Air Canada on Wednesday issued a 72-hour lockout notice to flight attendants and will begin winding down operations ahead of a potential pause in flying.
The move was in response to a strike notice from the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents approximately 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and its lower-cost subsidiary, Air Canada Rouge.
The airline said that if the impasse continues, its first flights will be canceled on Aug. 14, with more the next day and a complete cessation of flying on Aug. 16.
Air Canada Express flights, which are operated by regional airlines Jazz and PAL, will continue to operate; they represent about 20% of Air Canada's daily customers. Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge carry approximately 130,000 customers per day.
Customers whose flights are canceled can receive a refund. Air Canada also said it will attempt to rebook customers on the first available flight, exploring options with 120 international and Canadian carriers, but it warned that space on other carriers will be very limited.
Those booked for travel on Air Canada between Friday and Monday with a refundable ticket can proactively rebook flights between Aug. 21 and Sept. 12. Flyers holding nonrefundable tickets can cancel their itinerary and accept a future travel credit.
Air Canada said that its latest offer to flight attendants would raise wages by 38% over four years and address other issues, including pay for work done by flight attendants on the ground.
However, the flight attendants union said the wage increase offer is only 17.2% over four years. It also wouldn't pay flight attendants for all work they do on the ground, and overall payment packages would be below market rates and leave entry-level workers at below Canada's minimum wage, according to the union.
Air Canada has offered to enter binding arbitration to settle the dispute, but labor has refused, saying that better agreements are reached at the bargaining table.
Air Canada has asked the Canadian government to intervene and direct binding arbitration. Last summer, the Canada Industrial Relations Board took such an action, ordering striking freight train workers back on the job while imposing arbitration between the Teamsters and Canada's two largest freight railway companies, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City.
Last September, Air Canada found itself in a similar situation with its pilots' union, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association. The airline had just begun an operational winddown ahead of a lockout before reaching an 11th hour agreement with pilots.