Air Transat’s pilots warn the company about outsourcing

March 10, 2010 — Air Transat

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Air Transat’s (Montreal-Trudeau) pilots, represented by ALPA, issued the following statement expressing their concerns about outsourcing by the company:

“The pilots of Air Transat are deeply concerned that Transat A.T., the holding company that controls Air Transat, is outsourcing flying while Air Transat’s mainline growth has been stagnant for the past two years,” said Captain John Prater, ALPA president.

“While we applaud any moves to increase profitability, we strongly believe that Transat A.T. and all its subsidiaries’ customers expect and deserve to be flown on Air Transat airplanes with Air Transat pilots in the cockpit,” said Captain Sylvain Aubin, the pilot group’s representative at the Air Line Pilots Association.

“Outsourcing Transat A.T. flying to other carriers runs the risk of diminishing the travel experience in the eyes of our customers and goes directly against the business model that has made this company a success,” said Aubin. “We are putting management on notice that we will not be outsourced to a less experienced and cheaper work force,” said Prater. “As partners in the success of these companies, we are asking Transat A.T. management to work with the pilots and other employees to encourage the growth of the company from within—as they’ve done in the past with notable success,” said Aubin.

Traditionally, Transat A.T. outsourced a portion of their flying with Air Transat carrying up to 75% of Transat A.T.’s flying needs. As recently reported by its holding company, Air Transat is now operating only 50% of the flying. “This situation is not acceptable for our pilot group,” said Aubin.

The Air Transat pilots did not benefit from Transat’s general growth and were forced to send a portion of their pilots to Indonesia for two months of flying in order to avoid potential layoffs. “Both Air Transat and Transat A.T. management are fully aware of our concerns,” said Aubin. “We are confident that this major issue will be resolved.

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