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☆ Airfare to leisure destinations to cost less this winter, WestJet CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Allison Lampert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MONTREAL, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Airfare to popular international leisure destinations should cost less this winter and next summer than a year ago as carriers add capacity, the CEO of Canada's WestJet Airlines told Reuters on Wednesday. I think this winter we'll have a better supply-to-demand balance, which will give more affordability to Canadians," von Hoensbroech added. WestJet expects to fly almost half of the seats to sun destinations after acquiring leisure carrier Sunwing this year. "We see strong bookings, slightly softer than what we saw last winter," von Hoensbroech added. "I would expect next summer there would be a different demand-to-supply equation on transatlantic," von Hoensbroech said.

Persons: Canada's, Alexis von Hoensbroech, von Hoensbroech, WestJet, Von Hoensbroech, Allison Lampert, Valerie Insinna, Will Dunham Organizations: MONTREAL, WestJet Airlines, Reuters, Onex, Air Transport Association of Canada, Air Canada, Boeing, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, Thomson Locations: Europe, Asia Pacific, Montreal, Washington

☆ KKR to invest more than $1 bln in USI Insurance to become largest shareholder
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 11 (Reuters) - USI Insurance Services said on Monday that existing shareholder KKR (KKR.N) plans to make a new equity investment of more than $1 billion to become the largest stakeholder. Private equity firm KKR and USI will purchase shares of USI held by pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and certain other investors, as part of the agreement. More than 50% of the USI shares held by CDPQ will be purchased as part of the transaction. CDPQ and KKR bought USI in 2017 from investment manager Onex (ONEX.TO) for $4.3 billion, including debt. USI provides insurance and employee benefit-related products to U.S. companies.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, CDPQ, Onex, Jaiveer Singh, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: KKR, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, USI Insurance, USI, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Air Canada pilots end 10-year contract framework, eye bargaining
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Allison Lampert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Air Canada pilots have previously said they are pressing for "historic" gains to narrow the earnings gap with higher-paid aviators at U.S. carriers. "We were willing to meet with the company if they wanted to provide us with a substantial proposal that would further our membership’s goals," said the letter, adding Air Canada did not seek to open discussions. The Air Canada pilots group, which joined the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) this month, said in a separate document it expects a notice to bargain to be provided in early June. "Our pilots may elect to use the option that was available to them to initiate bargaining for a new collective agreement," Montreal-based Air Canada said in an emailed statement. U.S. pilots made gains in a recent tentative agreement with American Airlines (AAL.O) and a separate deal with Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) which delivers a 34% pay increase over four years.

☆ WestJet, pilots in tentative deal for 24% hourly raise over 4 years, document shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Allison Lampert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MONTREAL, May 26 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines pilots will get a 24% hourly raise over four years, plus other pay and benefits as part of a tentative agreement reached in May, according to a copy seen by Reuters on Friday. The tentative agreement was reached by Onex Corp's (ONEX.TO) WestJet and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) less than 24 hours before the start of an expected strike at Canada's second-largest carrier. The deal, pending approval by WestJet pilots, is expected to put pressure on Air Canada (AC.TO) as the larger rival faces a call from its pilots to narrow the earnings gap with higher-paid aviators in the United States. Air Canada, which is not currently in negotiations, has said it abides by the 10-year contract. After 11 years, a top-paid Air Canada B787 pilot earns C$313.81 ($234.68) an hour, according to an internal table seen by Reuters.

☆ WestJet pay debate sets scene for Air Canada's pilots
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Allison Lampert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MONTREAL, May 18 (Reuters) - A faceoff this week between WestJet Airlines and its pilots over pay could set the stage for aviators' demands in future bargaining with Air Canada (AC.TO). It would be the first major pilots' strike in Canada since 1998, according to a spokesperson for Canada's Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan, who is at the talks. ALPA president Jason Ambrosi recently told Reuters that a key priority is to narrow the pay gap between Air Canada pilots and their U.S. counterparts, echoing the union's demand for a "North American" contract at WestJet. Gradek added there is a group of Air Canada pilots "who have been chomping at the bit" to get a significant bump in wages. Air Canada pilots, who have received a 2% wage increase per year since 2014, have complained Delta’s latest hourly pay rates are up to 45% higher.

☆ WestJet union seeks to narrow pay gap between Canada and U.S. pilots as strike looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Allison Lampert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pilots at Onex Corp-owned (ONEX.TO) WestJet gave notice on Monday that could allow for strike action as early as May 19, raising fears of travel disruptions during Canada's Victoria Day holiday weekend. Pay is still the outlier," said Bernard Lewall, a union representative with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). "We need to narrow that gap between the North American carriers and WestJet," he said on Tuesday in an interview. Lewall declined to give a specific wage target, but said the airline must pay more to retain pilots. "We hope this measure will help WestJet passengers who otherwise could not travel due to the pilots’ strike,” said Flair CEO Stephen Jones.

☆ Pilots at Canada's WestJet Airlines approve possible strike action
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Allison Lampert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 18 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines pilots on Tuesday voted for possible strike action as early as May 16, underscoring broader efforts by North American pilots to make gains on salary and working conditions as traffic rises. Pilots at Onex Corp's (ONEX.TO) WestJet Group, Canada's second-largest carrier, could strike or be locked out if notice is given on May 13, union representative Bernard Lewall said. Participating pilots voted 93% in favor of strike authorization, said Lewall, chair of the local union with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Calgary-based WestJet said the carrier wants an agreement that is competitive within Canada's airline industry. Their union, the Allied Pilots Association, is also holding a strike authorization vote that concludes on April 30.

☆ WestJet's Sunwing deal likely to raise 'substantial' competition issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: A WestJet Boeing 737-800 airplane prepares to land at Vancouver's international airport in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, February 5, 2019. REUTERS/Ben NelmsMONTREAL (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines’ planned purchase of leisure rival Sunwing would likely have “substantial anti-competitive effects” on sales of vacation packages, including higher prices and less choice, Canada’s Competition Bureau said on Wednesday. Calgary-based WestJet, which is owned by private equity firm Onex Corp ONEX.TO, said in March it would buy Ontario-based Sunwing and the travel booking website Sunwing Vacations. “It would also likely result in a significant reduction in travel by Canadians on a variety of routes where their existing travel networks overlap,” it added. Sunwing said in a statement that the routes identified as a concern in the report are predominantly in Western Canada, seasonal and account for just over 10% of all seats.

☆ Sunwing union opposes Canadian carrier's plans to hire foreign pilots
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Allison Lampert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Airline industry use of foreign pilots as aviation rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic is sensitive for unions in Canada and the United States. Those unions want greater efforts to hire pilots from the airlines' home countries despite complaints of shortages. The use of pilots as temporary foreign workers is rare compared with other sectors. In the first half of 2022, Canadian employers were granted permission to fill 32 pilot positions with temporary foreign workers, according to government data. A spokeswoman for O'Regan said it was up to an employer to meet requirements to bring in temporary foreign workers.

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