31-07-2025
'Must Be Recognized and Compensated': Air Canada Stock (TSE:MDA) Jumps as Strike Vote Looms
Canadian airline stock Air Canada (TSE:AC) is having a rough time of things right now. Its earnings report disappointed, and a strike vote of around 10,000 flight attendants is looming in the background. Yet despite all this, investors are feeling downright optimistic about Air Canada's future. Sufficiently so, in fact, that they sent share prices jumping over 3% in Wednesday afternoon's trading.
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The vote has already begun, and will run until August 5, as the flight attendants in question are deciding whether or not to launch a full strike against Air Canada. The issues at stake are mostly of the usual variety. The flight attendants are looking for better wages, as well as improvements to pensions, changes in 'rest rules,' and for compensation for work they are currently doing without pay. A representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) noted, 'We're calling attention to systemic issues, especially the 35 hours per month flight attendants spend working unpaid during boarding…. That time must be recognized and compensated.'
Even if the vote goes in favor of a strike, a strike cannot be launched immediately. A 21-day 'cooling-off period' must follow, as well as 72 hours of advance notice. This means that a strike essentially cannot start until late August. But that still takes a bite out of the summer travel season, a point that Air Canada is likely eager to avoid.
Air Canada's Team of Pack Rat Baggage Handlers
Some air travelers know what it is like to lose parts of their luggage. But it is likely less often that customers get back things they never owned to begin with. One Air Canada passenger, Linda Royle, discovered what that was like recently after a flight in late March.
Royle got her carry-on suitcase returned to her, reports noted, after being asked to check the bag. But not only were several items missing, but also, several items she had never packed now took their place, as though Air Canada's baggage handler staff was composed of a team of pack rats. She had lost '…hundreds of dollars' worth of shoes, books, medication and clothing,' only to be replaced with '…two old shaving kits…a knife and a man's boarding pass dated April 2020.' Also included, oddly, was an Air Canada baggage scanner device.
Is Air Canada Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on TSE:AC stock based on nine Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 25.16% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSE:AC price target of C$25.18 per share implies 26.77% upside potential.
