Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the union representing more than 5,200 pilots, announced Sunday that they had reached a tentative four-year agreement – averting a strike or lockout at Canada’s largest airline.
The tentative deal avoids travel disruptions for the 670 daily flights on average operated by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, and the travel of more than 110,000 passengers.
Here’s what to know about the tentative agreement, how to rebook flights and more.
What has Air Canada offered its pilots? What does the tentative agreement outline?
Air Canada’s pilots are expected to receive cumulative raises of almost 42 per cent in a four-year tentative agreement. The agreement needs to be approved by the union’s 5,200 Air Canada pilots in votes over the next month.
Under the tentative deal, the pilots would receive a 26-per-cent raise retroactive to September, 2023, then 4-per-cent raises in 2024, 2025 and 2026, according to the agreement seen by The Globe and Mail.
In the second year of the deal, which begins on Sept. 30, 2024, a Boeing 737 captain, the most senior crew member, would be paid $280 to $312 an hour, depending on how many years they have been in that position, A first officer on the same plane would start at $87 an hour, increasing to $207 if they have 12 years’ seniority.
The new agreement would start hourly pay for a relief pilot, the most junior, on a wide-body plane at $87 an hour. The hourly pay for captains on wide-body planes would range from $317 to $424, depending on the model of aircraft.
The union has noted that crews are only paid when the plane is moving. They also spend a lot of time away from home and unpaid in faraway places.
The tentative contract replaces one reached 10 years ago that provided raises of 2 per cent a year. The new agreement would mean an additional $1.9-billion for its members over the life of the contract, the union said.
I changed my flight because of the possibility of a strike. Can I switch back to the original?
Air Canada implemented a goodwill policy during contract negotiations that allowed passengers to change a flight, free of charge, if they were scheduled to travel between Sept. 15 and Sept. 23.
Customers who used that goodwill policy because of the possibility of a labour disruption are able to change the booking back to their original flight, at no extra cost, between now and Sept. 23, providing there is space available.
According to the airline’s website, passengers can make voluntary changes if an Air Canada ticket was purchased between Aug. 27 and Sept. 14, or if they changed their original travel date to a date between Sept. 24 and Nov. 30.
I booked with another airline, but still have my original Air Canada flight. Am I able to get a refund?
You will not be able to get a refund from Air Canada. “Just because you had fears or anxieties about a cancelled flight, that doesn’t make it the airline’s problem,” said Gabor Lukacs, president of the consumer advocacy group Air Passenger Rights.
Only passengers who had their flights cancelled pre-emptively by Air Canada are owed a refund within 30 days of the unused flight, as well as cash compensation of $400 for you inconvenience (i.e. if you were notified about the cancellation 14 days or fewer before your travel date.”
Another option for Air Canada passengers with cancelled flights is getting rebooked on the next available flight operated by any carrier, plus overnight accommodation and meals while waiting for your alternate flight.
How often does the federal government step in on strikes? What is the precedent?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week the government would not step in to fix the Air Canada impasse – unlike during a railway work stoppage last month and a strike by WestJet mechanics over the Canada Day long weekend.
Still, union leaders and policy experts are voicing concern that Ottawa might be getting too used to intervening in labour disputes to end strikes, in response to calls from employers to do so, Vanmala Subramaniam reports.
Last month, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) imposed binding arbitration on the country’s two major railways – Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. – and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference during the rail stoppage. The decision came after Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon used Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to direct CIRB to order the railways to resume service, the workers to resume their duties and bargaining committees to enter binding arbitration.
Unions are still pushing hard at the bargaining table, playing catch-up after two years of high inflation, and locking in wage gains for the employees. There have been 74 work stoppages that took place between January and June of this year, according to federal data on the frequency and number of strikes across the country. The data only cover strikes and lockouts of more than 10 days.
Last year, there were a whopping 745 work stoppages, more than four times the number of strikes and lockouts Canada usually experiences over the course of year.
With reports from Eric Atkins, Susan Krashinsky Robertson, Lindsay Jones and Vanmala Subramaniam.