Air Canada vows to cover transportation expenses of passengers hit by strike

Air Canada has pledged to provide financial support to passengers whose travel plans were disrupted by a cabin crew strike that grounded all flights over the weekend.

 

An “exceptional policy”, designed to restore confidence in the carrier, will go towards covering transportation costs incurred by those affected by the walkout of 10,000 flight attendants.

 

The offer came as the airline began restoring services on Tuesday with 155 flights scheduled, starting with a limited number of international departures. 

 

More: Half a million travellers disrupted by Air Canada cabin crew strike

 

More than 21,700 passengers were rebooked and 76,560 were expected to travel yesterday.

 

Air Canada had disclosed that 500,000 passengers had been hit by the industrial action during the summer travel peak which struck its fleet of almost 260 aircraft. It will take at least 10 days to resume the full schedule.  

 

The cost of the policy to cover transport expenses for affected travellers has not been disclosed.

 

The first flights to take off following the strike were from Toronto to Tokyo, Vancouver to Los Angeles and Montreal to Toronto.

 

But the airline advised passengers to only go to the airport if they hold a confirmed booking and their flights show as operating as it ramps up services.

 

A statement said: “Those with cancelled flights can obtain a full refund, a travel credit, or, ask to be rebooked on our Star Alliance partners or other airlines, although capacity is limited due to peak summer travel. 

 

“To assist in the rebooking process, Air Canada has designated 5,000 agents to assist customers in finding alternative travel.”

 

The airline’s chief operations officer Mark Nasr said: “We’re laser-focused on getting our customers moving again. 

 

“Restoring global operations will take up to 10 days, as aircraft and crew are out of position. Additionally, mandatory maintenance checks are required, as aircraft have been on the ground for more than three days. 

 

"Regrettably, during this period some flights will be canceled until the schedule is stabilised, and we’ll notify customers well in advance and provide options.”

 

He added: “When customers buy a ticket on Air Canada, we are making a commitment to deliver them safely and on schedule. 

 

"Following this disruption, we know confidence has been shaken. We’re working hard to fully restore their trust, starting by getting customers on their way again. 

 

"To do that, we will be introducing an exceptional policy tomorrow (Thursday) towards covering transportation expenses which customers may have incurred to get to their destination during this disruption. 

 

“As well, we’ve created a dashboard on our website so anyone can transparently track our progress as our operations return to normal. We look forward to welcoming our customers and flight attendants back onboard.”

 

The Canadian Union of Public Employees said: “Flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge have reached a tentative agreement, achieving transformational change for our industry after a historic fight to affirm our charter rights. Unpaid work is over."