With a pilot strike looming, Air Transat has added extra return flights today and tomorrow for passengers who would otherwise by stranded by a walkout on Wednesday.
The airline says while it is making “progress” in bargaining with its 750 pilots and is “confident” of an agreement being reached, the flights were added as a contingency in case negotiations fail by the Wednesday strike deadline.
“The impact is on passengers with travel plans for Dec. 10,” Air Transat spokesperson Andréan Gagné said in an emailed statement to the Star. “We have communicated with them and offered seats today and tomorrow to bring them back home earlier. The gradual plan concerns passengers who would be impacted by a potential strike starting Wednesday.”
The company said, so far no flights have been cancelled, and anyone scheduled to fly out today or tomorrow, “had the option to postpone their trip or receive a travel credit,” Gagné said.
The company encouraged travellers to consult their website for details on the possibility of a strike.
Air Transat said they added four additional flights on Monday for passengers scheduled to return on Wednesday.
“We are working tirelessly and still hope to reach an agreement during the day to minimize disruptions to operations,” said Gagné.
Since January, Air Transat and its pilots’ union have been locked in negotiations for a new contract to replace the one signed in 2015, but they have yet to find common ground.
AirTransat said Monday that should no agreement be reached before Wednesday, flights scheduled to return after the strike begins will be cancelled by end of day Tuesday.
The airline added that all aircraft must be back in Canada and correctly positioned to allow operations to resume quickly.
The airline also launched a special ‘ferry flights’ program Monday to return as many travellers as possible as quickly as possible.
The four additional flights on Monday are scheduled from Cancun to Montreal, Punta Cana to Toronto, Punta Cana to Québec, and Varadero to Montreal.
More flights are also planned for tomorrow to continue bringing travellers home, the airline said.
Air Transat pilots voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike last week.
The union says it is fighting for job security, better working conditions, higher pay, and a better quality of life.
AirTransat says it has offered pilots a 59 per cent salary increase over five years and improvements to working conditions.
“We aim to find a reasonable consensus,” Gagné said in an email to the Star, “and it is now up to the union to move toward us, considering the generous offer we have put forward.”
The threat of a strike has left 41-year-old Nina Dhir of Pickering anxious, even though she had hoped to unwind on the family’s first international trip in 14 years with her husband and two children, 8 and 11.
The family, who flew to Cancun last Sunday, had planned to be back home by Friday, but their return flight is now in limbo.
Having witnessed how the Air Canada strike left passengers stranded for days, Dhir has bought four fully refundable tickets on another carrier for Dec. 13 for $2,500 as a safety net in case their flight is cancelled.
“The uncertainty is not worth the risk, especially again, with the two kids and not knowing where we would stay,” said Dhir. “It’s not necessarily affordable, but it’s a necessary cost to ensure that I know how to get back home.”
