Air Canada prepares cancellations as cabin crew strike looms

Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada, said: "We regret the impact a disruption will have on our customers, our stakeholders, and the communities we serve. However, the disappointing conduct of CUPE’s negotiators and the union’s stated intention to launch a strike puts us in a position where our only responsible course of action is to provide certainty by implementing an orderly suspension of Air Canada’s and Air Canada Rouge’s operations through a lockout."

Following the strike notice, Air Canada imposed an immediate employee travel blackout until August 22. Employees commuting for work or business can still travel; however, all other outbound trips must be canceled during this period.

Negotiations between Air Canada and CUPE began in March regarding a new collective agreement for flight attendants. Earlier this week, Air Canada proposed a four-year deal with a 38% pay increase along with improvements in pensions, benefits, ground pay, and crew rest. The company described its proposal as requiring no concessions from CUPE and claimed it would make its flight attendants the highest paid in Canada.

The union rejected this offer. It argued that wage increases do not match inflation rates and concerns remain over unpaid duties while planes are on the ground. Wesley Lesosky, President of the Air Canada Component of CUPE said: "We do hope that Air Canada will come to some form of rationale and show up at the table and truly engage us in bargaining the final pieces of this."

CUPE also declined Air Canada's suggestion for binding interest arbitration as it would prevent members from voting on any outcome. On August 11th, after further talks stalled, Air Canada requested federal government intervention under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to direct binding arbitration before any work stoppage begins—a process used previously in railways and ports labor disputes.

Rousseau added: "While we remain available for discussions with CUPE, we have requested government-directed arbitration as we now view it as the only certain avenue to bring closure to bargaining and mitigate the impact on travelers, business, and the Canadian economy."