Air Canada Pilots Contract??

[lots-of-km2]

Thanks, @Yowman and @LHT28 .  Should be interesting to see how this all unfolds. 

 

[lots-of-km2]

Here's the federal legislation that, among other things, sets out the airline's obligations if a labour disruption results in a flight being cancelled:

https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2019-150/page-1.html

 

These sections caught my eye:   s10(1)j, 10(2), 10(3), 11(4), 13, 14, 17  and 18.

 

(I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice)

[lx200gps]

42 minutes ago, lots-of-km2 said:

Here's the federal legislation that, among other things, sets out the airline's obligations if a labour disruption results in a flight being cancelled:

https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2019-150/page-1.html

 

These sections caught my eye:   s10(1)j, 10(2), 10(3), 11(4), 13, 14, 17  and 18.

 

(I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice)

My worry (having YUL-LAX flights in mid-October) is that while these regulations make AC responsible for taking care of us, that doesn't mean that they will be able to get us to where we need to be WHEN we need to be there, as in meeting a cruise ship for example. AC may be on the hook for compensating us if a strike causes these disruptions, but AFAIk they fly probably tens of thousands of people every day. Finding a timely new flight on another carrier for all of us is pretty much impossible.  I'll need to check our various other insurance coverages to see whether a labor action is cause for re-imbursement of an expensive cruise fare.

[lots-of-km2]

1 minute ago, lx200gps said:

as in meeting a cruise ship for example

 

I don't want to be a no-show on the cruise, which is why (aside from my current AC ticket) I bought a fully refundable back-up air ticket on another airline to get to the port of embarkation . 

 

I haven't done the same for the return flight from the city of debarkation because it's too large a $ outlay.

[dawnvip]

No further news or meetings over the summer. Contract negotiations expected to resume in September.

Edited September 2, 2023 by dawnvip
typo

[lx200gps]

On 9/1/2023 at 12:39 PM, lots-of-km2 said:

 

I don't want to be a no-show on the cruise, which is why (aside from my current AC ticket) I bought a fully refundable back-up air ticket on another airline to get to the port of embarkation . 

 

I haven't done the same for the return flight from the city of debarkation because it's too large a $ outlay.

Great idea, I've started to look into that as well. I can find a one-way Delta flight YUL to LAX through JFK :o(  for the day before our cruise, fully refundable at an exorbitant price, but it seems worthwhile. I'm not sure I trust Air Transat or Westjet for this, and Flair is off-limits

[Oceangoer2]

On 9/1/2023 at 10:11 PM, dawnvip said:

No further news or meetings over the summer. Contract negotiations expected to resume in September.

DH read that AC pilots are considering a strike around Christmas or late autumn if negotiations don't go well.  Who knows how much of that is true....rumours are everywhere.  Can't find anything other than that news item.

[Barwick Cruiser]

On 9/6/2023 at 10:48 AM, Oceangoer2 said:

DH read that AC pilots are considering a strike around Christmas or late autumn if negotiations don't go well.  Who knows how much of that is true....rumours are everywhere.  Can't find anything other than that news item.

Goodness, I hope not. We’ve an AC flight booked for early Jan from YYZ to YVR to connect to an Air NZ flight. I was hoping this pilots strike situation would be resolved by then. 😬

[Fouremco]

59 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

Goodness, I hope not. We’ve an AC flight booked for early Jan from YYZ to YVR to connect to an Air NZ flight. I was hoping this pilots strike situation would be resolved by then. 😬

You might want to book a fully refundable Porter direct flight YOW-YVR. If there's an AC pilots strike, you will still make your Air NZ flight. If there's no strike, cancel Porter and get your refund. Others here are employing similar strategies.

[Oceangoer2]

Wouldn't AC be compelled to find alternate flights for those who have booking confirmation?  or perhaps a straight refund and we're on our own.

[Fouremco]

8 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Wouldn't AC be compelled to find alternate flights for those who have booking confirmation?  or perhaps a straight refund and we're on our own.

It's all a question of timing. If the strike is called shortly before your January flight, there will be a scramble to grab whatever last minute seats are still available on other airlines. AC may attempt to get you on an alternate flight, but at that late date, might not be successful. And the straight refund won't be much help if there aren't any seats left to book.

 

Tying up the price of those Porter (or other airline) refundable bookings for a few months may not be something anyone wants to do, but it ensures that your travel plans to NZ remain intact. Personally,  I'd rather lose a few dollars in interest on that money than risk having no flight to Vancouver.

[dawnvip]

As per the Air Passenger Protection Act & Regs, labour disruptions are considered outside the air carrier's control and therefore:

•      In the event of a flight disruption outside of the airline's control, a large airline is required to rebook     using the services of another (competing) airline, if the next available flight operated by them or an airline with which they have a commercial agreement does not depart within 48 hours of the end of the event that caused the disruption. 
•      If a large airline is unable to rebook a passenger on a flight leaving the same airport within 48 hours of the end of the event that caused the disruption, they have to book the passenger on a flight leaving another airport, if there is an option nearby.

 

So this could mean that AC would not have to start re-booking or refunding passengers until 48 hours after the end of the strike. (emphasis my own) 

[dawnvip]

Edit: the regulations changed last September:

 

Require airlines to provide a passenger affected by a cancellation or a lengthy delay due to a situation outside the airline’s control with a confirmed reservation on the next available flight that is operated by them or a partner airline, leaving within 48 hours of the departure time indicated on the passenger's original ticket. If the airline cannot provide a confirmed reservation within this 48-hour period, it is required to provide, at the passenger's choice, a refund or rebooking

[mexico8]

3 hours ago, dawnvip said:

Edit: the regulations changed last September:

 

Require airlines to provide a passenger affected by a cancellation or a lengthy delay due to a situation outside the airline’s control with a confirmed reservation on the next available flight that is operated by them or a partner airline, leaving within 48 hours of the departure time indicated on the passenger's original ticket. If the airline cannot provide a confirmed reservation within this 48-hour period, it is required to provide, at the passenger's choice, a refund or rebooking

Thank you for this information.   We are flying to Fort Lauderdale the day the ship departs (Nov. 15th for the same cruise as you)  so a flight 48 hours later would mean we would miss the ship.   Keeping my fingers crossed that there is no strike and the flights are not affected.

[3CanadianBears]

On 9/7/2023 at 9:02 PM, Fouremco said:

You might want to book a fully refundable Porter direct flight YOW-YVR. If there's an AC pilots strike, you will still make your Air NZ flight. If there's no strike, cancel Porter and get your refund. Others here are employing similar strategies.

We did exactly this in March, when West Jet strike was pending.  Yes, our money was tied up with Porter, booking fully refundable flights  however when we cancelled the money was refunded within 3 business days.  As others have mentioned the 48 hour re-booking (in the even of a strike) would not have worked for us - we would have missed our cruise. 

[dawnvip]

14 hours ago, mexico8 said:

Thank you for this information.   We are flying to Fort Lauderdale the day the ship departs (Nov. 15th for the same cruise as you)  so a flight 48 hours later would mean we would miss the ship.   Keeping my fingers crossed that there is no strike and the flights are not affected.

We have never flown in day of cruise departure (too much stress!!!) but you could do as others suggest and get a fully refundable back up ticket with Porter just in case? We booked our flight from Vancouver through FlightEase on HAL, so that if the pilots are on strike, it is up to HAL to get us to the boat on time!

[LHT28]

25 minutes ago, dawnvip said:

 We booked our flight from Vancouver through FlightEase on HAL, so that if the pilots are on strike, it is up to HAL to get us to the boat on time!

You may want to read the fine print in the  HAL contract

[mexico8]

2 hours ago, dawnvip said:

We have never flown in day of cruise departure (too much stress!!!) but you could do as others suggest and get a fully refundable back up ticket with Porter just in case? We booked our flight from Vancouver through FlightEase on HAL, so that if the pilots are on strike, it is up to HAL to get us to the boat on time!

I will definitely look into that.   Thanks.  (We also splurged and booked a business class seat  with Air Canada to return from Chile so I hope we don't have to change that.)   

 

Hope your fine print has you covered as you think.   So much fine print to read through.

[dawnvip]

Since DH and I are retired, I'm not as worried about coming home. We'll get there when we get there, as long as its before Christmas! 

[mexico8]

17 hours ago, dawnvip said:

Since DH and I are retired, I'm not as worried about coming home. We'll get there when we get there, as long as its before Christmas! 

Even a slow boat will get you back for Christmas.   (We are spending the winter in Mexico and our flight to Puerto Vallarta is December 19th so we need to be back before then.)

[lots-of-km2]

AC pilot picketing has begun...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/air-canada-pilots-picket-toronto-pearson-1.6982266

[LHT28]

any updates  on the strike ?

We have flights  from MIA on the 14th & have not seen/heard anything  from AC

[dawnvip]

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

any updates  on the strike ?

We have flights  from MIA on the 14th & have not seen/heard anything  from AC

Same - we have flight to MIA on Nov 12th. Excitied but also anxious!

[lx200gps]

We're flying AC to LA in two days, back on the 14th.  Everything is quiet, I should get the check-in notice tomorrow morning, so no news is probably good news.  We're doing the same trip again in February, I'm a bit more worried about the timing for that trip.

[dawnvip]

Pilots held an "information picket" a few days ago, so they are still negotiating AFAIK.