Wed, Jun 15, 2011
Strike Deadline Passed At 0001 EDT Tuesday
Air Canada said Tuesday it will continue to operate its full
schedule despite a strike by call center and airport check-in and
gate agents in Canada represented by the Canadian Auto Workers
union (CAW). As a collective agreement was not reached by the
parties by the strike deadline, the union advised the company
earlier that it would proceed with strike action at 0001 EDT
Tuesday June 14.
"We are very disappointed that an agreement for a new contract
has not been reached prior to the CAW's strike deadline and we
remain ready to resume discussions at any time to achieve a
negotiated settlement. In the interim, we have implemented a
contingency plan involving more than 1,700 managers to assist at
airports and call centers. We will continue to operate our full
schedule and all bookings will be honored," said Duncan Dee,
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "We regret
the inconvenience this situation may cause passengers and we advise
those traveling with Air Canada in the coming days to consult our
website and use our online self-service tools to check-in and get
flight information they need prior to arriving at the airport. We
thank our customers for their patience and understanding."
As a result of the strike, wait times at call centers and
line-ups for airport self-service kiosks are longer than normal. To
reduce or avoid waiting, Air Canada strongly advises customers
traveling during the labour disruption to:
- Familiarize themselves with our website aircanada.com prior to
travel and consult the site for answers to questions such as:
baggage allowances, airport connection information and travel
documentation for international flights.
- On day of travel, prior to arriving at the airport, use our
self service tools to check-in. These are available online or
on their mobile device, up to 24 hours before flight departure
time. Customers should also use the flight-status function to be
sure their flight is on-time.
- Avoid checking baggage if at all possible in order to expedite
airport processes, and to familiarize themselves with baggage
allowances.
- Be prepared to use self service kiosks for check-in and baggage
tagging at the nine Canadian airports affected (Vancouver, Calgary,
Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto Pearson, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and
St. John's NL). Please note, lines at airport kiosks will be longer
than usual with limited available personnel, and our priority will
be to do our best to attend to customers with special
requirements.
"Air Canada apologizes for the inconvenience this situation is
causing our customers," the airline said in a statement posted on
its website. "Over 22,000 Air Canada employees remain on duty,
including over 1,700 managers available at the nine airports to
help customers. Our operational and planning teams have been
working around the clock with our customers' interests top of
mind. We continue to operate our full schedule as planned. We
are focused on minimizing inconvenience to the best of our ability,
and most importantly, getting customers to their destination
safely."
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