Air Canada customers are trying to remain hopeful that a possible strike involving flight attendants won’t disrupt their upcoming travel plans, but they’re also steeling themselves for the possibility that could happen.
That’s the case for Toronto’s James Catt, who’s supposed to be flying to Los Angeles on Saturday, with his wife and son, as part of a special trip to celebrate his 15th wedding anniversary.
The family’s planned itinerary includes seeing a baseball game at Dodger Stadium and sitting in top-notch seats near first base.
“The ball tickets were pretty expensive, they were about $1,000 US,” Catt told CBC News Network midday Thursday.
At this point, Catt has not been told the family’s Saturday flight is a no-go.
But with so much uncertainty, Catt says they have cancelled their hotel booking and are now weighing whether to drop their tickets, too.
“We could try to cut our losses by selling the tickets on StubHub … but the longer we wait, the less likely that is to work out,” said Catt.
“At the same time, we don’t want to sell the tickets now and then find out that they make a deal at the last minute.”
Air Canada has already begun cancelling some flights ahead of a potential strike involving thousands of flight attendants that could begin on Saturday.
Mark Nasr, the company’s chief operations officer, said Thursday that cancellations would go from “several dozens” occurring on Thursday, growing to some 500 by the end of Friday, to a state of being “completely grounded” as of the start of a potential strike on Saturday — affecting roughly 130,000 customers daily — should a resolution not be reached.
At a news conference, Air Canada’s chief operations officer Mark Nasr detailed the airline’s plans for gradual flight suspensions ahead of a potential strike by flight attendants Saturday morning. Several dozen cancellations are expected by the end of Thursday and about 500 by the end of Friday, he said.
Air Canada proposed entering binding interest arbitration, but the union representing the flight attendants rejected that.
The company has since asked the federal government to send the two parties to arbitration if an agreement can’t be reached.
‘Hoping for some kind of miracle’
Anne Vivian-Scott of Kingston, Ont., is frustrated that the prospect of a labour disruption got so close before the airline alerted customers about potential issues.
“Why have they let it get to this point?” asked Vivian-Scott, who identified her family as longtime loyal Air Canada customers.
Her two adult children, who live on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean, are supposed to fly to eastern Ontario to attend their cousin’s wedding in Ottawa over the Labour Day weekend.
It may be easier for her daughter, who lives on the West Coast, to seek an alternate flight home, via another carrier, if a labour disruption occurs.
But her son, who lives in Japan, will have fewer options to choose from.
“This was going to be his once-a-year trip home,” said Vivian-Scott. She also noted that Kingston is a place some students will be flying back to in the days ahead, with the fall term at Queen’s University lying just around the corner.
Laeticia Halbedel, an Air Canada customer visiting family in Taiwan, says the potential strike is a ‘major distraction’ for her, as she’s scheduled to return to take an upcoming final examination in Toronto next week.
University of Toronto student Laeticia Halbedel is trying to get back to Toronto from Taipei, Taiwan — and not because the new school year is coming up. She’s supposed to be writing a exam for a neuroscience-related course next week.
“It’s 35 per cent of my final mark, so it’s quite important,” Halbedel told CBC News Network on Thursday.
For now, she’s not sure what she’s going to do — other than hope that her Taipei-to-Toronto flight will go ahead as scheduled.
Back in Toronto, Catt is likewise “hoping for some kind of miracle” to be able to board his Air Canada flight on Saturday.
“But,” he said, “I don’t know.”
