Courtesy: Air Canada
Air Canada says it will begin a gradual suspension of flights to allow an orderly shutdown as it faces a potential work stoppage by its flight attendants on Saturday.
The airline says the first flights will be cancelled Thursday, with more on Friday and a complete cessation of flying by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge by the weekend.
Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz and PAL Airlines will continue to operate as normal.
Air Canada says customers whose flights are cancelled will be notified and they will be eligible for a full refund.
The company also says it has made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide customers alternative travel options to the extent possible.
The union representing around 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday. In response, the airline issued a lockout notice.
“We regret the impact a disruption will have on our customers, our stakeholders and the communities we serve,” Air Canada chief executive Michael Rousseau said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Air Canada said it had reached an impasse with the union as the two sides remained far apart in contract talks.
The union has said its main sticking points revolve around what it calls flight attendants’ “poverty wages” and unpaid labour when planes aren’t in the air.
“Despite our best efforts, Air Canada refused to address our core issues,” the union said in a bargaining update post online.
The union rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration process, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on.
It has said that, unlike with a tentative agreement reached through negotiations, members would not get a chance to vote on an arbitrator’s decision, which would be final.
The union also said arbitrators “rely on precedent and the status quo to make their determinations,” which runs counter to its objectives in bargaining talks.
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