Air Transat Flight Attendants Accept Financial Cost Reduction Plan

Air Transat

Yesterday, Air Transat (TSC/TS) flight attendants that are members of the CUPE Union (Canadian Union of Public Employees) voted at 66% (there was a 72% participation) for a significant cost reduction program. The plan includes cutting down the number of flight attendants from 11 to 10 on-board their Airbus A330’s.

The vote was done via a secure internet system. Air Transat is budgeting on saving of up to $9,000,000 from the concession with which they are planning to use to purchase Boeing B737NG’s. Currently Air Transat  is wet leasing Boeing B737-800’s from Canjet Airline (CJA/C6), and are using these Boeing B737-800’s to fly to the Caribbean and Mexico.

The CUPE Union admits that, in the beginning this plan will result in job losses but they are hoping that the $9,000,000 in economy that Air Transat will be making and their plans to purchase Boeing B737NG’s will result in them hiring more pilots and flight attendants in the long-term.

We will see if this plan will affect the quality of the service on-board. Air Transat was voted best leisure airline by Skytrax in 2012. Air Transat has a fleet of 10 Airbus A310’s, 8 Airbus A330-200’s and 4 Airbus A330-300’s. They fly to 29 destinations in Europe 28 destinations to the “South” as they call it (basically the Caribbean’s, Cuba, Mexico…) and 3 destinations in the US (all in Florida).

Francois Legault, the creator of Air Transat, is a Quebec Politician and businessman.  He was member of the “Parti Québécois” (a political party that is for the independence of the province of Quebec from Canada, that are currently in-power with Pauline Marois as Prime Minister of Quebec in a minority government).

However, last year just before the provincial elections Francois Legault created his own political party called “Coalition Avenir Québec” or CAQ for short.  CAQ in English means Coalition for Quebec’s future.  The party describes itself as of center-right on economic issues, while left of center on the social ones.