Air Canada cancels flights before strike that could impact hundreds of thousands
The union representing around 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday.
Air Canada executives are interrupted by Air Canada flight attendants during a news conference (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
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.
Mr 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 impact 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,' Mr Nasr said.
Air Canada executives leave after they are interrupted by Air Canada flight attendants during a press conference (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
'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% increase in total compensation including benefits and pensions over four years.
Air Canada executives are interrupted by Air Canada flight attendants during a press conference (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
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.
'Despite our best efforts, Air Canada refused to address our core issues,' the union said in a bargaining update posted online.
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.
Ms 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.
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'.
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Reuters
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Air Canada, flight attendants at impasse with strike looming
MONTREAL, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The prospect of a systemwide work stoppage by Air Canada's ( opens new tab unionized flight attendants loomed large on Friday with a strike deadline just hours away, despite a government plea for the two sides to return to the bargaining table. Canada's largest carrier has said it expects to cancel 500 flights by the end of the day, ahead of a threatened strike just before 1:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, leaving some 100,000 passengers to find travel alternatives. Air Canada has asked the minority Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney to order both sides into binding arbitration. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the attendants, said it opposed the move. "The mere prospect of ministerial intervention has had a chilling effect on Air Canada's obligation to bargain in good faith," said the union, which made clear in advance that it would reject the idea. FlightAware data showed Air Canada had cancelled 174 flights as of 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday (1700 GMT). A further 94 were delayed. The carrier's 10,000 flight attendants are gearing up to walk off the job over stalled contract talks. The union is demanding higher wages and compensation for unpaid work. A strike would hit Canada's tourism sector during the height of the summer travel season and test Carney. Recording studio owner Robyn Flynn, 38, told Reuters that her Friday afternoon flight from St. John's in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador to Montreal had been delayed twice. Despite the inconvenience, she said she backed the attendants. "They deserve a salary increase ...and if our flight gets cancelled, I 100% blame Air Canada, not the flight attendants," said Flynn, travelling with her three-year-old daughter. The Canada Labour Code gives Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu the right to ask the country's Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration in the interests of protecting the economy. Although the board is independent, it routinely agrees to request for arbitration once it has studied the matter, a process that can take a few days. The Toronto region Board of Trade called on Ottawa to step in, saying a strike would hurt Canada's global reputation. Under Justin Trudeau, Carney's predecessor, the government intervened quickly last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy. "(Ottawa) might decide to use that, but it's not as pressing an economic issue for the country as when the railway or the ports were on strike," said Rafael Gomez, director of the University of Toronto's Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources. "The stakes are not as fraught." In a note, TD Cowen analyst Tom Fitzgerald estimated a three-day strike could cost the airline C$300 million in EBITDA, referring to earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortization. Shares in the airline were trading up by almost 1.50% at 12:45 p.m. ET on Friday on the stock exchange. The dispute hinges on the way airlines compensate flight attendants. Most have traditionally paid them only when planes are in motion. But in their latest contract negotiations, flight attendants in North America have sought compensation for hours worked, including for tasks such as boarding passengers and waiting around the airport before and between flights. Air Canada and its low-cost affiliate Air Canada Rouge normally carry about 130,000 customers a day. Air Canada is also the non-U.S. carrier with the largest number of flights to the U.S., despite recent cutbacks in travel there from Canada due to trade tensions.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Air Canada, union at impasse with strike deadline looming
MONTREAL, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The prospect of a systemwide work stoppage by Air Canada's ( opens new tab unionized flight attendants loomed large on Friday with a strike deadline just hours away, despite a government plea for the two sides to return to the bargaining table. Canada's largest carrier has said it expects to cancel 500 flights by the end of the day, ahead of a threatened strike just before 1:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, leaving some 100,000 passengers to find travel alternatives. FlightAware data showed Air Canada had cancelled 164 flights as of 11:20 a.m. ET on Friday (1520 GMT). The carrier's 10,000 flight attendants are gearing up to walk off the job over stalled contract talks. The union is demanding higher wages and compensation for unpaid work. A strike would hit Canada's tourism sector during the height of the summer travel season and test the minority Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney, which has been asked by the carrier to intervene. Recording studio owner Robyn Flynn, 38, told Reuters that her Friday afternoon flight from St. John's in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador to Montreal had been delayed twice. Despite the inconvenience, she said she backed the attendants. "They deserve a salary increase ...and if our flight gets cancelled, I 100% blame Air Canada, not the flight attendants," said Flynn, travelling with her three-year-old daughter. The Canada Labour Code gives Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu the right to ask the country's Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration in the interests of protecting the economy. Although the board is independent, it routinely agrees to request for arbitration once it has studied the matter, a process that can take a few days. The Toronto region Board of Trade called on Ottawa to step in, saying a strike would hurt Canada's global reputation. Under Justin Trudeau, Carney's predecessor, the government intervened quickly last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy. "(Ottawa) might decide to use that, but it's not as pressing an economic issue for the country as when the railway or the ports were on strike," said Rafael Gomez, director of the University of Toronto's Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources. "The stakes are not as fraught." The union said it would respond on Friday to Air Canada's demand for binding arbitration but seems unlikely to accept. In a note, TD Cowen analyst Tom Fitzgerald estimated a three-day strike could cost the airline C$300 million in EBITDA, referring to earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortization. Shares in the airline were trading up by just over 1% at 12:00 p.m. ET on Friday on the stock exchange. The dispute hinges on the way airlines compensate flight attendants. Most have traditionally paid them only when planes are in motion. But in their latest contract negotiations, flight attendants in North America have sought compensation for hours worked, including for tasks such as boarding passengers and waiting around the airport before and between flights. Air Canada and its low-cost affiliate Air Canada Rouge normally carry about 130,000 customers a day. Air Canada is also the non-U.S. carrier with the largest number of flights to the U.S., despite recent cutbacks in travel there from Canada due to trade tensions.
Reuters
4 hours ago
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Air Canada work stoppage looms – what you need to know
Aug 15 (Reuters) - The Canadian government has urged Air Canada ( opens new tab and its flight attendants' union to restart contract negotiations, with a threatened work stoppage that could disrupt travel for tens of thousands just hours away unless there is a resolution to the dispute. Here is where the main stakeholders stand as Canada braces for widespread flight disruptions. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) represents more than 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and its low-cost affiliate, Air Canada Rouge. Earlier this month, 99.7% of CUPE members voted to strike if no deal was reached. CUPE is seeking pay for all hours worked, including boarding and ground time, which it says amounts to about 35 unpaid hours a month. Air Canada offered to compensate some of that time at half the regular hourly rate. The airline says its latest offer would increase total compensation by 38% over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year. CUPE says the offer only translates to a 17.2% wage increase which doesn't go far enough for attendants with five or fewer years' experience that make up half of its members. The union has not disclosed its full wage demands. The carrier has asked for binding arbitration, calling the union's wage demands "unsustainable." It urged the government to intervene under section 107 of Canada's Labor Code, which allows the federal labor board to act to maintain industrial peace. CUPE has rejected arbitration. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu has urged both sides to resume talks and has agreed to respond to the union's request regarding arbitration by 12 p.m. ET (1600 GMT) Friday. CUPE has set a strike deadline of 12:58 a.m. ET (0458 GMT) Saturday. Air Canada has issued a lockout notice beginning 32 minutes later. Air Canada and Rouge carry about 130,000 passengers daily. The carrier has already begun canceling flights and expects to halt operations by Aug. 16, stranding tens of thousands of travelers. Air Canada Express flights, run by Jazz and PAL Airlines, will operate but serve only about 20% of passengers.
