ots negotiated a new labour deal and averted a disruptive, countrywide shutdown.
“I wasn’t looking forward to an Air Canada strike, because I booked this ticket like a month and a half back, so a last-minute change would have been pretty bad,” said Arjun Pandit, who was heading to New York City for work. “It would have halted the entire trip.” The tentative agreement averts a strike or lockout that could have begun as early as Wednesday for Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, with flight cancellations expected before then.
The union issued a statement after midnight Sunday, saying if ratified, the tentative agreement will generate an approximate additional $1.9 billion of value for Air Canada pilots over the course of the agreement. A full-scale shutdown seemed likely in the days leading up to Sunday’s announcement. The two sides had said they remained far apart on the issue of pay, a central sticking point in the negotiations that had stretched for more than a year.