While pilots were on the picket line, some customers struggled to reschedule plans and rebook flights
Air Canada is offering new deals for customers after the possibility of a pilots’ strike forced many to change travel plans.
The 25 per cent discount applies to economy (standard only), and select premium economy lowest and business class lowest, undiscounted Air Canada-published base fares only, per the website. Certain dates are exempt from the deal.
Air Canada offers 42% raise to pilots, averting strike
“This agreement, if ratified by the pilot group, would officially put an end to our outdated and stale decade-old, ten-year framework.”
While pilots were on the picket line, some customers struggled to reschedule plans and rebook flights. In case a strike did happen, Air Canada started to wind down some of its services, like Air Canada Cargo and vacation packages, the Canadian Press reported on Sept. 12.
As the strike deadline approached, some people took to social media to plead with the airline.
“I’m begging you to please not strike,” wrote on person on X with the handle @otchere_rachel.
With the announcement that a tentative deal had been reached, one customer said they were “glad for the pilots” but upset as a customer.
Customers are not the only ones who may still take issue with the airline. One expert told CP that the entry-level pay pilots receive in their first four years, before a larger wage increase in year five, might be a problem.
Out of the 5,200 pilots who went on strike, around 2,000 of them could be earning entry-level wages, McGill University’s John Gradek said, CP reported. Gradek is a faculty lecturer and academic program coordinator who teaches aviation management.
There could be “pushback from rank-and-file flight crew” after the failure to ditch pay grade restrictions that could put the deal in jeopardy, he said.
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