WestJet to Layoff 100+ Pilots

[PittBoss]

Inside talks on reduced flying with 100+ Pilots about to loose jobs. After the company wide bid there will be 100+ Pilots about to be laid off.

[goingnowherefast]

Layoffs at WJA, but TFW at WJE. This has gotta be an twisted April Fools joke.

Jazz and Porter also can't seem to get enough upgrade-able applicants.

If this rumour is true, it's sad to see how such a great company has fallen so far. WJ used to be the one to work for. Now they're the first to layoff. Says a lot about the management when everyone else is hiring full tilt, but WJ is laying off.

[fish4life]

Inside talks on reduced flying with 100+ Pilots about to loose jobs. After the company wide bid there will be 100+ Pilots about to be laid off.

So their job roles are just undefined and perhaps need to be tightened?

[mmm...bacon]

If I were a junior WJ pilot facing a layoff, while Encore was looking for captains, I’m pretty sure I’d be banging down the door to fly a Q, rather than take the vagaries of UI

[dontcallmeshirley]

If I were a junior WJ pilot facing a layoff, while Encore was looking for captains, I’m pretty sure I’d be banging down the door to fly a Q, rather than take the vagaries of UI

It's a shame that the WJ MEC got rid of the PTA to use for their benefit in bargaining.

[nohojob]

As far as I know, they can't layoff anyone until November 2026.

[Inverted2]

Likely going to be more places doing layoffs and hiring freezes real soon. Bookings are down, tariffs, sh1tty dollar, cost of living etc. 9000+ Hudson Bay employees out of work soon.

[DanWEC]

C'mon people, lol.

[lowoleo22]

Posted a little early for April Fool's, no?

[Tbayer2021]

Posted a little early for April Fool's, no?

There was a com released by the union a few days ago stating that the company is seeking reduced blocks and potentially other such measures under the threat of layoffs.
The com is titled "Full pay unitl the last day".

This is very much real and not April's fool.

[nohojob]

Could you post the com ?

[Tbayer2021]

Here it is

[Canadaflyer46]

They laid off far deeper than other airlines during COVID and screwed themselves when demand suddenly picked up. Would like to think they learned their lesson, but one thing I do know is they’ll cut off their nose to spite their face. And ‘it’s never about the money’.

This company always wants to save a dime on the back of their employees, hence the posturing and negotiating in public. Maybe they shouldn’t have wasted $100million in their pissing contest with the AMEs.

[daedalusx]

Not sure where the 100+ number is coming from.

So many factors and so many unknowns

[QKZXKV]

Not sure where the 100+ number is coming from.

So many factors and so many unknowns

It's avcanada... some people post to be heard because their voices aren't heard in real life.

[lowoleo22]

Seems like good fodder for ALPA to shut down TFW at Encore. How can they possibly entertain "we don't have enough pilots" with "we are laying off pilots" in the same breath. Here's hoping that it doesn't come to either.

[truecolours]

AC announced today their US loads are down 10%. Those 70% numbers floating around don't seem to be based on anything.

My guess is, they will try and manage this through the temp 0 and partial block offerings allowed in our CA. If May's was any indication, we are about 20 over staffed.

Running short and max blocked may actually end up being our saving grace.

[boeingboy]

AC announced today their US loads are down 10%. Those 70% numbers floating around don't seem to be based on anything.

My guess is, they will try and manage this through the temp 0 and partial block offerings allowed in our CA. If May's was any indication, we are about 20 over staffed.

Running short and max blocked may actually end up being our saving grace.

Don't know OAG aviation or where the data comes from or if eveyone is involved but here is the news article from the Financial Post....

Passenger bookings on flight routes between Canada and the United States “have collapsed,” dropping by more than 70 per cent in every month through to the end of September 2025, according to new forward-looking flight data released by OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd. (OAG).

The report by OAG said data for the upcoming season show a “striking decline” in total bookings compared to the same point last year. For example, by March 2024 there were 1,218,570 flights booked for April, while for April 2025, only 295,982 bookings have been recorded this month, a 75.7 per cent decline.

“This sharp drop suggests that travellers are holding off on making reservations, likely due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the broader trade dispute,” it said.

The apparent fall in consumer confidence is a concern for all airlines operating between the neighbouring countries, especially over such a short period of time, said OAG. This adds to what had already become a softening market in the airline industry.

The report said customers still planning to travel may find some airlines offering particularly cheap fares over the next few months to stimulate demand. However, this will be an anxious period for airlines, especially as the traditional “snowbird” market from Canada to the U.S. could be badly impacted next year if the situation doesn’t soon improve.

Scheduled one-way seats filed on March 3 and March 24, a three-week difference, had more than 320,000 seats removed by airlines through to the end of October.

The two peak summer months, July and August, have the most noticeable cuts, where airlines have lowered capacity by some 3.5 per cent. Meanwhile, sun destinations such as the Caribbean and Mexico have had an uptick in bookings from Canadian travellers.

[boeingboy]

This kind of explains it better....https://www.travelweekly.com/North-Amer ... mer-season

Advanced bookings between Canada and the U.S. have plummeted by more than 70% for the summer flying season, according to analysis by the aviation data company OAG.

"Future flight bookings between Canada and the U.S. have collapsed," OAG senior analyst John Grant wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. "Using forward booking data from a major GDS supplier, we've compared the total bookings held at this point last year with those recorded this week for the upcoming summer season. The decline is striking -- bookings are down by over 70% in every month through to the end of September."

The crashing U.S.-Canada aviation market comes amid the trade war initiated by President Trump and against the backdrop of Trump's remarks about wanting to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, which have angered much of the Canadian public.

For April, flyers hold fewer than 300,000 advanced bookings between Canada and the U.S., OAG found, down more than 75% year-over-year. For each month from May through September, advanced bookings are down between 71.4% and 72.2%.



Airline make adjustments on Canada-U.S. routes
So far, airlines have made only relatively minor schedule adjustments, considering the plunge in travel demand.

Between March 3 and March 24, carriers removed more than 320,000 one-ways seats from the U.S.-Canada marketplace for April through October. Though that might sound like a big number, it represents just a 2.6% drop.

The largest cuts are for July and August, at 3.5%.

Some recent route suspensions, as pointed out by the consultancy Ailevon Pacific, include Air Canada's Vancouver-Washington Dulles route, United's Los Angeles-Toronto route and WestJet's routes between LaGuardia and Calgary; Orlando and Edmonton; Orlando and Winnipeg; Palm Spring and Winnipeg; and San Francisco and Vancouver.
Grant said in a recent interview that this close to summer it is difficult for airlines to reschedule routes that are already on sale.

"And perhaps a more important point is, where else would they fly that metal," he said.

In his Wednesday blog, Grant did say that WestJet appears to be moving some of its canceled U.S. capacity to Europe, having added 114 Europe flights in recent weeks.

[cdnavater]

AC announced today their US loads are down 10%. Those 70% numbers floating around don't seem to be based on anything.

My guess is, they will try and manage this through the temp 0 and partial block offerings allowed in our CA. If May's was any indication, we are about 20 over staffed.

Running short and max blocked may actually end up being our saving grace.

Don't know OAG aviation or where the data comes from or if eveyone is involved but here is the news article from the Financial Post....

Passenger bookings on flight routes between Canada and the United States “have collapsed,” dropping by more than 70 per cent in every month through to the end of September 2025, according to new forward-looking flight data released by OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd. (OAG).

The report by OAG said data for the upcoming season show a “striking decline” in total bookings compared to the same point last year. For example, by March 2024 there were 1,218,570 flights booked for April, while for April 2025, only 295,982 bookings have been recorded this month, a 75.7 per cent decline.

“This sharp drop suggests that travellers are holding off on making reservations, likely due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the broader trade dispute,” it said.

The apparent fall in consumer confidence is a concern for all airlines operating between the neighbouring countries, especially over such a short period of time, said OAG. This adds to what had already become a softening market in the airline industry.

The report said customers still planning to travel may find some airlines offering particularly cheap fares over the next few months to stimulate demand. However, this will be an anxious period for airlines, especially as the traditional “snowbird” market from Canada to the U.S. could be badly impacted next year if the situation doesn’t soon improve.

Scheduled one-way seats filed on March 3 and March 24, a three-week difference, had more than 320,000 seats removed by airlines through to the end of October.

The two peak summer months, July and August, have the most noticeable cuts, where airlines have lowered capacity by some 3.5 per cent. Meanwhile, sun destinations such as the Caribbean and Mexico have had an uptick in bookings from Canadian travellers.

I guess the difference is one reports to investors and the other is reporting to the public.

[BigQ]

Sunwing pilots in integration ground school were told 3% last week, right from the horse's mouth. Sameish numbers at AC

[PittBoss]

Sunwing pilots in integration ground school were told 3% last week, right from the horse's mouth. Sameish numbers at AC

3% of 2500 is 75

[daedalusx]

Can't have layoffs until fall 2026 unless there's a major event that cause a significant grounding of the fleet and then it would be way more than 100 pilots.

It's in the arbitration award that nobody read apparently.

[cdnavater]

Can't have layoffs until fall 2026 unless there's a major event that cause a significant grounding of the fleet and then it would be way more than 100 pilots.

It's in the arbitration award that nobody read apparently.

Was there anything about reductions, could it be the 100 that was mentioned was downgrades?

[nohojob]

Can't have layoffs until fall 2026 unless there's a major event that cause a significant grounding of the fleet and then it would be way more than 100 pilots.

It's in the arbitration award that nobody read apparently.

Exactly, I mentioned this fact earlier but it is a lot more fun to speculate !
As for the reduction, we will know more sometimes in May. So far it is YYZ and YVR and YYC will see some openings.