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After soundly rejecting the company’s initial offer, WestJet pilots are voting on a new contract the airline hopes will pave the way for the expansion of its wide-body fleet and help stave off the looming threat of unionization.

In an interview, WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky said voting is set to close Friday on the new tentative agreement. The company has said it needs a new deal with its pilots before it can expand its wide-body fleet and start doing more long-haul international flights. However, the company’s first attempt at a contract offer was rejected in November by 80 per cent of pilots who voted.

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“I’m hoping we’ll have a new Christmas present on the 23rd,” Saretsky said. “A brand-new, five-year deal with our pilots that goes till 2022.”

The latest round of pilot negotiations at WestJet takes place against the backdrop of an ongoing unionization campaign.

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the largest pilot union in the world, has been asking pilots at the famously non-union WestJet to sign membership cards, a continuation of the work started by an internal group in 2015. At that time, 55 per cent of WestJet’s pilots said no to unionization in a vote, but ALPA — which represents major carriers such as Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Air Lines — brings significantly greater resources and experience to the campaign.