Air Canada has offered to boost the pay of more than 5,000 pilots by about 30 per cent within the next three years, according to sources familiar with the matter, as it seeks to prevent a strike.

Pilots at Canada’s largest airline would received a minimum 20 per cent increase up front, followed by annual raises over a three-year period, said the sources, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. Pilots with one to four years of service would receive more, the people said.