A potential Air Canada pilot strike could impact your travel. Here's what to do about it

With a potential pilot strike looming, Air Canada is preparing to suspend its operations in a shutdown that could impact tens of thousands of passengers.

Canada's largest airline and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents more than 5,000 Air Canada pilots, are negotiating over the union's wage demands. Air Canada pilots are seeking compensation in line with what their U.S. counterparts make.

"What the airline can do is to diminish the impact on the travellers and that's what Air Canada is trying to do now," said Frederic Dimanche, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and the director of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

WATCH | How a shutdown could leave passengers scrambling: 

Air Canada strike could leave passengers scrambling

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Air Canada is preparing to start cancelling flights ahead of a potential pilots’ strike next week, leaving passengers looking for other travel options.

He said that giving travellers an opportunity to reschedule their flight or offering them credits — as Air Canada is doing — is "the very minimum" the airline can do.

"I think it's important for people to be aware that a strike is potentially coming and that they need to make some arrangements."

Here's how a potential strike could impact your travel plans, and what you can do about it.

What to know about a potential strike

A strike or lockout can't take place before the 21-day cooling period that began on Aug. 27, after the pilot union voted overwhelmingly in favour of authorizing a strike.

While Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights would be impacted by a potential strike, Air Canada Express (which includes the Jazz and PAL carriers), are not involved in the negotiations. Their flights will continue to operate normally.

A spokesperson for Air Canada also confirmed to CBC News that flights operated by one of its airline partners (e.g. Lufthansa) wouldn't be impacted by a disruption.

Sunday, Sept. 15: Air Canada could start suspending its operations.

Sept. 15-18: If an agreement isn't reached, the airline or the union will likely issue a 72-hour strike notice or lockout notice, triggering a three-day wind-down plan. 

Both Air Canada and its low-cost subsidiary Air Canada Rouge will prepare to suspend flights over the course of three days, starting on Sunday.

If a traveller's flight is cancelled once a strike or lockout notice is issued, Air Canada will notify the passenger, who will be eligible for a full refund. The airline said passengers customers will "typically" get 12 to 24 hours' notice of a cancellation during the wind-down phase.

But they won't be entitled to any additional compensation under the Airline Passenger Protection Regulations.

Wednesday, Sept. 18: Following the three-day wind-down, a total shutdown of Air Canada's operations would start at 12:01 a.m. on this day. 

After Sept. 18: Once a complete shutdown has occurred, Air Canada anticipates it will take seven to 10 days for normal operations to resume.

Making changes to your booking

Customers who booked a ticket or redeemed points for an Aeroplan flight reward on Sept. 9 or earlier — for travel scheduled between Sept. 15 and 23 — can make changes to their bookings now for free, according to Air Canada's goodwill policy.

You can rebook your flight with an Air Canada carrier (including Rouge and Express) to another date between Sept. 9 and 14, and/or between Sept. 24 and Nov. 30, 2024.

If you booked your travel through a third-party service, the airline is advising passengers to contact the travel agent or company directly.

WATCH | Strike will have 'disproportionate' impact on travellers, says ex-COO: 

Possible Air Canada pilot strike will disproportionately affect travellers, former COO says

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Air Canada is finalizing plans to suspend most of its operations, likely beginning Sunday, as talks with the pilot union near an impasse over ‘inflexible’ wage demands, the country's largest airline said on Monday. Duncan Dee, the former chief operating officer of Air Canada, says this will have a ‘disproportionate impact,’ particularly impacting travellers east of Toronto to Atlantic Canada.

If you cancel your flight

Customers who choose to cancel their flights will get a full refund if they purchased a refundable fare. A cancellation fee could apply depending on the type of ticket purchased.

If you bought your ticket using Aeroplan points, you can cancel and have your points redeposited into your account.

If you bought a non-refundable ticket, you can get a one-time credit for future travel the next time you book with Air Canada, but there is an expiry date attached to the credit and it's non-transferable.

The airline will notify you if your flight gets cancelled, and you'll be eligible for a full refund regardless of the fare you purchased. No cancellation fees will apply.

The airline will also try to rebook you on a different flight, though it cautions that space is limited.

CBC News asked Air Canada whether passengers who are stranded abroad during a strike would be eligible for additional compensation or accommodations if their flight home were to be cancelled. In response, the airline said that would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

"It will be case dependent as different countries and jurisdictions have different regulations about such things, but our policy is to abide by all applicable laws," read an email.

The Air Canada website notes: "If you are contacted by someone claiming to represent Air Canada offering to change your booking, please be aware we will never ask for your booking reference or locator number, as we already have that information."