Charter airline CanJet lays off nearly half its pilots, union says

A CanJet Airlines plane leaves Halifax International Airport, on Sept. 5, 2006. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Andrew Vaughan)

HALIFAX -- The union that represents pilots at CanJet Airlines says the Nova Scotia-based company plans to lay off almost half of its 100 pilots by May 6.

The Airline Pilots Association issued a statement Tuesday saying it's disappointed that 47 pilots will be let go by the charter airline, saying the union had worked for months with management to mitigate involuntary layoffs.

Company representatives in Enfield, N.S., could not be reached for comment. The airline is a division of IMP Group Ltd., based in Halifax.

The pilots union would not comment on what prompted the layoffs.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Union of Public Employees confirmed that 38 seasonal and nine permanent flight attendants have received layoff notices.

Audrey Tam, president of CUPE Local 4044, said the seasonal layoffs were expected, given that the airline's business slowed down when the winter flying season to vacation hot spots ended.

"It's the same number we saw last year," Tam said in an interview from Montreal. "We don't consider them a layoff. Their contracts were to end on May 1."

CanJet started offering it own vacation packages to the Caribbean through CanJet Vacations in December. The company also provides charter flights on behalf of Transat Holidays.

Tam said the nine layoffs of permanent staff stemmed from Transport Canada's decision to allow the airline to change the minimum requirements for flight attendant staffing levels.

The pilots union says the CanJet fleet had shrunk from seven to five Boeing 737 aircraft aircraft last year.