Summer Travel Season May Get Spicy Up North

Once in a while it's fun to look north and ogle what's going on in the Canadian airline world, after a few years of successful negotiations stateside.

Air Canada pilots apparently have pretty similar elements to American operators, having to file a notice of dispute and request for conciliation assistance from the Canadian Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The pilots have been going through discussions with their employer since June 2023, to little in the way of results.

Now, the Minister of Labour will have 15 days to appoint an officer, who will aim to find an agreement with both parties within 60 days. If that can't be done then they all get a 21-day cooling off stretch before they can start "self-help". The move sets Canadians up for a possible strike vote partway through the busy summer travel season, not a popular prospect for the average traveler.

“Air Canada continues to undervalue the contributions of this pilot group to the success of the airline. We remain too far apart on reaching a new collective agreement,” said F/O Charlene Hudy, chair of Air Canada’s ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC). “Management’s proposals continue to fall substantially short of the contract metrics recently ratified at comparative airlines, like United, Delta, and American, and fails to correct the significant pay sacrifices Air Canada pilots made post-9/11 to contribute to the survival of Air Canada—now one of North America’s most profitable airlines. Air Canada is the only legacy air carrier in North America that hasn’t returned their pilot pay to pre-9/11 levels.”

“Air Canada pilots remain fully invested in our passengers, our airline, and our country, and although we want to avoid strike action, we will do what is necessary under the Canada Labour Code to ensure we achieve the contract we deserve. Currently, Air Canada pilots are paid approximately half what other legacy airline pilots are paid in North America, and have the worst working conditions in this category,” said Hudy.

FMI: www.alpa.org