Air Canada is finalizing contingency plans to suspend most of its operations, as the airline and its pilots “remain far apart” in labour negotiations.
Talks continue between the company and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), representing more than 5,200 pilots at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge. But unless an agreement is reached, beginning on September 15, either party may issue a 72-hour strike or lockout notice, which would trigger the carrier's three-day wind down plan.
"Air Canada believes there is still time to reach an agreement with our pilot group, provided ALPA moderates its wage demands which far exceed average Canadian wage increases,” said Michael Rousseau, AC President and CEO.
“However, Canadians have recently seen the chaos abrupt airline shutdowns cause for travellers, which obliges us to do everything we can to protect our customers from an increasingly likely work stoppage. This includes the extremely difficult decision to begin an orderly shutdown of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge once a 72-hour strike or lockout notice is given, possibly as early as this Sunday."
Rousseau says a “managed shutdown is the only responsible course available to us,” as a strike becomes more likely.
"We understand and apologize for the inconvenience this would cause our customers. We are publicizing our plans to give the more than 110,000 people who travel with us each day greater certainty and the opportunity to reduce the risk of being stranded by using our goodwill policy to change or defer imminent travel at no cost. We are also alerting the Government of Canada to the potential disruption's impact upon Canadians.
Air Canada Express flights will continue to operate, as third-party carriers Jazz and PAL Airlines provide these services. However, these regional partners only carry about 20% of Air Canada's daily customers, many of whom ultimately connect on Air Canada flights.
All customers whose flights are cancelled by Air Canada would be notified and will be eligible for a full refund, which can be obtained online at
www.aircanada.com or through the Air Canada mobile app.
Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge presently operate close to 670 daily flights on average and carry more than 110,000 passengers within Canada or internationally.
Under the plan announced today to potentially suspend flying, an orderly wind down of operations would begin once a 72-hour strike or lock-out notice is issued, which can occur any time after 00:01 EDT on Sunday, September 15.
Flights throughout the system would be progressively cancelled over three days, with a complete shutdown as early as 00:01 EDT on Wednesday, September 18. The airline says some activities would need to start as early as Friday, September 13, including the cancellation of some holiday packages and the grounding of some aircraft.
The airline has also been arranging with other carriers to secure space for customers in the event of Air Canada flight cancellations. Customers will be notified by Air Canada or their travel agency if options for travel on another carrier are identified for them. But that won’t help most passengers.
“Unfortunately, seats on other carriers are expected to be very limited across all airlines, and refunds or accepting a future travel credit, or agreeing to travel on Air Canada at a later date, may be the only options available,” Air Canada says.
The Financial Post reports that Air Canada has offered its pilots a 30% wage increase over a period of three years. According to sources, Captains would receive a minimum 20% increase up front, followed by annual raises over a three-year period. The airline’s offer also includes improvements in pension and health benefits.
Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association have been in talks for more than a year. The last contract was a 10-year deal ratified in 2014. It provided pay increases of about 2% annually. The pilots haven’t received a raise since last year. However, union officials say some AC pilots are making less than half of their counterparts in the U.S. So 30% isn’t likely to be enough.
