3 days ago
Air Canada to cancel most of its 700 flights by Friday as strike looms
Air Canada and its low-cost affiliate Air Canada Rouge normally carry about 130,000 customers a day. Air Canada is also the foreign carrier with the largest number of flights to the US
US carrier United Airlines, a code share partner of Air Canada, said it has issued a travel waiver to help customers manage their travel plans.
Two days before the possible work stoppage, Air Canada passengers expressed concerns to Reuters over missed vacations and being stranded abroad, and many voiced support for the flight attendants.
David Nguyen, 28, a pharmacist on vacation outside Cancun, Mexico, said he was worried his flight back to Toronto on Friday will be cancelled, leaving him stranded. He said he tried rebooking on another carrier but all the refundable options were sold out and the ones that are left cost more than C$1,000 (R12,737).
'If my flight does get cancelled that's when I'll be in a bit of a pickle because I don't know what my next step will be,' said Nguyen, adding Air Canada 'should pay their flight attendants appropriately'.
Summer Mehdi, 19, a third-year student at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, said her family of four planned to catch a flight from Toronto to Lisbon on Saturday, but their summer vacation to Portugal and France was in limbo.
'My family and I 100% agree with the strike and we want the employees to get what they deserve,' Mehdi said.
'We wish there was more communication. It's a stressful situation for everyone.'
Earlier in the day, Canadian jobs minister Patty Hajdu urged the two parties in the dispute to return to the bargaining table and reach a deal that could avert disruptions.
A spokesperson for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (Cupe), which represents the flight attendants, said Air Canada negotiators stopped bargaining and have not responded to a proposal they made earlier this week.
'We believe the company wants the federal government to intervene and bail them out.'
Hajdu said on the social media site X she has agreed to a union request to respond to the airline's call for binding arbitration by 12pm ET on Friday. Cupe has previously said it opposes binding arbitration.
Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, chief human resources officer at Air Canada, said on Thursday the carrier was 'available to bargain at any time on the condition the negotiation has substance'.
Meloul-Wechsler spoke at a press conference held by Air Canada executives that ended abruptly when union members carrying placards entered the Toronto hotel conference room where it was being held.
The dispute hinges on the way airlines compensate flight attendants. Most have traditionally paid them only when planes are in motion.
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 at the airport before and between flights.
The union said Air Canada had offered to begin compensating flight attendants for some unpaid work, which the union said amounts to about 35 hours a month, but only at 50% of their hourly rate.
The airline said it had offered a 38% increase in total compensation for flight attendants over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year. The union has not publicised what it has asked for in terms of higher wages.
Reuters
