Air Canada back in the air, fingers crossed

This morning’s Canadian newspapers are full of tales of woe caused the Air Canada flight crew strike. Passengers stranded, ignored, refused assistance or compensation.

But at last there is good news for those who choose to fly with the comedy capers airline.

Not me. This time I arrived in Canada with Qatar Airways. A slightly longer flight sure, but at least I wasn’t stranded in Vancouver for days.

Today’s update: crew at Air Canada have privisionally ended the dispute with the airline which had grounded flights and stranded thousands of passengers since Saturday.

A tentative agreement was announced by the union representing flight attendants and confirmed by the airline, which said flights will resume later on Tuesday. 

More than 10,000 staff had walked out in protest at pay and scheduling. The full deal has not been disclosed, although the union said it achieves "transformational change" for workers and the industry.

The agreement will now be presented to members to be ratified.

The breakthrough came nine hours after talks began with the help of an approved mediator appointed by the government.

"Unpaid work is over," said the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in a statement early on Tuesday, calling the negotiations a "historic fight" for the industry.

The union also advised its members to "fully co-operate with resumption of operations".

The dispute between Air Canada and the union had escalated when CUPE rejected an order to return to work issued by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board, which deemed the strike "unlawful" in a ruling on Monday.

Following news of a tentative deal, Air Canada said the first flights would restart on Tuesday evening, but it may take days to return to a full service because aircraft and crew are out of position.

In contract negotiations, Air Canada said it had offered flight attendants a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year.

CUPE said the offer was "below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage" and would still leave flight attendants unpaid for some hours of work, including boarding and waiting at airports ahead of flights.

The four-day strike has reportedly impacted more than 500,000 passengers, Air Canada has said.