Upcoming Air Canada Flight Attendant Strike

[yowcruiser]

In essence, prepare to fly WestJet even if you have an Air Canada ticket. At least APR makes sure you GET TO YOUR DESTINATION, NO CARRIER STRINGS ATTACHED, if I’m understanding correctly.

Right in principle... but for now, wrong in practice... as there is zero, and I mean zero availability on any and all carriers to MCO and FLL out of YUL, YOW and YYZ until at least Monday

 

[Matrix21]

Right in principle... but for now, wrong in practice... as there is zero, and I mean zero availability on any and all carriers to MCO and FLL out of YUL, YOW and YYZ until at least Monday

Depending where you are from, try Burlington or Albany.

 

[ellbell]

Right in principle... but for now, wrong in practice... as there is zero, and I mean zero availability on any and all carriers to MCO and FLL out of YUL, YOW and YYZ until at least Monday

Beg to differ hopper is showing over 20 for tomorrow. They aren't great but they are something.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Right in principle... but for now, wrong in practice... as there is zero, and I mean zero availability on any and all carriers to MCO and FLL out of YUL, YOW and YYZ until at least Monday

I guess there will be lots of nonstop tantrums from young Canadians when they find out that Air Canada cancelled their Disney visits. Not even Canada’s Wonderland will replace the spectacle and excitement that is Disney.

 

[yowcruiser]

Beg to differ hopper is showing over 20 for tomorrow. They aren't great but they are something.

Beg to differ hopper is showing over 20 for tomorrow. They aren't great but they are something.

When I looked, the AC Jazz/UA connection was zeroed out... there were close to 2 hours between our two posts so it is most likely that availability on the AC flight opened up - with people now not being to make their CNX in Toronto due to the cancellation of their inbound flight. As for the connections to Spirit airlines option, Hopper appears to be showing fantom availability, as the flights to the connecting points are actually zeroed out on other softwares

...now it looks like some very limited bookings have also just opened on YUL-FLL on Porter

 

[scrappinginontario]

I am scheduled for August 31st but honestly it's very unlikely that even I will be impacted. AC is going to have to pay a fortune in compensation, rebookings and lost business. So they are likely to settle this quickly

Just an fyi though if your flight is cancelled don't take a refund. AC is required to rebook you on the NEXT available flight regardless of cost, class or if they are competion. If you take a refund you waive that right.

Allowing AC to book you on the ‘next available flight’ is not always an option. OP here. When my friends spoke with AC Wed they said the earliest ‘next available flight’ they could put them on to compensate for their Sat, Aug 16 flight was Thurs, Aug 21st!!! That wouldn’t help them at all as their ship is sailing Sun, Aug 17.

There is very little availability right now as over 10,000 AC passengers are affected each day!! It’s slim and expensive pickings, trying to find availability.

Thankfully my friends took matters into their own hands and flew with SW this morning. They found out after they were already in FL that AC has cancelled their flight and they will be receiving a full refund!

What a stressful week! Hopefully now they can relax and start to enjoy their vacation!!

 

[ellbell]

Allowing AC to book you on the ‘next available flight’ is not always an option. OP here. When my friends spoke with AC Wed they said the earliest ‘next available flight’ they could put them on to compensate for their Sat, Aug 16 flight was Thurs, Aug 21st!!! That wouldn’t help them at all as their ship is sailing Sun, Aug 17.

There is very little availability right now as over 10,000 AC passengers are affected each day!! It’s slim and expensive pickings, trying to find availability.

Thankfully my friends took matters into their own hands and flew with SW this morning. They found out after they were already in FL that AC has cancelled their flight and they will be receiving a full refund!

What a stressful week! Hopefully now they can relax and start to enjoy their vacation!!

I understand it's not feasible for some. I also wouldn't wait for something time sensitive but a lot of people aren't.

 

[EACarlson]

I have never understood how an airline can ask their staff to be on duty for 60 mins prior and after a flight but not pay them. Makes no sense to me. Is it this way with all airlines?

The theory was that the pay would be made up by the much higher than nominal pay from door close to door open. $30/hr for a relatively unskilled job with the benefits that go with it is nothing to sneeze at. That number goes up to $50/hr after 5 years of service. Delta, which doesn't have union flight attendants, was the first to pay for boarding and deplaning, that rate is half the hourly pay of when the door is closed. Other US airlines are doing similar things as their union contracts come up for renewal.

AC is going to have to pay a fortune in compensation, rebookings and lost business. So they are likely to settle this quickly

If AC gives the FAs what they want, it's going to be the end of AC. It's going to more than double labor costs. Labor costs in the US airline industry went up 20% and a whole lot of people are complaining about ticket prices. AC would have almost no ability to compete internationally, while Porter and Westjet would continue to eat away at their domestic share. Since they can't actually do anything, it's going to be on the government to decide if AC will continue to exist. They have to force binding arbitration with the union.

 

[ellbell]

The theory was that the pay would be made up by the much higher than nominal pay from door close to door open. $30/hr for a relatively unskilled job with the benefits that go with it is nothing to sneeze at. That number goes up to $50/hr after 5 years of service. Delta, which doesn't have union flight attendants, was the first to pay for boarding and deplaning, that rate is half the hourly pay of when the door is closed. Other US airlines are doing similar things as their union contracts come up for renewal.

If AC gives the FAs what they want, it's going to be the end of AC. It's going to more than double labor costs. Labor costs in the US airline industry went up 20% and a whole lot of people are complaining about ticket prices. AC would have almost no ability to compete internationally, while Porter and Westjet would continue to eat away at their domestic share. Since they can't actually do anything, it's going to be on the government to decide if AC will continue to exist. They have to force binding arbitration with the union.

No company should survive if their employees are working for poverty wages

 

[ellbell]

The strike is over. The flight attendants have been ordered back to work pending binding arbitration

 

[Brian rhymes with dyin]

This whole thing better not jeopardize the AC CEO's pay of $12 mil CAD a year. I would feel so bad for his favorite car dealers.

 

[hardcorestitch]

The strike is over. The flight attendants have been ordered back to work pending binding arbitration

Unfortunately that’s still not gonna change a lot of Disney cancellations .. the damage has already been done.

 

[ellbell]

Unfortunately that’s still not gonna change a lot of Disney cancellations .. the damage has already been done.

I find it unfortunate for the flight attendants. Without them planes wouldn't be flying at all and yet the are working for free for a good portion of time and unless they have been there for awhile are making poverty level wages. A disney trip is a luxury.

 

[Donald - my hero]

The strike is over. The flight attendants have been ordered back to work pending binding arbitration

I'm actually saddened by this. Yes, i wasn't affected by the loss of a flight but i do understand those who were (and will continue to be until the ripple effect runs out) have a right to be upset. I am sad for the flight attendants who ended up with less than satisfactory results and now will be forced to deal with upset travellers as well as earning less that they need.

 

[gottalovepluto]

The strike is over. The flight attendants have been ordered back to work pending binding arbitration

But for those flying in the next week keep a close eye out! Reports are it could take days to a week to get back to full operational capacity.

 

[EACarlson]

No company should survive if their employees are working for poverty wages

Wasn't aware $50/hr was poverty wages. I guess poverty is something different in Canada.

 

[ottawamom]

There will be two very different sides to this story, as there always is, when all is said and done. This is all part of the bargaining game that management and the unions play. It's just too bad that innocent travellers are being drawn into the chaos this has created.

 

[ellbell]

The average hourly wage is 28.64. But they don't get paid for all the hours they work. Flight attendants that have been there less than 10 years make well below the average. So yea some of them are actually making less than minimum wage

 

[gottalovepluto]

The average hourly wage is 28.64. But they don't get paid for all the hours they work. Flight attendants that have been there less than 10 years make well below the average. So yea some of them are actually making less than minimum wage

Umm...I was just telling folks flying this week to keep an eye out…

 

[Lesverts]

'Unskilled labor' classist nonsense that is.

Flight attendants go through weeks to months of training, need to be certified for aircraft type (just like pilots), have to be able to regularly show they can evacuate a plane in under 90s using only half of the exits, all while being the most in view face of an airline.