WestJet flight attendants represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will receive significant wage increases as part of a tentative three-year agreement that also introduces pay for previously uncompensated preboarding and post-landing work. The deal, reached with Calgary-based WestJet and announced on August 6, comes after a one-day strike last weekend involving more than 4,000 flight attendants.

Under the proposed contract, flight attendants will see an 18.25 percent wage increase phased in over three years, retroactive to January 1, 2026. A key feature of the agreement is the introduction of a new "duty pay premium" designed to compensate attendants for hours currently worked but unpaid, referred to by the union as "uncredited time." By the end of the contract term in December 2028, flight attendants will be paid for all such hours—marking a departure from previous practices.

Currently, WestJet flight attendants are compensated via a “credit hour” system, which provides an inflated hourly wage intended to cover preparatory and concluding duties surrounding flights. However, CUPE has maintained that this system does not adequately address all time spent on duty, particularly before boarding and after landing. The new agreement attempts to close that gap with incremental pay increases tied to these duties.

Labour experts highlighted the significance of the deal in advancing compensation standards within Canada’s airline industry. Steven Tufts, an associate professor of labour studies at York University, described it as a phased approach toward full pay for all duties, similar in concept to compensation improvements Air Canada flight attendants won last year for work done on the ground before departure. However, he cautioned against direct comparisons because the two airlines use distinct pay structures.

Adam King, an assistant professor of labour studies at the University of Manitoba, noted the WestJet agreement appears to go further than Air Canada’s 2025 deal, as it eventually guarantees compensation for 100 percent of unpaid work hours. Air Canada’s flight attendants, also represented by CUPE, secured partial compensation for preboarding ground duties starting at 50 percent of their hourly wage and increasing to 70 percent over time, but have yet to fully resolve pay for all uncompensated work.

If ratified by union members in a vote scheduled for early September, the contract would then take effect. CUPE Local 8125, representing about 4,400 flight attendants, detailed the projected increase in compensation on its website. For example, a junior flight attendant working a four-day block with 12 flight legs currently earns approximately $750.80; this would rise to $1,039.29 under the new terms, and further to $1,226.37 by the end of 2028 after applying the duty pay premium and scheduled wage increases.

CUPE 8125 President Alia Hussain described the agreement as meaningful progress, particularly in evolving compensation to better reflect the full scope of flight attendants’ duties. The union is optimistic that its members will approve the deal.

In contrast, CUPE’s recent negotiations with Air Canada yielded a tentative deal that was rejected by flight attendants last year, who argued that the proposed 20.25 percent wage increase over four years failed to offset a decade’s worth of inflation. In February 2026, an arbitrator upheld the terms despite union opposition, leaving some flight attendants dissatisfied.