Air Canada has revealed that its third-quarter results took a heavy blow from the flight attendants strike that cancelled thousands of flights in mid-August.
The Montreal-headquartered carrier disclosed on 24 September the “full impact of the labour disruption” that resulted in some 3,200 flight cancellations, including a C$375 million ($270 million) loss of operating income and a C$430 million revenue hit as a result of the strike.
Losses are “mainly due to refunds issued to customers, customer compensation and lower-than-expected travel bookings”, Air Canada says.
Air Canada incurred C$90 million in costs related specifically to reimbursing passengers for disrupted flights.
However, it estimates that C$145 million in cost-reductions were realised as a result of less flying during the period, “largely attributed to lower fuel expenses”.
Air Canada now forecasts that its year-on-year capacity increase over the July-September period of 2024 will be about 2% lower than expected.
The carrier pulled previously issued financial guidance for the full year of 2025 as a result of the strike.
Air Canada’s operations became completely immobilised for several days in the middle of August as 10,000 flight attendants represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) walked off the job.
Aircraft and crews were left out of position as a result of the work stoppage but Air Canada’s network rebounded relatively quickly. It was operating a nearly full flight schedule just a few days after the strike ended on 19 August.
The flight attendants’ union tentatively agreed to a new four-year contract securing compensation increases. Several weeks later, however, the contract still requires approval from CUPE members and some issues remain in dispute.
”Air Canada and CUPE are proceeding to arbitration to finalise the wage portion of the four-year tentative agreement,” the airline says. ”No labour disruption can be initiated by either party during the arbitration process or the term of the new agreement.”
