Air Canada Prepares for Cancellations That Could happen as Early as Friday Owing to Pilots' Strike Deadline.

• Air Canada prepares for potential cancellation of most operations next week as it sees negoitiations with its pilots union is not impressive.
• The carrier said Monday that talks are nearing an impasse over the Air Line Pilots Association's "inflexible" wage demands.
• If a 72-hour strike or lockout notice is issued by either party, Air Canada will have to progressively cancel flights over three days ending at a complete suspension of operations by Wednesday.

Canadian flag carrier Air Canada, says contract negotiations with its pilots of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) are nearing an impasse over what the carrier says is the union's "inflexible" wage demands.

The carrier now announced that it's preparing a contingency plan to suspend its flights gradually over three days if a 72-hour strike or lockout notice is issued.

"Air Canada today said that it is finalizing contingency plans to suspend most of its operations. Talks between the company and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), representing more than 5,200 pilots at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, continue, but the parties remain far apart."

"Unless an agreement is reached, beginning on September 15, 2024, either party may issue a 72-hour strike or lock out notice, which would trigger the carrier's three-day wind down plan."

Further to this, unless an agreement is reached, either side could issue a notice as early as September 15 and the expected shut down could impact approximately 2,000 flights and more than 110,000 passengers. 

As per Air Canada, the managment has reached a tentative agreement on a large number of issues during the contract talks with the pilots, but wage factor is yet to be resolved.

For the last 15 months or so, Air Canada and ALPA, the union that represens more than 5,200 pilots at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, have undergone negotiations over a new collective agreement. 

In August this year, Air Canada pilots voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike-authorization ballot. With 98 percent of members participating, 98 percent of voters elected to authorize union leaders to call a strike, if necessary, to achieve a new collective agreement with Air Canada.

Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada, said:

"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. 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 lock out notice is given, possibly as early as this Sunday."

Being the largest airline of Canada, Air Canada and subsidiary Air Canada Rouge operate around 670 daily flights on average and transport more than 110,000 passengers.

Last month, First Officer Charlene Hudy, Air Canada ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC) chair,said:

“It is nearly a year since our stale and outdated contract expired,” “We want to reach an agreement with Air Canada to avert a strike, and although we made some progress in conciliation, management continues to force us closer to a strike position by not listening to our most pressing needs at the negotiating table regarding fair compensation, respectable retirement benefits, and quality-of-life improvements.”

On the probable shut down, the carrier is now allowing customers with bookings between period September 15 and 23 to make changes if they wish to at no cost, or alternatively receive a credit for future travel. It said in a statement,

"We understand and apologize for the inconvenience this would cause our customers. However, a managed shutdown is the only responsible course available to us."

"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."

If flights are suspended due to the negotiation failure, Air Canada says it will take up to Seven to Ten days to resume normal operations after a complete shutdown.

On flight cancellations, First Officer Charlene Hudy, said last month:

“Flight disruptions are never an ideal outcome for our passengers or any pilot; that’s why our primary goal is to reach an agreement and not go on strike,” “However, we are still not seeing the significant movement that we need to see from Air Canada, especially now that time is of the essence, and we are ready to go on strike if necessary.”

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