Sept 29 (Reuters) - Air Canada (AC.TO) pilots staged a protest at Toronto's Pearson Airport on Friday, demanding better pay and benefits as talks over a new contract covering 4,500 pilots at Canada's largest carrier continue. We have to close the growing wage gap between us and our American counterparts," Chair of the governing body for the airline's pilots union Charlene Hudy told Reuters. Currently, the union is actively engaged in negotiations with Air Canada, and it anticipates that these discussions will persist throughout the entire month of October, Hudy added. "We are still early in the bargaining process and Air Canada remains engaged in productive discussions with ALPA," the carrier said on Friday. The pilots for the Montreal-based carrier, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) union, began bargaining for new labor terms this summer.

---

Persons: Charlene Hudy, Hudy, Shivansh, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Air Canada, Toronto's Pearson, Canada's, Canadian, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, American, Reuters, Air, Air Line Pilots Association, Thomson Locations: Montreal, Bengaluru, Wa Lone, Toronto