Air Canada is finalizing plans to suspend most of its operations, likely beginning Sunday, as talks with the pilot union are nearing an impasse over “inflexible” wage demands, the country’s largest airline said on Monday.
Air Canada and its low-cost subsidiary, Air Canada Rouge, operate nearly 670 flights daily. Unless they reach a settlement with the union, the shutdown could affect 110,000 passengers daily, causing widespread disruptions.
The airline’s pilots have been pushing to close the salary gap with their U.S. peers, who managed to strike lucrative labor deals in 2023 amid pilot shortages and strong travel demand.
For reference, Air Canada would need to give ~91% raise to get pilot pay back in line with where Air Canada pilots were in 2001. Post 9/11 the pilots took a terrible ‘save the company from bankruptcy’ deal, then during negotiations in 2012 the government forced a return to work deal with another terrible pilot contract.