC's pilots felt the ACPA was too close to management and got rolled on contract negotiations, and is hoping ALPA will take a more aggressive approach. It also helps to have all of the data and insight gathered from recent negotiations with WS, DL, and others.