MONTREAL — Air Canada is finalizing contingency plans to suspend most of its operations now that talks with the ALPA are “nearing [an] impasse over [the] union’s excessive wage demands,” according to the airline.

Negotiations between the airline and the Air Line Pilots Association have been ongoing since June 2023. On Aug. 26 Air Canada and the ALPA entered a 21-day cooling off period that follows the end of federal conciliation.

Talks continue but the parties remain far apart, according to Air Canada. Unless an agreement is reached, beginning on Sept. 15, either party may issue a 72-hour strike or lock out 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, President and CEO of Air Canada. “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.”

“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,” said Rousseau.

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.

NEED-TO-KNOWS FOR CLIENTS

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.

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. “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,” says the airline.

Since Aug. 27, Air Canada has had in place a goodwill policy allowing customers holding bookings on any fare type with travel Sept. 15 – 23, 2024, to make changes if they wish to at no cost or to receive a credit for future travel. This policy will be expanded as warranted.

Under Canada’s Airline Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), customers in Canada are not eligible for compensation for delayed or cancelled flights, meals, hotels or other incidental expenses for situations outside the carrier’s control such as a labour disruption. Air Canada says in all cases it will inform passengers of their rights under applicable rules if their flight is cancelled or delayed.

Customers with bookings whose flights are cancelled in the event of a labour disruption are strongly advised against going to the airport without a confirmed booking for a new flight. Passengers are advised to check their flight’s status on www.aircanada.com before going to the airport. Customers are also advised to use self-service tools as contact centre wait times “are expected to be highly elevated.”

For detailed information see www.aircanada.com/action.