Possible strike at Air Canada: Travelers’ rights and recourse

As of August 16, a strike by Air Canada on -board agents could nail thousands of passengers on the ground.

The strike could escape over several days. The union also evokes the possibility of rotating strikes which could spread until the end of the month, although a last minute regulations remain possible.

However, for John Gradekresponsible for teaching in the Aviation and Management Chain Project Program at the University McGillthe hypothesis of a rotating strike is unrealistic.

It’s a scenario that is [in]sustainable, in the sense that the airline will have a lot of difficulty managing and planning the schedule if we do not really know who will be in duty, who will be on strikehe said.

Regardless of the scenario, the impact would be massive, according to the expert.

Air Canada transports approximately 120,000 passengers per day. So, you have to find seats for these 120,000 people … and in Canada, we are not really able to accommodate this.

With the summer season and already full flights at Air Canada as at his competitors, he judges that he will be quasi impossible to absorb all displaced travelers.

Besides, Porter Airlines report An increase in last -minute reservations which could be linked to uncertainty.

Flair Airlines indicates for his part that The demand remains strong And puts forward a completion rate of 99.5 % in July.

WestJet did not respond to our interview request within the time limit.

Airlines’ obligations

Once the union declares the strike, according to Mr. Hail, Air Canada responsibility [est] to find services to replace canceled flights And, if it is not possible, to offer a refund to passengers for the route they bought.

The Canada Transport Office (OTC) confirms [qu’]A disruption linked to a labor conflict is considered to be independent of the will of the carrier.

According to theOTCthe company must reachssment the passengers on her next flight available or on the theft of an airline with which she has concluded a trade agreement within 48 hours.

If it is not possible, the passenger can get a refund or other travel provisions, at no cost.

Consumer recourse: how to protect yourself?

Mr. Hail is clear: [Ne faites] No procedure at the same time to cancel or change your flight. Let Air Canada Cancel flights.

As specified by theOTCAccording to the regulations for the protection of air passengers, if the cancellation occurs, the company is required to offer a replacement flight within 48 hours or to reimburse immediately.

It is up to you after that to do your own steps to find a route that suits you with another carrieradds Mr. Hail.

He emphasizes that standard travel insurance rarely covers work conflicts. And on the insurance side integrated into credit cards, these situations are not absolutely not Covered, he said.

The insurance company must accept the risk that you would go and buy a ticket on which you know before the purchase that there is a strike. It’s quite difficult to find insurance companies that are ready to take this riskhe said.

So, if it is absolutely necessary to travel during the strike period, he highly recommends to buy a totally refundable ticket on another carrier To guarantee a seat.

If you have a fully refundable ticket, the amount has returned to you when you cancel the flight. It will cost you a little more, but it is a situation in which transport is almost guaranteed. If Air Canada is not on strike and the situation is set, your trip continues and you can have a total refund of the ticket you bought on another carrier.

L’OTC Also suggests to travelers to regularly check the Air Canada site, to find out about the policies in place and to confirm their protections with their insurer.

Intervention possible d’Ottawa?

On the other hand, Mr. Gradek believes that the federal government could intervene quickly to end the strike if there are significant disturbances.

Inside 48 hours of a strike, there will be some reactions from the federally by trying either to have an order to return to work or direct intervention in negotiationshe says.

He underlines that a prolonged strike would undermine the confidence of travelers and could encourage part of them to turn to other carriers, sometimes in a sustainable way.

The reputation and the way people perceive Air Canada will deteriorate and deteriorate quickly enoughhe warns.

For M. Hailthis image erosion and the potential loss of loyal customers explain why the company has every interest in concluding an agreement quickly in order to preserve its competitive position.

We respect the right of our on -board agents to express themselves and take note that the union said they would have no impact on Air Canada activities. Therefore, we do not provide any disruption of our flights and customers can travel as usualindicates Air Canada by email.