A Westjet Boeing 737-700 takes off at the International Airport in Calgary, Alberta, May 3, 2011. WestJet Airlines Ltd, Canada's No. 2 carrier, reported a 20-fold jump in quarterly earnings on Tuesday, lifting its stock, as fare increases introduced
A Westjet Boeing 737-700 takes off at the International Airport in Calgary, Alberta, May 3, 2011. WestJet Airlines Ltd, Canada's No. 2 carrier, reported a 20-fold jump in quarterly earnings on Tuesday, lifting its stock, as fare increases introduced to offset higher fuel prices failed to dent passenger demand. Reuters/Todd Korol

Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet Airlines and its 1,250 pilots have signed on a new collective bargaining contract that includes improved pay and scheduling. The new four-year new contract effectively places WestJet pilots among the highest paid in Canada's airline industry, the company said.

The non-unionised pilots had been without such agreement since April 2013. Negotiations for the new contract began in September 2014. The new contract, ratified by the pilots, is the airline's second attempt after pilots thumbed down a previous tentative agreement in 2013.

Statements released by both the airline and the Westjet Pilot Association did not detail any specifics regarding the contract. Fred Cleveland, WestJet executive vice-president of operations, said he hopes the new terms will allow the company to sustain its "industry-leading productivity."

The new four-year agreement will be effective January 1, 2015. It will expire on April 30, 2019.

WestJet Airlines provides scheduled and charter air service to 91 destinations in Canada, the United States, Europe, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. It is currently the second-largest Canadian air carrier, after Air Canada. Founded in 1996, it operates an average of 425 flights and carries more than 45,000 passengers daily. In 2013, WestJet Airlines flew a whopping 18.5 million passengers. It has over 10,000 employees who are non-unionised. The company is not part of any airline alliance.

WestJet announced in July 2014 it is in the "advanced stages of sourcing" four wide-body aircraft, which are expected to fly beginning fall of 2015. These will initially serve on the seasonal Alberta-Hawaii routes. WestJet is also expecting the delivery of 4 Boeing 767-300ER's in summer 2015.

As of June 2014, WestJet's largest markets by daily departures include

Rank Airport Departures

1 Calgary 92

2 Toronto 86

3 Vancouver 54

4 Edmonton 52

5 Winnipeg 22

6 Kelowna 15

7 Victoria 13

8 Montrel 12

9 Halifax 12

10 Ottawa 11