An "agreement in principle" about a potential merger has been reached between the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the world's biggest pilots' union.
The deal will be voted on by pilots in both unions, which have already labelled it a "milestone" that can advance a "joint goal of advancing the piloting profession and aviation safety in Canada and the United States".
A union of the two associations would create an organisation representing over 71,000 pilots working for 40 carriers, at a time when pilots have been pushing for salary increases and with a growing shortage of pilots set to worsen over the coming decade, according to a recent analysis published by Cirium.