Air Canada plans to begin canceling flights Thursday night, winding down operations ahead of a Saturday morning lockout of flight attendants.
The first cancellations will be long-haul international flights. On Friday, the airline expects cancellations across a broad swath of its network as well as at lower-cost subsidiary Air Canada Rouge. The two brands typically serve approximately 130,000 customers per day. Friday’s anticipated cancellations would impact 100,000 customers, Air Canada COO Mark Nasr said at a Thursday press briefing.
All flights are to halt at 1:30 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday, when the lockout is to begin.
The cancellations would impact the many United Airlines customers who have upcoming Air Canada flights booked via codeshare. In anticipation, United has waived change fees and fare differences for flights scheduled to depart through Aug. 27 to and from Canada. The waiver applies to United flights and Air Canada/Rouge flights.
As required by Canadian labor law, Air Canada gave 72-hour notice to lock out its 10,000 flight attendants. The airline made that move in the wee hours of Aug. 15, responding to a strike notice from the Canadian Union of Public Employees , which represents flight attendants.
Air Canada Express flights, which are operated by regional airlines Jazz and PAL, would continue to operate in the event of a lockout.
Air Canada cut short the Thursday press briefing after union members gained entry to the conference center at the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel, where they stood in front of the stage holding signs.
“Unpaid work won’t fly,” read one sign.
Air Canada flight attendants interrupted an Air Canada press conference on Aug. 14.
Flight attendants are accusing Air Canada of paying poverty wages to starting flight attendants. The union says Air Canada has offered a wage increase of 17.2% over four years, but that it still doesn’t pay flight attendants for all work they do on the ground and that the offered pay package is below market rates.
Air Canada claims its latest offer would raise flight attendant wages by 38% over four years and would include pay for work done by flight attendants on the ground. Chief human resources officer Arielle Meloul-Wechsler said Thursday that the airline’s offer would make Air Canada flight attendants the highest paid in Canada.
Air Canada has offered to enter binding arbitration to settle the dispute, but the union has refused, saying that better agreements are reached at the bargaining table. Air Canada has also asked the Canadian government to intervene and order binding arbitration.
Nasr explained that by winding down operations over the course of three days, Air Canada hopes the process will be less disruptive than an abrupt halt. The airline, he said, has been working on contingency plans for a potential strike for weeks. If operations do have to be halted, a full restart will take at least a week.
Travelers whose flights are canceled can receive a refund, both in Canada and for those who booked Air Canada codeshares through United.
Air Canada also says it will attempt to rebook customers on the first available flight, exploring options with 120 international and Canadian carriers, though Nasr warned that space on other carriers would be very limited.
Those booked for travel on Air Canada between Aug. 15 and 18 with a refundable ticket can proactively rebook flights for Aug. 21 to Sept. 12. Flyers holding nonrefundable tickets can cancel their itinerary and accept a future travel credit.