AirCanada pilots strike

[yolotraveler]

Is anyone concerned about the possible strike? We have an independently booked flight for 9/26 (the date our cruise returns) departing from Vancouver to San Francisco. We are boarding another cruise on 9/28 in San Francisco. We are considering booking a different airline and will lose our paid fare as it is non refundable.

[grimace95120]

Tough call. AC has a goodwill policy that covers travel from the 15th( 2 days before the legal strike date) to the 23rd. It "feels" like AC is bracing for a real strike BUT they are counting on it being short.

If you forfeit your flight now, you for sure will lose your money, so there is really no advantage of cancelling today. You could hedge you bets and buy a fully refundable flight on an other airline as a backup, and cancel that one  if yours isn't disrupted.

YVR to SFO ( or any surrounding airports) is a common route, so you should have lots to choose from. 

PS I'm flying AC on the 21st  YYZ to LGA and I was thinking about the same thing. However, I found out by pure luck that AC express ( Jazz/PAL) are NOT on the same collective agreement as AC pilots, meaning no strike for the Regionals. Just check to make sure your AC flight does not say " operated by Regional Express". if it does its "not" AC ( also check to see if its actually an AC flight operated by united ) 

Best of luck !

Edited August 31 by grimace95120
spelling

[grimace95120]

26 minutes ago, yolotraveler said:

Is anyone concerned about the possible strike? We have an independently booked flight for 9/26 (the date our cruise returns) departing from Vancouver to San Francisco. We are boarding another cruise on 9/28 in San Francisco. We are considering booking a different airline and will lose our paid fare as it is non refundable.

What is your flight # on the 26th? If its AC 5158,AC 4568, AC 3253 or  AC 5696  those flights are on UNITED metal, just a codeshare with AC so no disruption

[Oscar13]

we're flying from SFO on the 28th on United (AC) to YVR, then AC from YVR to YYJ.  Worst case scenario is we get to YVR and then have to catch the ferry back to Victoria.  At least we have that option to get home if things do happen.  

[Daddysbaby]

How does it work if you have booked through EZ air?  I will be disembarking the Royal Princess on September 28th in Los Angeles and flying straight home to YVR.  Any suggestions?

 

Sheila😄

[yolotraveler]

Thank you so very much for your responses. Grimace95120, my flight number is UA 8577 operated by Air Canada and I purchased my seats on Air Canada’s website. 

[phabric]

I have AC from YYZ to YVR and my sister has AC from YUL to YVR on Sept 25 for a cruise on Sept 26.  I am not worried about our return from SFO it is not until Oct 16, I don’t think a strike would last that long.

 

I booked with EzAir.  They are suppose to get you to the port.  I noticed that EzAir is now offering WestJet for Sept 25 so hopefully if AC goes on strike, EzAir can put us on WestJet flight.

 

Please post, if you read anything about the strike.

Edited August 31 by phabric

[mahasamatman]

3 hours ago, yolotraveler said:

We are considering booking a different airline and will lose our paid fare as it is non refundable.

Only if the flight operated as scheduled. If your flight is indeed canceled, you will get a full refund.

 

3 hours ago, grimace95120 said:

YVR to SFO ( or any surrounding airports) is a common route, so you should have lots to choose from.

Non-stop options are limited to AC, UA, and WS.

[westcoaster]

3 hours ago, Oscar13 said:

we're flying from SFO on the 28th on United (AC) to YVR, then AC from YVR to YYJ.  Worst case scenario is we get to YVR and then have to catch the ferry back to Victoria.  At least we have that option to get home if things do happen.  

The YVR-YYJ flights are operated by Air Canada Express/Jazz, which is under a separate contract.  According to the AC website, they would not be impacted by a strike.

[grimace95120]

2 hours ago, yolotraveler said:

Thank you so very much for your responses. Grimace95120, my flight number is UA 8577 operated by Air Canada and I purchased my seats on Air Canada’s website. 

Unfortunately that's a united  codeshare with air Canada vs an Air Canada codeshare with United. That United flight 8577 is Air Canada flight AC 566 flying on Air Canada metal. If the pilots go on strike, that is a POTENTIAL disrupted flight

Flights on either side of this one ( 12:20 AND 14:20 ) are physical United flights, but this one is Air Canada, sorry 

[grimace95120]

58 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

Only if the flight operated as scheduled. If your flight is indeed canceled, you will get a full refund.

 

Non-stop options are limited to AC, UA, and WS.

True BUT as it sits right now ( subject to change) Air Canadas goodwill policy of allowing changes/cancels to otherwise non cancellable tickets only apply to travel for 16 Sept to 23 Sept. The OP is travelling 26 Sept, meaning if they cancel prior to the flight on a potential strike speculation , barring any extension to the policy, they will forfeit their fare . If it was me, I would not cancel yet, rather see how this plays out

[grimace95120]

3 hours ago, Daddysbaby said:

How does it work if you have booked through EZ air?  I will be disembarking the Royal Princess on September 28th in Los Angeles and flying straight home to YVR.  Any suggestions?

 

Sheila😄

I suspect, but don't have first hand knowledge that since you booked through an operator ( in this case EZ air) , they would handle the flight schedule changes for you . Since your financial transaction is with EZ air, they are the ones who purchased the ticket on your behalf, so they would need to make any changes/corrections due to the potential strike. I would drop them an email, or chat on line  

[Rick&Jeannie]

3 hours ago, grimace95120 said:

 I would drop them an email, or chat on line  

That's a new one on me..

I didn't think you could chat online with EzAir...

[CruiserBruce]

OK, first, September 26 is a VERY long time from now, in the scheme of things.

 

Secondly,  Canada appears to have laws that would allow the government to force the pilots to work,  unless a number of conditions are met. Look into the exact status of those steps being met before racing off making other plans.

[FlyerTalker]

I think you folks are all missing a VERY big consideration.

 

It's 150 miles from Vancouver to Seattle.  You can take the train, the Quick Shuttle, or even rent a car.  From Seattle, there are many flights to SFO.  11 daily just on Alaska, plus Delta, United and Southwest (into OAK).  If I was "stuck" in Vancouver, I'd just make my way down to SEA and take any of the many flights from there.

 

Easy peasy, since you have two days to make the journey.  (Heck, you could even rent a car and drive the whole way in that time)

 

 

[CDNPolar]

Sorry - asked a question - Googled it and got my answer.  Edited to remove the question.

Edited September 1 by CDNPolar

[Sn0cruiser]

We just booked a Princess Ezair United (non-code shared) to Heathrow and canceled our Air Canada flight. We might not end up needing to but our flight is right at the end of the possible strike week with only a day before our cruise so it’s not like we have much choice if the strike happens.  

[BOB999]

FYI, for anyone ticketed with United, they have issued a travel waiver related to a potential Air Canada strike.   Part of the requirement is that the new flight be operated by United.

 

https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/travel/trip-planning/travel-alerts.html

[Fairgarth]

According to the Globe and Mail this morning, the parties have reached an agreement, subject to ratification, so there will be no strike or lockout.  The pilots get 42% over four years.  The other 30,000 Air Canada employees must now be wondering how do I get that?