Challenger Victorious 

Bombardier, the Canadian aerospace company that produces the highly-successful Challenger, CRJ, and Global Express aircraft families, has announced that its union workers have ratified a new labor contract that will deliver pay hikes of up to 18.5% over five years.

The Montreal-based company is one of several aerospace concerns grappling with labor disputes as travel demand rebounds from the COVID-19 havoc and soaring aircraft prices compel unions to demand pay-raises.

The new contract will cover an estimated 1,800 workers, engaged primarily in the production of the company’s popular Challenger business jets—which accounted for approximately one-third of Bombardier’s 2021 deliveries.

The Aviation industry was particularly hard-hit by COVID-19 lockdowns, which effectively shut down air-travel, aircraft maintenance, and aircraft manufacturing at every level. Industry sources estimate more than 2.3-million aviation-sector jobs were lost in the last twenty-months. 

The recent repealing of COVID lockdowns—in conjunction with nearly two-years chronic, worldwide cabin-fever—has created tremendous demand for air-travel and, by extension, aircraft. Ergo workers skilled in aerospace manufacturing wield considerable clout at the bargaining table. 

"Labor has a lot of power right now and they have inflation in their own lives," said Richard Aboulafia, managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory. "And in the case of aviation, a lot of them were recently fired or furloughed so they're not feeling a lot of loyalty."

Aboulafia suggested aerospace sectors such as defense and cargo can more easily pass rising costs on to customers. Airlines, however, are more vulnerable as rising fares diminish demand for elective air-travel.  

"My big fear in all of this is that you could see kind of a crowding out where defense gets used to paying more and that impacts commercial because they'll have a harder time matching," Aboulafia concluded.

At one time, Bombardier employed over 70,000 workers in plants spanning 27 countries. Presently, the company’s holdings are dramatically reduced, and its workforce more than halved.

FMI: www.bombardier.com