WestJet Encore pilots have given the green light to a deal with their employer, averting a strike at the regional airline.

The Air Line Pilots Association says its members have ratified a five-year contract that offers higher pay, more flexible schedules and B次元官网网址渁 better work-life balance.B次元官网网址�

The union says about 79 per cent of the pilots who cast a ballot approved the collective agreement, with the vast majority of the carrierB次元官网网址檚 350-plus pilots participating in the vote.

Carin Kenny, who heads the unionB次元官网网址檚 WestJet Encore contingent, says the deal establishes B次元官网网址渁 level of career progressionB次元官网网址� toward flying bigger planes at the carrierB次元官网网址檚 mainline operation B次元官网网址� crucial to attracting new pilots and retaining those already on board.

The contract goes into effect immediately, with retroactive pay to Jan. 1.

The vote this week cemented a tentative agreement reached on May 30, steering clear of the turbulence wrought by 11th-hour deals of the sort reached last year between WestJet and mainline pilots as well as aviators at its now-shuttered Swoop subsidiary.

READ ALSO:

READ ALSO: