Release #06.TSC
February 3, 2006

Air Transat Pilots Ratify New Labor Agreement

The Air Transat pilot group has voted to accept a new collective bargaining agreement that will improve working conditions and give the pilots a more competitive salary. With 93 percent of the pilot group voting, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of the pilots voted in favor of the new contract. The agreement reached focuses on a number of areas that will improve working conditions for the pilot group, including better rules to combat fatigue. The contract reduces pairing lengths from eight days to six and also reduces the maximum number of consecutive days that a pilot can work from eight to seven.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of this vote and believe this contract will continue to improve the quality of life for our pilots, while also positioning the company for future growth,” said Capt. Martin Gauthier, Air Transat MEC chairman. 

The new contract is for 4-1/2 years and replaces the old agreement, which expired in November 2005. It is the third contract that the Air Transat pilots have negotiated since joining ALPA in 1999.

The 240 pilots of Air Transat fly to more than 90 destinations in 25 countries, with a fleet of ten A310s (one more arriving in the spring) and four A330s.

ALPA represents 62,000 airline pilots at 39 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. Its website is at www.alpa.org.

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ALPA CONTACT: Jeff Orschel, 703-481-4459