Air Canada could begin suspending flights next weekend as strike deadline nears

Air Canada is finalizing plans to suspend most of its operations, likely beginning Sunday, as talks with the pilot union near an impasse over «inflexible» wage demands, the country's largest airline said on Monday.

The airline and its low-cost subsidiary Air Canada Rouge are preparing to gradually suspend flights over three days, potentially starting as early as Sept. 15. The carriers operate nearly 670 flights daily.

Unless an agreement is reached, the carrier or the union are likely to issue a 72-hour strike notice or a lockout notice that triggers a three-day wind down plan. The shutdown could affect 110,000 passengers daily.

Air Canada is allowing customers with travel scheduled between Sept. 15 and 23 to make changes right now to their booking at no cost. Customers can also elect to cancel flights and receive a credit for future travel instead.

If a strike or lockout notice is issued and a traveller's flight is cancelled, Air Canada will notify those affected and they'll be eligible for a full refund — but they won't be entitled to any additional compensation under Canada's existing Airline Passenger Protection Regulations.

Barry Eidlin, an associate professor of sociology at McGill University, said that the standoff between Air Canada and the pilots union is standard, as far as negotiations go.

He added that Canadians negotiating union contracts this year have done so in the context of high inflation, which «has really eaten into Canadian workers' paycheques.»

«There is this game of catch-up being played, where workers are trying to make up for lost ground and especially… in the context of collective bargaining agreements that were negotiated prior to the inflationary climate,» he said.

'Still time to reach an agreement,'