Air Canada FA's vote to strike

[toberman]

Air Canada has huge problems getting contract agreements with it's Unions. Pilots have rejected an offer, Flight Attendants rejected a deal and may strike, Customer Service Agents rejected a deal and went on strike, but were ordered back to work by Government legislation. Ground crews are next.

 

http://www.thestar.com/business/companies/aircanada/article/1053132--air-canada-flight-attendants-could-strike-as-early-as-next-week?bn=1

[Mom2B&Z]

Glad I booked my flight heading out on Friday with West Jet :D

Seriously though, isn't this getting a bit crazy? Weren't they going through union issues a few months ago?

[cruzincanuck]

My cruise is still far away however I did book my flights with Air Canada and I hope they are able to resolve quickly without being mandated back to work by the gov't.

 

I am a little selfish when it comes to my vacation as others I work in a stressful job all year and my vacation is my moment of peace so I would like to avoid looking for a last minute flight on another airline.

 

I am just curious: Does anyone know if I will be able at one point to ask Air Canada to reimburse me so that I can book with another airline? or will I have to bit the bullet when the uncertaintly gets the better of me and I book with another airline? Will I be able to get at least a credit for future flights? I do not know that rules under a work stoppage.

 

I do not want to call customer service as I am sure they are overwhelmed with calls for upcoming flights from Wednesday on and my flights are a few months away.

 

I prefer to know what to expect :)

[toberman]

My cruise is still far away however I did book my flights with Air Canada and I hope they are able to resolve quickly without being mandated back to work by the gov't.

 

I am a little selfish when it comes to my vacation as others I work in a stressful job all year and my vacation is my moment of peace so I would like to avoid looking for a last minute flight on another airline.

 

I am just curious: Does anyone know if I will be able at one point to ask Air Canada to reimburse me so that I can book with another airline? or will I have to bit the bullet when the uncertaintly gets the better of me and I book with another airline? Will I be able to get at least a credit for future flights? I do not know that rules under a work stoppage.

 

I do not want to call customer service as I am sure they are overwhelmed with calls for upcoming flights from Wednesday on and my flights are a few months away.

 

I prefer to know what to expect :)

 

FA's can legally strike as of this Wed. Let's hope they do and get this think settled NOW !! Here's what AC has posted on their web page.

 

http://www.aircanada.com/en/news/trav_adv/labour_updates.html

[DanJ]

Although the government has already said they will impose back to work legislation for this pending dispute, I imagine AC will allow changes to be made to bookings on a short term basis. Expect that it will take a few days to get the legislation through, unless the government introduces it ahead of time, so flights through the end of the week might be affected. Pretty reasonably sure they won't allow changes for flights that are months away though.

[6rugrats]

Did anyone see the "South Park" where the entire country of Canada went on strike? This thread title made me think of it; it was pretty funny.

[toberman]

Did anyone see the "South Park" where the entire country of Canada went on strike? This thread title made me think of it; it was pretty funny.

 

Hey.. Play nice. :D :D :D

[toberman]

Air Canada FA's have a deal!!!

 

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1056760--deal-reached-in-air-canada-dispute?bn=1

 

Now we just have to see what happens with the ground crews and pilots.

[spongerob]

Did anyone see the "South Park" where the entire country of Canada went on strike? This thread title made me think of it; it was pretty funny.

If the entire country went on strike, how would you tell the difference?

[kenish]

I like the one where Terrence and Philip started the Canadian-American War; over 33 million casualties. :D

[6rugrats]

If the entire country went on strike, how would you tell the difference?

 

And that was the point; no one noticed or cared.

[eh2zed]

Not nice:(

[toberman]

Not nice:(

 

They're just joshing us. Everyone loves Canucks !! ;)

I actually think it's funny, and we all know Canadians have a great sense of humour (this is the correct spelling). :)

[eh2zed]

They're just joshing us. Everyone loves Canucks !! ;)

I actually think it's funny, and we all know Canadians have a great sense of humour (this is the correct spelling). :)

I hope so but didn't see any happy faces. Thanks neighbour (correct spelling):D;)

[DanJ]

The Union served notice to Air Canada today that the contract has been voted down and that the Flight Attendants will be going on strike as of Thursday, Oct 13. No doubt, the government will be talking about back to work legislation, but perhaps not by the strike date, due to the holiday Monday.

[Babr]

Please let me know what happens. We are about 10 days out on a flight.

[DanJ]

Please let me know what happens. We are about 10 days out on a flight.

 

I would keep checking http://www.aircanada.com/en/news/trav_adv/labour_updates.html if I were in your shoes. Although the legislation will likely pass by this coming weekend anyway.

[cruzincanuck]

Too bad about the deal falling thru. Even if they are mandated back, are the next ones the pilots ..followed by the ground crew? Even if my flights are still 3 months away, that is a short amount of time if we are to live thru 2 further potential strikes.

 

As I have stated before, I ,like many others work, towards my vacation and I look forward to them. This is my one time of year where I want to leave my stress at home.

 

I hope there is quick resolution and fair contracts for all Air Canada employees and yes, because come January, I selfishly would like to check in for my flight without having lived a mad dash in the weeks or so before to find a replacement flight

[eh2zed]

Minister is already saying back to work legislation will be swift. Second time a recommended offer has been turned down by the membership. Something wrong there.

[wrp96]

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/49930--ottawa-steps-in-to-block-strike-by-air-canada-flight-attendants It's being sent to arbitration by the government. No work stoppage at this time.

[Babr]

Still watching. Still nervous. This just kicks the can further down the road closer to our flight on the 24th and prolongs the uncertainty.

[DanJ]

The union says the strike is starting at midnight tonight as they believe they are in a legal strike position. The airline says they aren't. Shou;d be interesting to see how this plays out.

[YXU AC*SE]

Still watching. Still nervous. This just kicks the can further down the road closer to our flight on the 24th and prolongs the uncertainty.

 

Air Canada has a self-service rebooking tool which is available online here: https://services.aircanada.com/irropweb/selfservice/rebook?execution=e1s1

 

If or when the F/A strike materializes or looks inevitable AC will open up the tool for a pre-determinate window and allow bookings to be rescheduled on a space available basis with no change fee or re-faring until December 15th.

 

I'm not entirely sure where your origin and destination are (maybe IAH-YUL-MUC- VZE on a CO award ticket if I have parsed together old posts correctly?) but it might be worth some research now to see if you can get to where you need to go on AC's codeshare partners and then if the time comes try and shift yourself to that available space. AC was making the tool available to rebook flights on a rolling five day-basis.

 

If it is indeed a OnePass Star Alliance award redemption, I would also be proactively chatting with CO to see if they have any flexibility to move you now -- especially if you hold status in that FF programme. You miss 100% of the shots you never take, right?

 

Good luck.

 

Scott.

[Babr]

Thanks for your input. Exactly right. Houston to Venice by way of Montreal and Munich on award ticket business class.

 

We have already talked to Continental - twice- and they are not willing to do anything yet. There are lots of seats still unoccupied, but they are not available to us at our price point -50,000 miles. I don't want to move to coach until it is the last option.

 

Maybe if the strike goes forward tonight we can do something tomorrow. The agents we talked to didn't offer any good alternatives, but perhaps they will have authorization to do more once the strike takes place.

[YXU AC*SE]

Since it is an award ticket please ignore my pointing you to the re-booking tool. That only will work in the case of AC-booked tickets. Anyone who is reading along who has booked with AC directly, feel free to check out the re-booking tool. :D

 

The latest -- and it is evolving minute by minute today -- is that the Exec Director of the Canadian Industrial Relations Board has issued a media statement implying that there cannot be a strike by AC until the CIRB (a quasi-judicial panel) renders a decision on the Labour minister's referral.

 

As nuanced as that may seem, that statement is not an order of the CIRB, just an interpretation of the applicable law (Canada Labour Code) by a senior staff member. The union representing the FAs has yet to respond. As it stands currently (16h10 EDT), AC's FAs are still looking to go on strike at midnight.

 

Scott.