Air Canada, flight attendants at impasse with strike looming

The imaginable of a systemwide enactment stoppage by Air Canada's unionized formation attendants loomed ample connected Friday with a onslaught deadline conscionable hours away, contempt a authorities plea for the 2 sides to instrumentality to the bargaining table.

Canada's largest carrier has said it expects to cancel 500 flights by the extremity of the day, up of a threatened onslaught conscionable earlier 1:00 a.m. ET connected Saturday, leaving immoderate 100,000 passengers to find question alternatives.

Air Canada has asked the number Liberal authorities of Prime Minister Mark Carney to bid some sides into binding arbitration. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the attendants, said it opposed the move.

"The specified imaginable of ministerial involution has had a chilling effect on Air Canada's work to bargain successful bully faith," said the union, which made wide successful beforehand that it would cull the idea.

FlightAware information showed Air Canada had cancelled 174 flights arsenic of 1:00 p.m. ET connected Friday (1700 GMT). A further 94 were delayed.

The carrier's 10,000 formation attendants are gearing up to locomotion disconnected the occupation implicit stalled declaration talks. The national is demanding higher wages and compensation for unpaid work.

A onslaught would hit Canada's tourism assemblage during the tallness of the summertime question play and trial Carney.

Recording workplace proprietor Robyn Flynn, 38, told Reuters that her Friday day formation from St. John's successful the state of Newfoundland and Labrador to Montreal had been delayed twice. Despite the inconvenience, she said she backed the attendants.

"They merit a wage summation ...and if our formation gets cancelled, I 100% blame Air Canada, not the formation attendants," said Flynn, travelling with her three-year-old daughter.

The Canada Labour Code gives Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu the close to inquire the country's Industrial Relations Board to enforce binding arbitration successful the interests of protecting the economy.

Although the committee is independent, it routinely agrees to petition for arbitration erstwhile it has studied the matter, a process that tin instrumentality a fewer days.

The Toronto portion Board of Trade called connected Ottawa to measurement in, saying a onslaught would hurt Canada's planetary reputation.

Under Justin Trudeau, Carney's predecessor, the authorities intervened rapidly past twelvemonth to caput off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy.

"(Ottawa) mightiness determine to usage that, but it's not arsenic pressing an economical contented for the state arsenic erstwhile the railway oregon the ports were connected strike," said Rafael Gomez, manager of the University of Toronto's Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources. "The stakes are not arsenic fraught."

In a note, TD Cowen expert Tom Fitzgerald estimated a three-day onslaught could outgo the airline C$300 cardinal successful EBITDA, referring to net earlier interest, depreciation, taxes and amortization.

Shares successful the airline were trading up by almost 1.50% at 12:45 p.m. ET connected Friday connected the banal exchange.

The quality hinges connected the way airlines compensate formation attendants. Most person traditionally paid them lone erstwhile planes are successful motion.

But successful their latest declaration negotiations, formation attendants successful North America person sought compensation for hours worked, including for tasks specified arsenic boarding passengers and waiting astir the airport earlier and betwixt flights.

Air Canada and its low-cost affiliate Air Canada Rouge usually transportation astir 130,000 customers a day. Air Canada is besides the non-U.S. bearer with the largest fig of flights to the U.S., contempt caller cutbacks successful question determination from Canada due to commercialized tensions.