Air Canada says it is preparing to suspend most of its operations as early as Sept. 15 if talks with the labour union over pilots’ wage demands fail to reach an agreement.
On Monday, Air Canada announced in a statement that both the airline and its low-cost subsidiary, Air Canada Rouge, are preparing for an “orderly shutdown” due to the potential pilot strike.
“Air Canada believes there is still time to reach an agreement with our pilot group, provided ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association) moderates its wage demands which far exceed average Canadian wage increases,” Air Canada President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Rousseau said in a press release on Sept. 9.
If a resolution is not reached, flights across the Air Canada network are expected to be progressively cancelled over a three-day period, culminating in a complete shutdown as early as midnight on Sept. 18.
Air Canada operates nearly 670 flights daily, and a service disruption could affect more than 110,000 passengers who travel with the airline each day.
Negotiations between Air Canada and ALPA, which represents over 5,200 pilots, have been ongoing since June 2023.
On Aug. 27, over 2,000 pilots staged peaceful protests in cities including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Winnipeg to mark the end of their “federal conciliation period,” as per an ALPA statement released on Aug. 30.
The pilots are aiming to close the salary gap between themselves and their U.S. counterparts, who secured favourable contracts in 2023, amid a pilot shortage and high travel demand.
“It is nearly a year since our stale and outdated contract expired,” First Officer Charlene Hudy, Air Canada ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC) chair, said in the statement.
The statement indicated that there are currently no planned meetings between the negotiating parties, and once the 21-day cooling-off period concludes, the pilots will have the legal right to strike by issuing a 72-hour strike notice.
“We want to reach an agreement with Air Canada to avert a strike, and although we made some progress in conciliation, management continues to force us closer to a strike position by not listening to our most pressing needs at the negotiating table regarding fair compensation, respectable retirement benefits, and quality-of-life improvements,” Hudy added.
If a strike happens, Air Canada says it will issue a full refund to customers whose flights might be cancelled.
“Air Canada better pay the people because I need to be able to get home next Monday,” one X user said.
“So in summery, never fly @AirCanada if you want to have a good travel day. i cannot believe they have stranded me not once but TWICE,” another X user added.
Customers with flights between Sept. 15 to 23 can rebook on any other Air Canada flight with the same origin and destination up to Nov. 30, 2024. Any change fees or fare difference will be waived.
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They can also simply cancel their flight, and use the residual value on a future travel credit. Lastly, travellers can cancel their flight and rebook travel for after Nov. 30, and the change fees will be waived but customers will have to pay the fare difference.
The airline is also coordinating with other carriers to secure alternative arrangements for affected customers, while Air Canada Express flights will continue to operate, supported by third-party carriers Jazz and PAL Airlines.
In August, 98 per cent of Air Canada pilots had voted in favour of a strike, if necessary, to achieve a new collective agreement with Air Canada.
