Okay babes, so like, Air Canada literally said bye-bye skies and the flight attendants totally walked off the job at 1 a.m. Saturday in what is basically Canada’s biggest airport runway meltdown since, like, forever. And omg, if you had travel plans? Yeah, so sorry, but your vacay just got downgraded to “Netflix and cry.”
Here’s the sitch: negotiations between Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)—which reps about 10,000 flight attendants—hit a total brick wall this week. The union was like, “pay us fairly, duh,” and the airline was like, “umm, arbitration please?” and then both sides ghosted each other harder than a bad Tinder date. By Friday, the company had already cancelled around 623 flights, wrecking plans for over 100,000 people. By Saturday? They were estimating like 1,000 flights wiped out. We’re talking over 130,000 travellers stranded with their iced coffees and no boarding passes.
The tea: flight attendants voted 99.7% in favour of striking (yes, girl, that’s like a solid A+ in strike school). They’ve been dragging Air Canada for years for basically making them work tons of hours for free. Like, they’re not paid for the time they spend doing safety checks, boarding passengers, or handling emergencies. So while they’re keeping us alive at 30,000 feet? Yeah, not on the payroll. One CUPE rep said that some rookie attendants earn less than minimum wage when you actually divide their total hours by their pay. That’s, like, criminally cringe.
Air Canada tried to look generous and offered what they called a “best in Canada” deal: a 12–16% pay bump in the first year, plus “industry leading” ground pay changes. Buttttt they didn’t exactly say what those changes are (mystery box vibes). Over four years, they dangled a 17.2% wage increase. Sounds kinda shiny until you realize inflation basically ate that number for breakfast. The union was like, “cute, but no.”
Meanwhile, passengers are totally caught in the middle. The airline started shutting things down Thursday, like easing out of a bad party before the cops come. Customers with flights between Aug. 15–18 can rebook free for dates between Aug. 21 and Sept. 12, or they can grab a refund or travel credit. Air Canada’s also trying to shove people onto partner airlines, but let’s be real, if you’re standing in line at Pearson right now, you’re probs crying in your Tim Hortons double-double.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu even tried to play referee. Air Canada begged her for binding arbitration, but the union was like, “umm no thanks, we’re not letting you outsource our fight.” So Patty’s basically stuck playing mom between two kids throwing Lego at each other.
The union’s even posted a “strike website” with all the receipts, and members are picketing outside major airports in full force—Toronto’s line kicked off at 3:30 a.m. because flight attendants apparently have no fear of bad lighting.
And omg, the vibes are soooo déjà vu because just last year, Air Canada’s pilots got a new contract with a massive 42% pay raise over four years. Like, imagine sitting in the jump seat watching pilots cash in while you’re serving ginger ale for free.
So where does this leave Canada? Basically grounded. Air Canada’s 700 daily flights are now toast until someone caves. The company says their total comp package is, like, fabulous, but the union insists they’re still being underpaid queens. Right now? It’s giving “he said, she said, you missed your wedding in Cancun.”
For travellers? Pack patience. For Air Canada? Maybe start a GoFundMe for vibes. And for flight attendants? Honestly? Respect, babes. They’re literally the people who tell us to put our seatbelts on—and now they’re putting their foot down.
XOXO,
Valley Girl News
Pledging allegiance to the drama, especially when it comes with lost luggage
