Fair Agreements for Canadian Pilots

They CAN Pay - Talking Points

Here’s a one‑page printout you can use when speaking with your colleagues. 

1. Management Says: “Labour is one of the few controllable costs — raising pilot wages threatens financial stability.”

Our Response:

• Predictable labour costs are less risky than volatile fuel, airport fees, or maintenance.
• Well‑paid pilots reduce cancellations, turnover, and training churn — all of which cost far more than wage increases.
• U.S. majors pay significantly more and remain profitable.
• If fair wages destabilize the business model, the model — not the pilots — is the issue.

2. Management Says: “Pilot wages are the highest labour cost per employee, so increases hit the budget hardest.”
 
Our Response:

• High responsibility jobs naturally carry higher compensation.
• Pilot wages remain a small percentage of total operating costs.
• Understaffing, delays, and cancellations cost more than competitive pay.
• Airlines with higher pilot wages outperform those that suppress them.

3. Management Says: “The pilot shortage is structural — wages won’t fix it.”

Our Response:

• The U.S. proved the opposite: higher wages increased applications, expanded training pipelines, and stabilized operations.
• The shortage is about job quality and compensation, not pilot availability.
• Better pay retains experienced pilots and attracts new ones.
• Training capacity grows when airlines invest — and they only invest when wages reflect reality.

4. Management Says:: “Turnover and training costs are normal — raising wages isn’t the solution.”

Our Response:

• High turnover is a symptom of poor compensation, not an industry norm.
• Every departure triggers expensive retraining, lost productivity, and schedule instability.
• Retention bonuses and flow‑through schemes cost more than simply paying competitive wages.
• Stable pilot staffing is the cheapest path to operational reliability.

5. Management Says: “We can’t raise fares — price elasticity will hurt us.”

Our Response:

• Airlines raise fares constantly for fuel, airport fees, and seasonal demand without losing passengers.
• Yield management easily absorbs small increases ($10–$20) without affecting demand.
• Competitors raising wages shifts the entire market upward.
• U.S. carriers raised wages and maintained strong load factors and profitability

6. Management Says: “High wages contributed to bankruptcies in the 2000s.”

Our Response:

• Those bankruptcies were driven by fuel spikes, 9/11, pension mismanagement, and overexpansion — not pilot wages.
• If wages were the problem, airlines wouldn’t have restored executive bonuses and shareholder payouts immediately after restructuring.
• Today’s environment is stronger: record demand, consolidated markets, better pricing power, and more efficient fleets.
• Blaming pilots for past management failures is outdated and unsupported.

THE CORE TAKEAWAY
Fair pilot compensation is not a cost burden — it is the foundation of operational stability.
Underpaying pilots is more expensive than paying them competitively. The global market has already moved; Canada must catch up.

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