TORONTO — It’s déjà vu all over again as travel advisors field countless phone calls and emails from clients asking for air travel cancellations, rebookings, alternate carriers and more.

Airline labour disruption is looming, and not for the first time this summer. And now travel advisors are working around the clock to help travellers amid uncertainty about a potential strike by Air Canada’s pilots.

If Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) can’t come to an agreement, when the 21-day cooling-off period ends on Sept. 15 either Air Canada or ALPA can issue a 72-hour strike or lock out notice, which would trigger Air Canada’s three-day wind down plan announced earlier this week.

Knowing that September is one of the busiest months for international travel to long-haul destinations like Europe and beyond, Travelweek connected with travel advisors to find out how they’re handling this latest labour disruption crisis.

PLANNING FOR THE ‘WHAT IF’ SCENARIOS

Jennifer McPherson with Turnkey Travel in Brantford, ON, knows first-hand the stress facing Air Canada passengers – because she’s one of them.

McPherson is hosting a group tour to France, scheduled to depart on Air Canada on Sept. 22. Her Air Canada clientele also include a couple who booked an ACV tour to Italy to celebrate the wife’s 30th birthday. “The grandparents have been called in to watch their baby, time has been booked off their respective jobs, so it is very difficult for me to just tell them to “Rebook for a later date” like the ACV site says.”

The list goes on: cruisers in the Med, and corporate clients who need to get in and out of Denver – with Air Canada offering the only direct flight from Toronto. “I have spent a lot of hours in the last couple of weeks researching alternatives, booking refundable back-up flights and planning for the ‘what if’ scenarios,” says McPherson.

Even if an agreement is reached, as she notes, “it may not be until the 11th hour … this has a trickle effect across the whole travel process as clients are holding off booking, as well as the potential wave of insurance claims that could be ahead of us.”

“AN UNFORTUNATE PART OF OUR OCCUPATION”

Travel date changes aren’t really an option for Sandy Willett’s clients either, with many booked on cruises and tours and wondering what’s happening with their flights.

Willett, who is Branch Manager for a Direct Travel agency in the Waterloo-ON area, says she also has a couple booked on Air Canada for their son’s wedding in Greece. “Our only option for these clients is to try and rebook them on another airline. But Air Canada is allowing rebooking on only certain dates. We have been booking them on alternate airlines and fares that we can cancel with full refund in case Air Canada does avoid a strike.”

As Willett notes, there are also plenty of clients already in destination and looking for alternate options to get back home.

“We just keep hoping that things will settle between Air Canada and their pilots. It is everyone’s right to strike but this is obviously going to affect thousands of people’s lives and disrupt so many plans,” says Willett. “And as usual, travel agents have all the worry and we’re taking time to help with all these changes with no compensation – an unfortunate part of our occupation.”

“POTENTIAL TO BE A BIG MESS”

Travel advisor Sandra McLeod, who runs RedDoorTravel in LaSalle, ON, sums things up: “It has the potential to be a Big Mess.”

McLeod along with many of her clients have flights booked for early October or later. “So we are ‘on hold’ for now,” she tells Travelweek. “Since Air Canada’s goodwill policy is only for flights Sept. 15 – 23, anyone with later flights can’t do anything. Even if they extend the dates, it is virtually impossible to replace flights that were booked a year ago at a reasonable price, if they are even available. This results in not only air being cancelled but entire vacations that many have been planning for over a year.”

McLeod adds that the federal government’s view that there are other ways for people to get to their destination suggests the government “only considers travel within Canada and has failed to consider the amount of international travel that could be affected.”

She says she hopes Air Canada can see its way to an agreement with the pilots. After all, “when Air Canada starts cancelling flights and affecting people’s travel plans, I suspect it is Air Canada that is going to get the brunt of the criticism.”

Gilbert Manza, owner, Executive Travel Services, adds that he’s “on the pilots’ side on this one, they are paid almost half what their counterparts are getting at U.S. airlines for essentially the same job.”

No matter what happens, “I am reassuring clients we will be there for them to either rebook on another airline or facilitate the refund/change process for them (another reason to book with an agent) as it’s going to be chaos with people trying to get hold of Air Canada customer service and do it themselves,” says Manza.

LIMITED OPTIONS

Regina, SK-based travel agent Carrie Anne Gillespie says her phones “have been ringing off the hook with worried clients and I can’t blame them.”

All the unknowns have both Gillespie and her clients worried. “At this point they are not offering a refund for clients who want to change to another airline, and it leaves our hands tied,” she tells Travelweek.

For Gillespie and her clients, there’s also the matter of limited options. “In Regina, we are limited to Air Canada and WestJet. So if/when the strike happens everyone is going to be scrambling for space.”

She adds: “I am hopeful the strike will follow suit of the recent WestJet strike. Enough for the voices of the pilots to be heard – without too much disruption.”

This article appears in the Sept. 12, 2024 edition of Travelweek; click here.