ALPA Canada Rejects Misleading Pilot-Supply Claims Made by Major Canadian Airline
OTTAWA, ONT.—Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) Canada president Capt. Tim Perry issued the following statement today, rejecting Sunwing Airlines’ claims that a lack of pilot supply and inability to hire 63 foreign pilots through the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program are the reasons for its recent flight disruptions and cancellations.
“The issue of pilot supply has been used as an excuse by certain airline management groups to undermine collective bargaining rights and labour standards, and to deflect from other mismanagement of labour resources. Simply put, you can’t sell more tickets than you can expect to honour.
“ALPA is deeply concerned this excuse is being used by employers in Canada, such as Sunwing Airlines, seeking to hire temporary foreign pilots instead of bargaining fair collective agreements to fill the vacancies in Canada’s flight decks.
“Unfortunately, the labour challenges in Canada’s aviation sector, including recruitment issues for northern and regional airlines, are largely due to new discount airlines coming into the marketplace with a ton of new capacity and drawing upon the existing pilot supply. These airlines typically try to reduce costs by focusing on offering only entry-level pilot positions, which historically are not attractive enough to be long-term career jobs. This creates a revolving door whereby airlines are constantly training new-hire pilots rather than relying upon them to operate revenue flights.
“It is fair to say that we are looking at a tight labour market, especially at the entry levels of this industry, and that we need to train more pilots for the future. This means working together to make our profession more accessible, affordable, and attractive. We need to remove barriers to entry for all demographics and manage things so we can continue to offer a stable air traffic system for all Canadians. At the airline level, however, we don’t have a pilot shortage problem; it’s an issue of attraction and retention. Furthermore, Canadian airlines that compensate their pilots appropriately don’t need to hire TFWs.”
Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest airline pilot union, representing over 67,000 pilots at 39 airlines in the United States and Canada. Visit the ALPA website at www.alpa.org or follow us on Twitter @ALPAPilots.
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CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org
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