Even if an agreement in principle has been concluded with the union of on -board agents, hundreds of flights will have to be canceled in the coming days, Air Canada warns.
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“In the coming days, we will still make cancellations,” warns a spokesperson for the carrier, Christophe Hennebelle, recalling that several planes and crews are not “in the right place” to allow the resumption of all flights.
“It may surprise people, so it’s important to get this message across because that’s how it works,” he adds. There is no way to do otherwise. “
Christophe Hennebelle, Vice-President of Company Communications at Air Canada
Photo Air Canada
Air Canada provides that 167 flights from its main operation and its red subsidiary will be carried out on Tuesday. Some 532 flights have been canceled or will be during the day, specifies Mr. Hennebelle.
The 300 flights of Air Canada Express take place as planned, as is the case since the start of the cabin staff strike – the first in 40 years.
The thousands of Canadians who are stuck away from home will therefore have to take their pain in patience.
Air Canada does not know precisely how many of them expect return flights. In a normal day, around 25,000 Canadians are back to the country on the airline’s wings, says Christophe Hennebelle.
“Tens of thousands” of replaced customers
The latter argues that Air Canada “has replaced tens of thousands of customers on other airlines” since the start of the conflict on Saturday. Others have returned home by their own means, reserving flights themselves or by opting for another mode of transport.
Photo Agence QMI, JOEL LEMAY
Several travelers have the impression that Air Canada did not do everything in its power to place them on other flights.
This is the case of Vittoria Cosimano, a 17 -year -old cégépian who was to return from Paris on Monday, but who is still there. She had to reserve herself with a low-cost carrier a flight scheduled for Thursday. She lives in a four -star hotel that costs her parents $ 460 per night.
“I am so disappointed that Air Canada has not considered priority a minor traveling alone,” she said. […] Unfortunately, for Air Canada, my security was not important enough to pay a last minute flight at a high price. I also deplore that other airlines seem to benefit from the situation with aberrant prices. ”
Vittoria Cosimano, 17, does not know when she could have returned to Montreal if she had not taken the initiative to reserve a flight with a low-cost carrier.
Photo provided by Vittoria Cosimano
Air Canada defends itself
Without directly commenting on Vittoria’s situation, Mr. Hennebelle assures that in terms of replacing travelers on other flights, Air Canada “did the work quite seriously”.
“We have agreements with 120 airlines to replace people,” he explains. So we have almost all the airlines on the planet; In any case, those that operate on routes that make sense to us. ”
When asked if Air Canada undertakes to reimburse travelers for spare flights that they find themselves, the spokesperson replies that a “policy” will soon be unveiled on this on the company’s website.