Monday, September 9, 2024 Air Canada is preparing for a significant disruption of its operations as it braces for a possible pilot strike later this month. The airline’s management has started making contingency plans, anticipating a near-total shutdown of its services if negotiations with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents more than 5,000 of its pilots, fail to produce an agreement soon. The dispute stems from stalled pay talks between Air Canada and its pilots, who are demanding substantial pay increases to bring their compensation in line with counterparts at major US airlines.
ALPA, which represents Air Canada’s pilots, has threatened to call for a 72-hour strike notice or initiate a lockout if an agreement is not reached imminently. With tensions rising, Air Canada has announced plans to gradually suspend flights over three days in preparation for a full-scale strike or lockout. Air Canada’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rousseau, expressed optimism that an agreement could still be reached, but the airline remains on high alert.
“Air Canada believes there is still time to reach an agreement with our pilot group, provided ALPA moderates its wage demands, which far exceed average Canadian wage increases,” Rousseau said in a statement. However, if no agreement is reached soon, the airline may have no choice but to execute its shutdown plans. The core issue in the dispute revolves around wages.
Air Canada’s pilots have made it clear that .