Air Canada cancels flights ahead of work stoppage
A complete shutdown of the country's largest airline threatens to affect about 130,000 people a day.
The union representing about 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday.
In response, the airline issued a lockout notice.
Mark Nasr, Chief Operations Officer for Air Canada, said the airline has begun a gradual suspension of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations.
"All flights will be paused by Saturday early morning," he said.
Nasr said this approach will help facilitate an orderly restart "which under the best circumstances will take a full week to complete".
He said a first set of cancellations involving several dozen flights will affect long-haul overseas flights that were due to depart on Thursday night.
"By tomorrow evening we expect to have cancelled flights affecting over 100,000 customers," Nasr said.
"By the time we get to 1am on Saturday morning we will be completely grounded."
He said a grounding will affect 25,000 Canadians a day abroad who may become stranded.
They expect 500 flights to be cancelled by the end of Friday.
He said customers whose flights are cancelled will be eligible for a full refund, and it has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide alternative travel options "to the extent possible".
Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, head of human resources for Air Canada, said their latest offer includes a 38 per cent increase in total compensation including benefits and pensions over four years.
The union has said its main sticking points revolve around what it calls flight attendants' "poverty wages" and unpaid labour when planes are not in the air.
Some flight attendants at the airline's news conference on Thursday held up signs that read "Unpaid work won't fly" and "Poverty wages = UnCanadian".
Natasha Stea, who represents flight attendants in Montreal for the union, said she thinks the airline is counting on the government to intervene.
Stea said they want a fair and equitable contract.
"There is still time. I'm sure if we sat down and talked we could actually get to an agreement," she said.
The union rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration process, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on.
Meloul-Wechsler said they have hit an impasse but are still available for talks and consensual arbitration.
She said that if a deal is not reached, the resulting "very serious disruptions" would prompt the company to consider asking for government intervention.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she asked the union to respond to the airline's request for arbitration.
She urged both sides to come to an agreement independently, saying she believes deals are best made at the bargaining table.
Air Canada has started cancelling flights ahead of a possible work stoppage by flight attendants that could impact hundreds of thousands of travellers.
A complete shutdown of the country's largest airline threatens to affect about 130,000 people a day.
The union representing about 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday.
In response, the airline issued a lockout notice.
Mark Nasr, Chief Operations Officer for Air Canada, said the airline has begun a gradual suspension of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations.
"All flights will be paused by Saturday early morning," he said.
Nasr said this approach will help facilitate an orderly restart "which under the best circumstances will take a full week to complete".
He said a first set of cancellations involving several dozen flights will affect long-haul overseas flights that were due to depart on Thursday night.
"By tomorrow evening we expect to have cancelled flights affecting over 100,000 customers," Nasr said.
"By the time we get to 1am on Saturday morning we will be completely grounded."
He said a grounding will affect 25,000 Canadians a day abroad who may become stranded.
They expect 500 flights to be cancelled by the end of Friday.
He said customers whose flights are cancelled will be eligible for a full refund, and it has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide alternative travel options "to the extent possible".
Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, head of human resources for Air Canada, said their latest offer includes a 38 per cent increase in total compensation including benefits and pensions over four years.
The union has said its main sticking points revolve around what it calls flight attendants' "poverty wages" and unpaid labour when planes are not in the air.
Some flight attendants at the airline's news conference on Thursday held up signs that read "Unpaid work won't fly" and "Poverty wages = UnCanadian".
Natasha Stea, who represents flight attendants in Montreal for the union, said she thinks the airline is counting on the government to intervene.
Stea said they want a fair and equitable contract.
"There is still time. I'm sure if we sat down and talked we could actually get to an agreement," she said.
The union rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration process, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on.
Meloul-Wechsler said they have hit an impasse but are still available for talks and consensual arbitration.
She said that if a deal is not reached, the resulting "very serious disruptions" would prompt the company to consider asking for government intervention.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she asked the union to respond to the airline's request for arbitration.
She urged both sides to come to an agreement independently, saying she believes deals are best made at the bargaining table.
Air Canada has started cancelling flights ahead of a possible work stoppage by flight attendants that could impact hundreds of thousands of travellers.
A complete shutdown of the country's largest airline threatens to affect about 130,000 people a day.
The union representing about 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday.
In response, the airline issued a lockout notice.
Mark Nasr, Chief Operations Officer for Air Canada, said the airline has begun a gradual suspension of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations.
"All flights will be paused by Saturday early morning," he said.
Nasr said this approach will help facilitate an orderly restart "which under the best circumstances will take a full week to complete".
He said a first set of cancellations involving several dozen flights will affect long-haul overseas flights that were due to depart on Thursday night.
"By tomorrow evening we expect to have cancelled flights affecting over 100,000 customers," Nasr said.
"By the time we get to 1am on Saturday morning we will be completely grounded."
He said a grounding will affect 25,000 Canadians a day abroad who may become stranded.
They expect 500 flights to be cancelled by the end of Friday.
He said customers whose flights are cancelled will be eligible for a full refund, and it has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide alternative travel options "to the extent possible".
Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, head of human resources for Air Canada, said their latest offer includes a 38 per cent increase in total compensation including benefits and pensions over four years.
The union has said its main sticking points revolve around what it calls flight attendants' "poverty wages" and unpaid labour when planes are not in the air.
Some flight attendants at the airline's news conference on Thursday held up signs that read "Unpaid work won't fly" and "Poverty wages = UnCanadian".
Natasha Stea, who represents flight attendants in Montreal for the union, said she thinks the airline is counting on the government to intervene.
Stea said they want a fair and equitable contract.
"There is still time. I'm sure if we sat down and talked we could actually get to an agreement," she said.
The union rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration process, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on.
Meloul-Wechsler said they have hit an impasse but are still available for talks and consensual arbitration.
She said that if a deal is not reached, the resulting "very serious disruptions" would prompt the company to consider asking for government intervention.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she asked the union to respond to the airline's request for arbitration.
She urged both sides to come to an agreement independently, saying she believes deals are best made at the bargaining table.
Air Canada has started cancelling flights ahead of a possible work stoppage by flight attendants that could impact hundreds of thousands of travellers.
A complete shutdown of the country's largest airline threatens to affect about 130,000 people a day.
The union representing about 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday.
In response, the airline issued a lockout notice.
Mark Nasr, Chief Operations Officer for Air Canada, said the airline has begun a gradual suspension of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations.
"All flights will be paused by Saturday early morning," he said.
Nasr said this approach will help facilitate an orderly restart "which under the best circumstances will take a full week to complete".
He said a first set of cancellations involving several dozen flights will affect long-haul overseas flights that were due to depart on Thursday night.
"By tomorrow evening we expect to have cancelled flights affecting over 100,000 customers," Nasr said.
"By the time we get to 1am on Saturday morning we will be completely grounded."
He said a grounding will affect 25,000 Canadians a day abroad who may become stranded.
They expect 500 flights to be cancelled by the end of Friday.
He said customers whose flights are cancelled will be eligible for a full refund, and it has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide alternative travel options "to the extent possible".
Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, head of human resources for Air Canada, said their latest offer includes a 38 per cent increase in total compensation including benefits and pensions over four years.
The union has said its main sticking points revolve around what it calls flight attendants' "poverty wages" and unpaid labour when planes are not in the air.
Some flight attendants at the airline's news conference on Thursday held up signs that read "Unpaid work won't fly" and "Poverty wages = UnCanadian".
Natasha Stea, who represents flight attendants in Montreal for the union, said she thinks the airline is counting on the government to intervene.
Stea said they want a fair and equitable contract.
"There is still time. I'm sure if we sat down and talked we could actually get to an agreement," she said.
The union rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration process, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on.
Meloul-Wechsler said they have hit an impasse but are still available for talks and consensual arbitration.
She said that if a deal is not reached, the resulting "very serious disruptions" would prompt the company to consider asking for government intervention.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she asked the union to respond to the airline's request for arbitration.
She urged both sides to come to an agreement independently, saying she believes deals are best made at the bargaining table.
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News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Travellers hit as Air Canada shuts down on looming flight attendant strike
Major international airline Air Canada is shutting down all of its services ahead of looming industrial action, with flights to and from Australia and Vancouver caught up in the sudden furore. The company, which operates in some 65 countries with a fleet of 259 aircraft, announced the shock shutdown this week, notifying travellers it would progressively shutter flights from Thursday, with a full shutdown of all services expected by Saturday. 'Air Canada has been forced into this decision to lock out its flight attendants and regrets the impact the suspension of operations will have on customers as a result of the union's issuance of a strike notice during such a heavy travel period,' the company said in a statement. 'However, as events at other airlines in recent years have shown, sudden or unmanaged work stoppages produce a significantly worse disruption to travel than a planned suspension of flying. 'A controlled wind down allows Air Canada to advise customers in advance, reduces the chance of customers being stranded, provides the airline and customers the time and opportunity to make alternative travel arrangements and gives customers more certainty.' Air Canada operates routes from Brisbane and Sydney to Vancouver and back. The company said impacted customers could alter their flights free of charge. 'If you are booked to travel between August 15 and August 18 and would like to make alternate travel arrangements, you can change your flight for free if you purchased an Air Canada ticket or redeemed points for an Aeroplan flight reward no later than August 13, 2025,' the statement continued. 'If you're scheduled to travel during this period, you can retrieve your booking to change to another Air Canada flight, for free, to another date between August 21 and September 12, 2025. 'If you purchased a non-refundable fare, you may cancel your itinerary and receive the unused portion of your ticket in your AC wallet or as a future travel credit to use on your next Air Canada booking. 'If you purchased your ticket with Air Canada Vacations, please reach out to them directly. 'If you purchased an Aeroplan flight reward, you can cancel without a fee on our website. 'If you opt to keep your current booking and your flight is cancelled due to a labour disruption, Air Canada will attempt to rebook you on another flight, including those operated by other airlines. 'However, available capacity on our airline and on other carriers is limited due to the summer travel peak, meaning the possibility of rebooking you within an acceptable timeframe is low. 'If your travel is disrupted, you can always choose a refund.' A union strike has triggered the shutdown, with some 10,000 flight attendants set to walk out for better pay. 'We regret the impact a disruption will have on our customers, our stakeholders and the communities we serve,' Air Canada president and chief executive Michael Rousseau said. 'However, the disappointing conduct of CUPE's negotiators and the union's stated intention to launch a strike puts us in a position where our only responsible course of action is to provide certainty by implementing an orderly suspension of Air Canada's and Air Canada Rouge's operations through a lockout. 'As we have seen elsewhere in our industry with other labour disruptions, unplanned or uncontrolled shutdowns, such as we are now at risk of through a strike, can create chaos for travellers that is far, far worse.'
The Advertiser
a day ago
- The Advertiser
Air Canada cancels flights ahead of work stoppage
Air Canada has started cancelling flights ahead of a possible work stoppage by flight attendants that could impact hundreds of thousands of travellers. A complete shutdown of the country's largest airline threatens to affect about 130,000 people a day. The union representing about 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday. In response, the airline issued a lockout notice. Mark Nasr, Chief Operations Officer for Air Canada, said the airline has begun a gradual suspension of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations. "All flights will be paused by Saturday early morning," he said. Nasr said this approach will help facilitate an orderly restart "which under the best circumstances will take a full week to complete". He said a first set of cancellations involving several dozen flights will affect long-haul overseas flights that were due to depart on Thursday night. "By tomorrow evening we expect to have cancelled flights affecting over 100,000 customers," Nasr said. "By the time we get to 1am on Saturday morning we will be completely grounded." He said a grounding will affect 25,000 Canadians a day abroad who may become stranded. They expect 500 flights to be cancelled by the end of Friday. He said customers whose flights are cancelled will be eligible for a full refund, and it has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide alternative travel options "to the extent possible". Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, head of human resources for Air Canada, said their latest offer includes a 38 per cent increase in total compensation including benefits and pensions over four years. The union has said its main sticking points revolve around what it calls flight attendants' "poverty wages" and unpaid labour when planes are not in the air. Some flight attendants at the airline's news conference on Thursday held up signs that read "Unpaid work won't fly" and "Poverty wages = UnCanadian". Natasha Stea, who represents flight attendants in Montreal for the union, said she thinks the airline is counting on the government to intervene. Stea said they want a fair and equitable contract. "There is still time. I'm sure if we sat down and talked we could actually get to an agreement," she said. The union rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration process, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on. Meloul-Wechsler said they have hit an impasse but are still available for talks and consensual arbitration. She said that if a deal is not reached, the resulting "very serious disruptions" would prompt the company to consider asking for government intervention. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she asked the union to respond to the airline's request for arbitration. She urged both sides to come to an agreement independently, saying she believes deals are best made at the bargaining table. Air Canada has started cancelling flights ahead of a possible work stoppage by flight attendants that could impact hundreds of thousands of travellers. A complete shutdown of the country's largest airline threatens to affect about 130,000 people a day. The union representing about 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday. In response, the airline issued a lockout notice. Mark Nasr, Chief Operations Officer for Air Canada, said the airline has begun a gradual suspension of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations. "All flights will be paused by Saturday early morning," he said. Nasr said this approach will help facilitate an orderly restart "which under the best circumstances will take a full week to complete". He said a first set of cancellations involving several dozen flights will affect long-haul overseas flights that were due to depart on Thursday night. "By tomorrow evening we expect to have cancelled flights affecting over 100,000 customers," Nasr said. "By the time we get to 1am on Saturday morning we will be completely grounded." He said a grounding will affect 25,000 Canadians a day abroad who may become stranded. They expect 500 flights to be cancelled by the end of Friday. He said customers whose flights are cancelled will be eligible for a full refund, and it has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide alternative travel options "to the extent possible". Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, head of human resources for Air Canada, said their latest offer includes a 38 per cent increase in total compensation including benefits and pensions over four years. The union has said its main sticking points revolve around what it calls flight attendants' "poverty wages" and unpaid labour when planes are not in the air. Some flight attendants at the airline's news conference on Thursday held up signs that read "Unpaid work won't fly" and "Poverty wages = UnCanadian". Natasha Stea, who represents flight attendants in Montreal for the union, said she thinks the airline is counting on the government to intervene. Stea said they want a fair and equitable contract. "There is still time. I'm sure if we sat down and talked we could actually get to an agreement," she said. The union rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration process, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on. Meloul-Wechsler said they have hit an impasse but are still available for talks and consensual arbitration. She said that if a deal is not reached, the resulting "very serious disruptions" would prompt the company to consider asking for government intervention. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she asked the union to respond to the airline's request for arbitration. She urged both sides to come to an agreement independently, saying she believes deals are best made at the bargaining table. Air Canada has started cancelling flights ahead of a possible work stoppage by flight attendants that could impact hundreds of thousands of travellers. A complete shutdown of the country's largest airline threatens to affect about 130,000 people a day. The union representing about 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday. In response, the airline issued a lockout notice. Mark Nasr, Chief Operations Officer for Air Canada, said the airline has begun a gradual suspension of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations. "All flights will be paused by Saturday early morning," he said. Nasr said this approach will help facilitate an orderly restart "which under the best circumstances will take a full week to complete". He said a first set of cancellations involving several dozen flights will affect long-haul overseas flights that were due to depart on Thursday night. "By tomorrow evening we expect to have cancelled flights affecting over 100,000 customers," Nasr said. "By the time we get to 1am on Saturday morning we will be completely grounded." He said a grounding will affect 25,000 Canadians a day abroad who may become stranded. They expect 500 flights to be cancelled by the end of Friday. He said customers whose flights are cancelled will be eligible for a full refund, and it has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide alternative travel options "to the extent possible". Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, head of human resources for Air Canada, said their latest offer includes a 38 per cent increase in total compensation including benefits and pensions over four years. The union has said its main sticking points revolve around what it calls flight attendants' "poverty wages" and unpaid labour when planes are not in the air. Some flight attendants at the airline's news conference on Thursday held up signs that read "Unpaid work won't fly" and "Poverty wages = UnCanadian". Natasha Stea, who represents flight attendants in Montreal for the union, said she thinks the airline is counting on the government to intervene. Stea said they want a fair and equitable contract. "There is still time. I'm sure if we sat down and talked we could actually get to an agreement," she said. The union rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration process, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on. Meloul-Wechsler said they have hit an impasse but are still available for talks and consensual arbitration. She said that if a deal is not reached, the resulting "very serious disruptions" would prompt the company to consider asking for government intervention. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she asked the union to respond to the airline's request for arbitration. She urged both sides to come to an agreement independently, saying she believes deals are best made at the bargaining table. Air Canada has started cancelling flights ahead of a possible work stoppage by flight attendants that could impact hundreds of thousands of travellers. A complete shutdown of the country's largest airline threatens to affect about 130,000 people a day. The union representing about 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday. In response, the airline issued a lockout notice. Mark Nasr, Chief Operations Officer for Air Canada, said the airline has begun a gradual suspension of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations. "All flights will be paused by Saturday early morning," he said. Nasr said this approach will help facilitate an orderly restart "which under the best circumstances will take a full week to complete". He said a first set of cancellations involving several dozen flights will affect long-haul overseas flights that were due to depart on Thursday night. "By tomorrow evening we expect to have cancelled flights affecting over 100,000 customers," Nasr said. "By the time we get to 1am on Saturday morning we will be completely grounded." He said a grounding will affect 25,000 Canadians a day abroad who may become stranded. They expect 500 flights to be cancelled by the end of Friday. He said customers whose flights are cancelled will be eligible for a full refund, and it has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide alternative travel options "to the extent possible". Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, head of human resources for Air Canada, said their latest offer includes a 38 per cent increase in total compensation including benefits and pensions over four years. The union has said its main sticking points revolve around what it calls flight attendants' "poverty wages" and unpaid labour when planes are not in the air. Some flight attendants at the airline's news conference on Thursday held up signs that read "Unpaid work won't fly" and "Poverty wages = UnCanadian". Natasha Stea, who represents flight attendants in Montreal for the union, said she thinks the airline is counting on the government to intervene. Stea said they want a fair and equitable contract. "There is still time. I'm sure if we sat down and talked we could actually get to an agreement," she said. The union rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration process, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on. Meloul-Wechsler said they have hit an impasse but are still available for talks and consensual arbitration. She said that if a deal is not reached, the resulting "very serious disruptions" would prompt the company to consider asking for government intervention. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she asked the union to respond to the airline's request for arbitration. She urged both sides to come to an agreement independently, saying she believes deals are best made at the bargaining table.
Canberra Times
a day ago
- Canberra Times
Air Canada cancels flights ahead of work stoppage
He said customers whose flights are cancelled will be eligible for a full refund, and it has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide alternative travel options "to the extent possible".
