TORONTO – Don’t worry about those travel plans just yet.
Talks continue as pilots from Jazz Air try to hammer out a deal with the airline.
Capt. Brian Shury, master executive council chairman for the Jazz Air pilot group, says a 72-hour strike notice is required before pilots can walk off the job.
But he says that notice has not been given.
“The discussions will continue as long as progress is being made,” he said.
More than 1,500 pilots have been working without a contract since last June and have already voted overwhelmingly to strike if necessary.
Shury has said Jazz pilots want improved pensions and allowances, which he said have been frozen since 2004, and modest salary increases.
Jazz pilots earn an average salary of $75,000, but the union has said the salary range is from a low of $34,000 to a high of about $106,000.
In a statement released earlier, Shury had said Jazz pilots have been subject to a bankruptcy era contract since 2004, and that Jazz was negotiating as if it were still in bankruptcy.
Shury also said that Jazz is among the most profitable airlines in North America and it should recognize the pilots’ contribution.
Jazz flight attendants have also voted in favour of a strike to back negotiations for a new contract to improve their salaries and working conditions.
The Canadian Flight Attendants Union said Monday the cabin crew for the airline could go on strike, or be locked out, as early as Wednesday.
Halifax-based Jazz was spun off in September 2004 as part of the court-supervised restructuring of Air Canada.
Jazz provides regional service to more than 80 centres across Canada and the United States on more than 800 daily flights.
