Air Canada Flight Attendants Officially on Strike, Flights Cancelled
Travel chaos erupted for countless Canadians as the union representing over 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants officially went on strike early Saturday morning. The strike commenced just before 1 a.m. ET, leaving thousands of travelers scrambling for alternatives as the airline cancelled numerous flights across the country.
Negotiations had been ongoing, but hopes for a last-minute agreement evaporated on Friday, setting the stage for this unprecedented action. The dispute highlights ongoing tensions between the airline and its staff, who have long voiced concerns about working conditions, wages, and job security.
As travelers flocked to airports, many faced uncertainty and frustration, with reports of long lines and overwhelmed customer service desks. The ripple effects are being felt not just by passengers but also by the broader travel industry, as Air Canada’s operational capabilities are severely compromised.
With both sides remaining steadfast in their positions, the future of the strike remains uncertain. Travelers are urged to stay informed about their flight statuses and to consider alternative travel arrangements as this situation unfolds. The eyes of the nation are on Air Canada, awaiting further developments in this significant labor dispute.
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If you have a moment, global news. Could you do a story on the WILDFIRE IN NEWFOUNDLAND
Zero education, zero skills = $15/hr
The flight attendants are greedy and don’t care about passengers. Do you know Asian airlines pay less to their flight attendants, but the flight attendants provide better service than AC? Though I have Elite Status of AC by flying often in business class, the AC flight attendants generally provide poor service…
You don’t require any education or specialized skill to be a flight attendant. Flight attendants are basically restaurant servers in the air. They need a pay cut!
Agree with their request, then increase the ticket fare, problem solved. No other solutions, since AC is monopoly in Canada!
AC has been going downhill for years
Don't like it? Quit.
At Air Canada if you are born in Canada & do not have a high school diploma you do not get a minimum wage job at McDonalds let alone Air Canada as a flight attendant but if you are NOT born in Canada high school diploma rules do not apply to you at Air Canada since it's equivalency will not math with Canada's low grade advertised as high grade education which now pays it's teachers $106 k per year when they used to get $40K a year 20 years ago !!!
And now the Canadian taxpayers money will have to dig them out again with no return to the taxpayer, ever. Just like the CBC they should be shut down.
Not gonna lie. Glad we're booked with WestJet for Tuesday.
Pay example for Flight Attendant hired in 2015:
Starting wage in 2015: $25.13/hour
Present wage in 2025 if Flight Attendant remains working in the same Flight Attendant position: $63.07/hour, more than 150% increase in pay since beginning career
Present wage in 2025 if now working as a Service Director:
o $73.03/hour on narrow-body aircraft, more than 190% increase in pay since beginning career
o $87.01/hour on wide-body aircraft, more than 246% increase in pay since beginning career
In more details:
The hourly pay is $41.39 for a Rouge flight attendant with 5 years of service, $63.07 for a mainline flight attendant with 10 years of service, and up to $87.01 for a service director.
A service director at Air Canada earned an average of $80,000 in 2024, excluding incentive rewards, and Health and Pension benefits. The role of the service director is to oversee onboard service. All flight attendants are eligible for this position.
Half of Air Canada mainline flight attendants earned more than $54,000 in 2024, excluding incentive rewards, and health and pension benefits. The median is influenced by the fact that about one third of flights attendants have been hired in the past 5 years. At the top of the scale, which they reach within 10 years, flight attendants can make more than $70,000.
Air Canada Rouge flight attendants would typically have the ability to transfer to Air Canada mainline after a few years. About 75% of Rouge flight attendants have been hired in the past 5 years.
Every month, cabin crew at Air Canada are guaranteed a minimum pay ranging between 65 and 80 credit hours whether they work these hours or not. An Air Canada Rouge flight attendant is guaranteed a minimum of 75 to 80 credit hours per month.
With respect to time spent onboarding and similar tasks performed on the ground, these are captured within the Formula pay defined by the collective agreement, which covers the Duty Period (Commencing one hour prior to flight departure / ending 15 minutes after flight arrival). If the employee is requested to be on duty outside of these times or to perform service to passengers on the ground, the collective agreement provides for additional compensation.
Hours worked and time off
Crew members at Air Canada are scheduled to fly between 71-80 credit hours[1] per month eight months per year and between 76-85 credit hours per month four months per year. Crew members at Air Canada Rouge are scheduled to fly up to 95 credit hours per month.
Air Canada cabin crew are guaranteed a minimum of 12 days off per month. Air Canada Rouge flight attendants are guaranteed a minimum of 10 days off per month.
Over the last 12 months, Air Canada cabin crew received an average of 16 days off per month and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants received an average of 14 days off per month.
On top of this, newly hired Air Canada flight attendants receive two weeks of paid vacation after their first year plus an additional 10 vacation days in lieu of statutory holidays.
The maximum annual vacation entitlement for Air Canada cabin crew is 35 days plus 10 additional days for statutory holidays, or 45 paid vacation/statutory holiday days per year.
Adding statutory holidays and bankable sick days to their vacation entitlements and scheduled time off, Air Canada flight attendants worked an average of 10 to 12 days a month. Rouge Flight Attendants worked an average of 12 to 14 days a month.
[1] Credit hours are calculated using a formula based on actual flight time, the “duty period”, or the amount of time the employee is at work on the ground and in the air, and “trip duration”, or how long the employee is away from their home base.
It’s worst air Canada , customer should not book they flight preset sue they will go bankrupt,Air Canada should get rid of CUPE
Why does the customers pay for their tickets and suffer
FORE EVERY SINGLE FLIGHT ATTENDANT ON STRIKE. THEY
MAKE MORE THAN ENOUGH. THEY ARE NOT PILOTS. FIRE THEM ASAP AND HIRE NEW
time for de-unionization, a lot of people are willing to take their jobs
Airlines shouldn’t be forced into chaos to satisfy unions. There are better ways to negotiate than canceling everyone’s plans.
Air Canada is going bad service, flight attends need more a better pays and service too
Note they do not say what exactly they get paid. 🤔
Stop the loot of Canadian taxpayer money, let the airline fold. Horrible airline. Useless services 😡
Good for you. Fight for yourselves
unions reward the poor and mediocre behavior
Stewardesses again?!?!?!?!
Shame on the stewardess!!! Get back to work or go home!!!
No competition from foreign airlines.
Just like canada post cut the salaries and bonuses from board members
We all need to support these workers and all striking workers across all industries. The wage gap between workers and executives has widened so much over the years the middle class is essentially completely dead in this country. To have the same purchasing power in the 70s the minimum wage would have to be $66 per hour.
Enough is enough.
Air Canada is a joke service is terrible and prices are outrageous time for Canada to get better airlines
Dont worry Canadians, Carney will use your tax dollars to bail out Air Canada once this is over.
The government should force Air Canada to pay minimum pay for every hour worked. I thought that is the law in Canada? If not, we do have government sponsored slave wages in Canada.
I hope this gets sorted before my flight home
Give the jobs to East Indian people
Air Canada flight attendants are the absolute worst. They should be getting their wages cut not increased.
They will be forced back,liberals need there immigration votes flown in.
I hope fellow Canadians show support for them and bring them lots of food because apparently juniors making 40k a year can't afford to feed themselves. You can buy a lot of good food all year for a quarter of that.. They all have spending problems and shopping addictions. They need to put their priorities first. They all have expensive phones hair makeup and nails. But not enough to buy food. We are lucky to live in a capitalist economy. Just do more/ Something else and capitalize.
That’s totally fine. I never book with Air Canada or the dirty Delta. American and United always. The staff at Air Canada are disinterested and rude.
strike for one year
They make like 60 bucks an hour, to serve you drinks, go sit down
Watch the Flight attendants fold as they are ordered to binding arbitration. The flying public will pay with attitude. Work to rule!
Who cares how much the CEO makes? As consumers, what we want is reliable service and good customer care—but Air Canada has been lacking in every aspect. Flight attendants often say, “We’re not just here to serve food and drinks.” Well, yes, but you’re not even doing that part well to begin with.
This whole situation feels like nothing more than a power struggle between management and the union—and every time, it’s the passengers who end up as the victims. Where was the union when the company was hiring new crews under these same contract terms? It’s not as if new employees had no idea what they were signing up for.
Frankly, I couldn’t care less who’s right or wrong when Air Canada, as a whole, doesn’t even meet industry-average standards. Just look at the Skytrax rankings—where Air Canada sits is embarrassing. Compare AC with any top-tier international airline and the difference is night and day.
Honestly, it feels shameful that they even use “Canada” in their name. So congratulations, Air Canada—you’ve once again proven that you are one of the worst full-service carriers out there. And sadly, Canadians are the ones stuck living with it.
Be careful, they will get Elon Musk robots and they will do this job.
I'm flying a few times a year…
I stopped using AC a long time ago , extremely unreliable .
Unions, always causing problems for everyone except those in them. They've outlived their purpose.