Talks between Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants are continuing ahead of an imminent strike or lockout. But the carrier is preemptively cancelling flights even before a strike begins.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Air Canada says it has served the company with a 72-hour strike notice, while advising members the airline has issued its own plan to lock out employees early Saturday morning.
The carrier said it will begin cancelling flights as early as Thursday because “sudden or unmanaged work stoppages produce a significantly worse disruption to travel than a planned suspension of flying.”
The airline is planning to pause all flight operations by Saturday.
“This approach will help limit the strike’s impact by allowing as many customers as possible to complete their journeys. But importantly, they will also help facilitate an orderly restart which under the best circumstances will take a full week to complete,” Air Canada COO Mark Nasr said at a press conference on Thursday.
“By the end of the day Thursday we’ll (have) several dozen cancellations, and by the end of the day Friday, around about 500 cancellations (based) on the current plan,” he added.
Why cancel is talks are still on?
Experts say this puts control in the hands of the airline.
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“A preemptive cancelation is one which happens before a strike actually begins. It may happen as a response to a strike notice or other business decisions, but ultimately, it is something within the carrier’s control,” said Gabor Lukacs, president of the advocacy group Air Passenger Rights.
Lukacs said an airline may even have “business considerations like the cost of parking an aircraft somewhere or the cost of hotels for employees who may be stranded if they were to operate the flight.”
Some experts argue that it helps an airline prevent “chaos” from ensuing.
“Airlines may preemptively cancel or suspend flights to prevent chaos, manage operational capacity, and reduce safety risks,” said Peter Follows, CEO of Toronto-based consulting firm Carpedia International, which works with clients in several industries including transportation.
“A planned stop makes it easier to coordinate resources, inform staff, and implement contingency plans, minimizing the ripple effect of backlog and delays.”
Air Canada said its systems cannot come to a grinding halt, which is why they plan in anticipation of disruptions.
“Air Canada is a very complex system. It covers over 40,000 employees, (and) over 250 aircraft operating to 200 destinations in over 65 countries. It’s simply not the kind of system that we can start or stall at the push of a button,” Nasr said.
“In order to have a safe and orderly wind down, we need to begin now.”
The wind-down of Air Canada operations started Thursday with long-haul international flights, Nasr added. By Friday, Air Canada will have cancelled flights that affect around 100,000 passengers.
A complete halt will affect 130,000 passengers a day, Nasr said.
A gradual, preemptive shutdown saves passengers last-minute stress, Follows said.
“For passengers, this approach can mean fewer last-minute surprises, though it may ultimately result in more cancellations,” he added.
Air Canada said it will work with both Canadian and foreign airlines to arrange alternative travel for its passengers and also offer them refunds.
However, passengers are not obligated to accept the refund.
“From Air Canada’s perspective, the best outcome in the case of a strike is give you a refund for a flight they cancel and wash their hands from your alternate transportation. Don’t fall for that,” Lukacs said.
“If you voluntarily accept a refund, then Air Canada (can) possibly argue, ‘A passenger chose a refund (and) we no longer owe them alternate transportation.’ But if you say, ‘No, I won’t accept the refund, give me alternate transportation,’ and they fail to do so (or) refuse to do so, they owe you compensation for your alternate transportation costs,” he said.
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Why is Air Canada cancelling flights before a strike actually happens?
