Air Canada pilots are not on strike yet, but the threat of a walkout next week is already having ripple effects on travellers’ plans.
Just after midnight on Sunday, Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association will be able to issue a 72-hour strike or lockout notice. If this happens, the airline said it will progressively cancel flights with a complete suspension of operations three days later.
Some flights, however, might have to be cancelled as early as Friday, ahead of the strike notice to avoid stranding customers, the airline said.
Clive Dudley and Beverly Dudley had to abruptly scrap their expensive 50th wedding anniversary trip to England as thousands of flights may be grounded over the weekend into next week.
The couple and their son were supposed to fly to Manchester from Thunder Bay, Ont., on Sunday to celebrate the special occasion with relatives and friends.
But after Air Canada announced it was preparing for a possible major shutdown, they called off the trip — despite losing $700 from cancelling a non-refundable condo rental.
And because their flight hasn’t been cancelled by Air Canada — yet — they were ineligible for a refund, and instead settled for a travel credit to buy tickets at a later date as part of the airline’s goodwill policy implemented in late-August.
“It was the best decision to minimize any headaches during travel,” said their son Curtis Dudley, who was looking forward to learn more about his heritage on his first visit to England.
“Do we really want to get down to Toronto, to the airport, and have (to face) lineups and unhappy travellers?” added his dad Clive. “I’ve got high blood pressure as it is without having to walk into that,” he joked.
Like the Dudleys, thousands of Air Canada customers are now scrambling to reschedule vacations and flights, enduring jammed customer service hotlines and incurring extra costs on top of the emotional toll of missed travel.
Those with ironclad plans have been scouring online to find alternative bookings for flights after Friday — sometimes paying hundreds more for a last-minute ticket.
Customers who decide to wait for their Air Canada flight to be cancelled in the event of a strike will be eligible for a full refund, but won’t be compensated for meals, hotels and other incidental expenses, as labour disruptions are considered to be outside of an airline’s control under Canada’s Airline Passenger Protection Regulations.
“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 Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick said that the goodwill policy currently in place is “quite generous, and available to all customers, but the dates are important,” adding that they have to have booked their original flight from Sept. 15-23 on or before Sept. 9.
If they want to rebook, as opposed to accepting a credit or refund if they have a refundable ticket, they must choose another flight from Sept. 9-4 or Sept. 24-30, before or after any anticipated disruption, he said.
Many travellers will also be on the hook for extra costs outside of flights as most travel insurance companies stopped offering cancellation and interruption insurance Aug. 14 due to the looming threat of a strike, said Martin Firestone, president of Travel Secure, an insurance brokerage.
“You can’t buy it now, because it’s a known risk,” said Firestone.
One company was still offering cancellation and interruption insurance for Air Canada as late as Monday afternoon, but even they’ve stopped now, Firestone added.
For people who bought insurance before Aug. 14, the precise details of what’s covered can vary.
“When people are buying it, I tell them to figure out what they’re out of pocket if the trip doesn’t happen, or it gets interrupted. Is it an extra three days in a hotel? Is it a $10,000 cruise that they can’t get to because they couldn’t make it to the port?,” said Firestone. “It’s a lot more than just the flight.”
While the Air Passenger Protection Regulations require large airlines such as Air Canada to rebook travellers on the next available flight — even if it’s with a competitor — the sheer scale of Canada’s largest carrier makes that a tall order to fulfil, said Firestone.
“Tell me where they’re going to find a competitor’s flight to book someone on for 110,000 people a day? It’s just not realistic.”
In an announcement on Monday, Air Canada said it has been arranging with other carriers to fly its passengers should a job action occur, but seats are expected to be limited.
Porter Airlines’ spokesperson Brad Cicero said the airline “may be able to make modest schedule additions, but our focus will be on using resources to operate the core flight schedule.”
David Cojocar, spokesperson at Flair Airlines, said it’s already “identified opportunities to add capacity to serve high-volume routes and we will make those adjustments and decisions as the situation unfolds.”
Madison Kruger, spokesperson at WestJet, said its focus “remains on delivering reliable and affordable air service to Canadians,” and that those trying to purchase last-minute flights might find fares that are typically higher than what’s available months or weeks before departure.
