Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada, announced that company
officials have developed a contingency plan that includes suspending most of
its operations if talks with the pilot union fail.
According to Reuters.com,
Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) continue to negotiate a
new contract, but the two sides remain far apart on the details. The ALPA
represents 5,200 Air Canada pilots.
If the two sides cannot reach a new deal, Air Canada
revealed a three-day service suspension plan, starting as early as September
15. The carrier and its subsidiary, Air
Canada Rouge, operate close to 670 flights daily.
Air Canada officials said the suspended service will likely impact
110,000 passengers daily.
“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,” Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau
said. “However, Canadians have recently seen the chaos abrupt airline shutdowns
cause for travelers, which obliges us to do everything we can to protect our
customers from an increasingly likely work stoppage.”
“This includes the extremely difficult decision to begin an
orderly shutdown of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge once a 72-hour strike or lockout
notice is given, possibly as early as this Sunday,” Rousseau continued.
The Canadian airline is working to accommodate stranded
travelers with other airlines if the suspension plan comes to fruition, but
company officials do plan to allow the Air Canada Express brand to continue
operating.
Air Canada’s pilots are fighting for wage increases that
would put them in line with the top airlines in the United States and the salary
improvements their pilots fought to earn over the last several years.
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