Air Canada strike averted after union agreement reached

The second-busiest international air carrier at McCarran International Airport has averted a strike, assuring travelers that their Las Vegas vacations won't be spoiled.

Representatives of the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees announced this afternoon that the union's leadership has reached agreement with the airline, Canada's largest.

In a release today, union president Jeff Taylor said his executive committee is recommending acceptance of a tentative agreement hammered out this morning, less than 24 hours before flight attendants had planned to walk off their jobs in a dispute over wage, work rule and pension issues.

Taylor said details of the agreement would be released after the contract is ratified by union members. Flight attendants had planned to strike at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

The union represents 9,500 air transport employees, including employees of Air Canada and seven other carriers.

Air Canada has 40 round-trip flights a week between Las Vegas and Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Contract negotiations between the union and the airline have been under way since Aug. 31 and flight attendants have worked without a contract since March 31.

Canadian discount air carrier WestJet announced Sunday that it would add flights to its schedule to accommodate stranded Air Canada passengers. WestJet is McCarran's busiest international carrier with 56 flights a week to and from six Canadian cities.