WestJet CEO disputes flight attendants' unpaid work claims ahead of possible Aug. 2 strike

With a potential work stoppage on the horizon, the WestJet Group’s CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech says flight attendants claiming they work around 35 unpaid hours every month is “a wrong characterization.”

In an interview with CTV News on Friday (July 10), the head of the Calgary-based airline said cabin crew are compensated “for every single hour they work,” and that “anything else would be illegal, naturally.”

von Hoensbroech explained how WestJet’s flight attendants have been compensated under a block-hour pay system for roughly 25 years, after employees requested a model similar to the one used by pilots.

Under the agreement, the hourly rate was increased and minimum pay guarantees were introduced to ensure flight attendants are compensated even during periods with little flying, he told the outlet.

READ MORE: WestJet flight attendants open strike vote as contract talks intensify

The CEO rejected the claims that flight attendants are paid only for the time an aircraft is moving, saying that characterization "is absolutely not true.”

“They're compensated for everything,” he told CTV. “Even if they don't fly a single hour in a month, they still get a full salary. So, there's a little bit of misleading the public here.”

In a detailer posted to WestJet’s website, the airline breaks down its credit hour system for flight attendants, which it calls “the standard pay model for cabin crew across North America.”

Strike vote, activated

The discussion comes as WestJet’s 4,600 flight attendants participate in a strike vote, which is set to end this Wednesday (July 15).

The group’s union, the WestJet Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), was seeking member support for a strike position while negotiations continued under federal conciliation.

WestJet has now entered a 21-day cooling-off period, the final step in the federal bargaining timeline, before a legal strike or lockout action could become possible.

The earliest date a legal strike or employer lockout could happen is August 2, 2026.

The issues

At the heart of the dispute is what the union describes as a growing disconnect between the duties flight attendants perform and how they are paid.

According to CUPE, flight attendants are responsible for passenger safety from the moment they report for duty, but much of that time is not compensated under the current pay system.

“Flight attendants are performing increasingly demanding work in a safety-sensitive environment, and we are some of the lowest paid in Canada”, said Alia Hussain, president of CUPE 8125, in a statement last April. “The system that governs our compensation was built for a different time, and it no longer reflects the value of work being done today.”

As previously reported, the union says flight attendants work an average of 35 unpaid hours each month.

The union is also seeking improvements to scheduling and basic working conditions.

Speaking with CTV, von Hoensbroech signalled a willingness to negotiate a new pay system for the flight attendants.

“If they want a different way of crediting the hours, no problem at all,” he said. “…We want a contract that works for our flight attendants, and we will adjust the structure to whatever makes sense.”

von Hoensbroech repeatedly referenced a probe the Canadian government conducted earlier this year that appeared to find no evidence that flight attendants' compensation practices are violating labour standards or falling below minimum wage.

(Investigators also noted that the compensation model requires closer examination, specifically regarding how airlines define work and pay part-time or entry-level staff).

CUPE, however, has criticized the government's investigation, saying that it allows “multibillion-dollar airlines to police themselves.”

“Flight attendants know unpaid work exists in the airline industry,” said Wesley Lesosky, president of the Airline Division of CUPE, in a statement last February. “Even airlines like Air Canada and Porter – who reluctantly offered ground duty premiums at 50 per cent hourly rate – acknowledge that unpaid work exists in the airline industry.”

“How, then, is the government keeping a straight face as it tells Canadians and workers in this industry that unpaid work does not exist?”

The government’s proposed solution – a request to airline companies to undertake wage compliance self-audits – “is profoundly underwhelming and disappointing to the tens of thousands of Canadian workers who are forced to perform hours and hours of unpaid labour every time they report for work,” CUPE said at the time.

“It takes two to tango”

Unpaid work, as many in the travel industry will recall, was a key issue in the strike by 10,500 Air Canada flight attendants in August 2025 – an event that grounded Canada’s flag carrier for three days, disrupting some 500,000 customers around the world.  

On Friday, CTV asked von Hoensbroech how concerned he was about the possibility of a work stoppage at WestJet.

“We absolutely know that we need a refresh to our contract,” he told the outlet. “…We are putting something in front of them that, in our belief, makes a lot of sense to them. I think there's a good chance that we can conclude, but it takes two to tango, so we’ll see where this goes.”

Meanwhile, WestJet’s cabin crew are raising awareness of their cause through informational pickets at two Canadian airports, carrying signs that read, “Unpaid work won’t fly” and “Our work matters, so do we!”, among other slogans.  

A “Day Of Action” was held at Toronto Pearson (YYZ) on Sunday (July 12), while a second one will take place at Calgary airport (YYC) on Tuesday (July 14).

Informational pickets are public demonstrations, organized by labour unions, to raise awareness about workplace concerns. Unlike a strike, there is no work stoppage.

The timeline

Cabin crew at WestJet's mainline operation have been working without a new collective agreement since their previous contract expired at the end of 2025.

Flight attendants at WestJet Encore will also be negotiating a new deal, with their collective agreement set to expire in July.

Negotiations for the mainline cabin crew began last September, shortly after the union served WestJet with its notice to bargain.

But in April, the union filed a formal notice of dispute with the Canadian Industrial Relations Board, saying negotiations had failed to make "sufficient progress" on key issues, read a press release at the time.

That move triggered the federal conciliation process — a structured, time-limited phase lasting at least 60 days in which a government-appointed conciliator works with both sides to help advance negotiations.

The conciliation period officially began on May 12, 2026, and concluded on July 11.

A mandatory 21-day cooling-off period is now in effect, and once that period ends, the union could legally call a strike, provided members approve the strike mandate.

WestJet, meanwhile, would also have the option of imposing a lockout. Either action would require 72 hours' notice.

If a strike does occur, it would mark the second labour disruption involving a WestJet bargaining unit in two years, following the maintenance workers' strike in June 2024.

CUPE 8125 has emphasized that its goal is to achieve a negotiated agreement and minimize any impact on travellers.

“We understand how important travel is, particularly as we approach the busy summer season,” said Hussain in April. “Our focus is on securing a fair and sustainable agreement that reflects the realities of the job and the value of the work being done every day.”

Don't miss a single travel story: subscribe to PAX today!  Click here to follow PAX on Facebook.