When WestJet Group launched Swoop in 2018, it said the ultra-low-cost airline would operate independently, with its own fleet of aircraft, management team and pilots.

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Why WestJet may be forced to chart a new path for Swoop in wake of deal with pilots Back to video

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Now a tentative deal reached with pilots from both the company’s airlines may force WestJet to chart a slightly different course for its discount brand.

According to an executive summary of the proposed labour contract obtained by the Financial Post, the deal would see Swoop’s flight operations integrated into those of the mainline carrier. The merger would begin with five tail transfers this fall with full integration coming no later than October 2024, a letter of understanding that is part of the deal states.

The operational merger would mean all pilots will be on the WestJet operating certificate under the same wages and working conditions, no matter what aircraft, a source familiar with negotiations said. Currently, Swoop pilots are not certified to fly WestJet planes and vice versa, the source said.

The source said the deal would allow for greater efficiency as pilots could fly on either line, provided the company chooses to keep the two as separate brands.

The company and the union would not say what this would mean for the future of Swoop, but airline industry experts questioned whether it could continue under an ultra low-cost model or as a separate entity at all after the integration.

If Swoop’s separate air operating certificate is discontinued, as some in the industry are speculating, global aviation expert Robert Kokonis said it would technically mean the airline would no longer exist.

“It means that Swoop will cease to exist as a separate airline,” said Kokonis, who leads aviation advisory AirTrav Inc.

John Gradek, head of McGill University’s aviation management program, said the integration of Swoop could mean one of two things: either WestJet decides that the brand has lost its usefulness because of the increases in labour costs and Swoop disappears, or WestJet absorbs the cost of Swoop pilots and keeps Swoop, but has a lot more flexibility in terms of scheduling pilots, and makes up some of the cost that way.

The bigger question, Gradek said, is whether WestJet should just consolidate Swoop’s 16 airplanes into the WestJet mainline and become a stronger entity overall, rather than trying to compete separately against low-cost carriers such as Flair Airlines and Lynx Airlines.

“Should they maintain Swoop as a competitive response to the ultra-low cost carriers or has Swoop lost its relevance?” he said.

The airline and its pilots reached a last-minute agreement on May 19, narrowly averting a work stoppage just ahead of the Victoria Day long weekend. WestJet had cancelled more than 230 flights hours before a deal was reached in anticipation of a potential strike.

The terms of the collective agreement include a tentative deal reached with pilots in pay for the pilots over four years.

Similar increases have been prevalent within the industry as of late, Kokonis said.

Gradek said the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots at WestJet and Swoop, has been leveraging its newfound popularity with North American pilots.

On May 29, Air Canada’s pilots ended a decade-long contract framework, opening the door to “full bargaining this summer.”

Air Canada pilots officially joined the Air Line Pilots Association earlier in May as a result of a merger between the group and the Air Canada Pilots Association. The merger means 95 per cent of all professional Canadian pilots are represented by ALPA, the world’s largest pilots’ union.

Pilots at U.S.-based American Airlines Group Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. have already voted in favour of strike mandates, while 15,000 pilots at Delta Airlines recently signed a new deal that includes a 34 per cent cumulative pay increase and a lump-sum one-time payment, among other benefits.

Bernard Lewall, the pilots union’s chair for WestJet Group, said WestJet and Swoop pilots are set to hold a ratification vote early this month, and will know whether the deal has passed the pilot group or not by June 10.

The company refused to comment on the future of Swoop, saying that since the tentative agreement has not yet been ratified by the union’s membership, it is unable to disclose its terms.

• Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com | Twitter: denisepglnwn