Arbitrator Settles Air Canada Flight Attendant Dispute

‍MONTRÉAL — The labor dispute that saw the strike of more than 10,000 Air Canada (AC) flight attendants in August 2025 has officially come to an end; however, it’s not the ending the union wanted.

An arbitrator decided to maintain the pay increases in the tentative agreement that brought the strike to an end, raises that were voted down by over 99% of union members.

The contract includes, in the first year, a 12% salary increase for junior flight attendants and an 8% increase for more senior flight attendants. The arbitrator ruled that Air Canada Rouge (RV) flight attendants will receive a 13% pay increase, rather than the 12% initially proposed in the tentative deal.

For both mainline and Rouge, the second year of the contract will see a 3% wage increase, followed by 2.5% and 2.75% in years three and four, respectively.

This means that, at the end of the day, Air Canada flight attendants will still make less than their counterparts at leisure carrier Air Transat (TS).

In a press release following the union members’ rejection of the proposed pay increases in September, CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees), the union representing Air Canada flight attendants, stated, “Air Canada flight attendants would still earn less than federal minimum wage, which is $17.75 per hour or $2,840 per month on a 40-hour workweek. 

Continuing: “By contrast, a full-time Rouge flight attendant would earn just $2,219 per month, and a full-time mainline flight attendant would earn only $2,522 per month. Full-time workers at a flagship corporation and the national air carrier should not be earning less than minimum wage and qualifying for income supports.”

Other terms

All terms besides pay were considered final at the time of the tentative agreement’s signing back in August, meaning that the only item union members voted on and was subsequently sent to arbitration was salary.

Arguably, the most trailblazing part of this new contract, which runs retroactively from April 1, 2025, for four years, is the addition of ground pay.

Air Canada flight attendants now receive 50% of their hourly pay for 60 minutes on the ground for narrowbodies and 70 minutes for widebodies. Ground pay increases to 60% in year two, 65% in year three, and 70% in year four.

Other notable gains include improvements to vacation days and sick days, among other things.

Air Canada, in its full-year 2025 financial results, posted operating revenue of $22.4 billion, resulting in operating income of $918 million.