Air Canada says it will begin cancelling flights on Thursday ahead of a potential strike that could see more than 10,000 flight attendants walk off the job this weekend.
The country’s largest airline said the gradual suspension of flights — which would see more cancellations on Friday, before a complete cessation of flying by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge by the weekend — would allow for an orderly shutdown.
About 130,000 customers a day could be affected by a disruption, according to Air Canada.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) gave the carrier a requisite 72-hour strike notice overnight after the two sides reached an “impasse” in negotiations on Tuesday.
Air Canada flight attendants can walk off the job as early as Saturday at 12:58 a.m. ET.
CUPE representatives said that in response to their strike action, Air Canada issued a notice of lockout to start at 1:30 a.m. ET on Saturday. Air Canada confirmed the lockout on Wednesday.
“We regret the impact a disruption will have on our customers, our stakeholders and the communities we serve,” Air Canada chief executive Michael Rousseau said in a statement.
Air Canada to begin cancelling flights, issuing refunds ahead of possible strike
CBC News has reached out to Air Canada for more information about its gradual suspension of flights. Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz and PAL Airlines are expected to continue operating as normal.
Air Canada had said that any passengers booked to travel between Aug. 15 and Aug. 18 can change their flight if desired, provided their ticket was purchased no later than Aug. 13.
The airline was also going to allow these passengers to change their flights for free to another date between Aug. 21 and Sept. 12.
“If your flight is cancelled, we will do our very best to rebook you on the first available flight, exploring options with over 120 international and domestic carriers,” the airline said on its website.
“As we are in peak summer travel season, we know that space will still be very limited. If your travel is disrupted, you can always choose a refund.”
“On behalf of the flight attendants, obviously we are sorry and empathetic toward this, but we also need to bargain a collective agreement. And unfortunately, this was the next stage in the process,” said Lesosky.
John Gradek, co-ordinator of the aviation management program at McGill University in Montreal, said Air Canada has several obligations to travellers under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations.
First, the carrier has to communicate flight cancellations and get in touch with travellers via text, voicemail or email to advise travellers of their options.
Usually, that means finding another carrier at Air Canada’s expense to fly you to your next destination within 48 hours of the arrival time on your original ticket.
If Air Canada can’t do that or the itinerary it offers you doesn’t meet your travel expectations, it is obligated to issue a refund on the value of the ticket that the passenger holds.
“It won’t be out of pocket, but you’re going to be in a situation where your travel plans are going to be disrupted,” said Gradek.
Airlines are absolved of responsibility for compensating passengers if a delay or cancellation is outside of their control. But in this case, Gradek argues, Air Canada’s pre-emptive cancellations are within the airline’s control.
Any costs related to hotels and meals, or those incurred while waiting for rescheduled flights, “will have to be covered by Air Canada,” he said, noting passengers should be ready to present receipts and points to make their case to the airline.
The airline and the union have been negotiating a new collective agreement since March, going over key issues like wages, work rules and unpaid hours.
“It’s quite disappointing that they stopped last night with regards to the proposals that were on the table,” said Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada component of CUPE in an interview on Wednesday morning.
Air Canada, like many other major airlines, doesn’t currently compensate its flight attendants for the work they do before boarding and after deplaning, according to CUPE. Ground tasks include things like safety protocols and assisting passengers.
The carrier has proposed paying flight attendants 50 per cent of their wage for work done on the ground, but the union is asking for 100 per cent.
“Air Canada is not an anomaly in this, but coming out of a 10-year deal, this is something that we’re trying to correct,” said Lesosky, adding there’s been a “big push globally” for this kind of compensation to become the standard.
‘Anyone that goes to work deserves to be paid’: President of CUPE’s Air Canada Component
Wages also continue to be an issue. Christophe Hennebelle, Air Canada’s vice-president of corporate communications, said “there’s a huge gap still between the union’s request and what we can offer.”
“We’ve offered an increase of more than 38 per cent on global compensation — and that’s been turned down by the union,” he said in an interview on Tuesday afternoon.
The union said the wage increases offered did not keep up with inflation, and they were unable to bridge the gap in negotiation.
CBC News reported earlier Tuesday that CUPE had declined a proposal by Air Canada to resolve the talks through binding interest arbitration, and that both the union and the airline were back to reviewing each others’ proposals.
That work went on past midnight Tuesday, but resulted in the union serving the strike notice almost an hour later.
“The employer rejected our final pass … that we gave them on some monetary issues. We wanted to thoroughly review it, but really wanted the members to still be in the forefront of that decision. So it took a lot of discussion,” said Lesosky.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said in a social media post on X Tuesday evening that she continues to monitor the situation. “Federal mediators will remain available until a deal is reached,” she wrote. “The best agreements are the ones the parties reach themselves.”
