Air Canada pilots union in position to strike as early as next week

The union representing nearly 5,200 Air Canada pilots is in position to strike as soon as Sept. 18, with 72 hours’ notice as early as Sunday.

The major airline is preparing for potential shutdown as contract talks with the union remain “far apart”.

In the case of labour action – such as a strike, lockout or work stoppage – all Air Canada flights will be cancelled.

The airline has offered to change the dates of a planned trip or to provide travel credits for a future flight.

Air Canada says they will not refund economy non-refundable tickets ahead of time unless the flight is cancelled.

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If a flight is cancelled, customers will be notified within 48 hours of the scheduled departure time, and will be rebooked on another flight – potentially with another partner or competitor airline – depending on available seating.

No additional compensation other than the rebooking, such as food or accommodation, is offered in a strike situation, which the airline deems out of its control.

Talks between the airline and the Air Line Pilots Association have been ongoing for 15 months, with the airline saying in a statement that the union remains “inflexible on its unreasonable wage demands”.

The statement also reads that they have proposed to the union to submit to arbitration.

“We have our most junior members earning half of what our comparators are earning,” Jessi Jantzi, a spokesperson from the Air Canada Pilots Association said. “More significantly and perhaps more challenging to address is quality of life concerns – trying to improve work-life balance, and improve our life at work, to ensure we are productive when we are away from home.”

– With files from The Canadian Press.