Air Canada planes sit on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport in Toronto.MIKE CASSESE/Reuters
Air Canada says it has contingency plans in place to operate a full flight schedule if a strike hits next week, but the airline is warning travellers to prepare for long lineups at the airport.
The country's largest carrier is recommending that passengers obtain boarding passes online, show up early at the airport on Tuesday and avoid checking in bags, if possible.
A strike could take effect at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, said the Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents airport customer service agents and call centre staff.
Air Canada said it has lined up a "limited" number of managers to replace unionized airport staff, but it intends to stick to its slate of flights.
"Should a strike occur, we have non-unionized staff trained and available to ensure a continued operation. They will be on hand at airports to assist you with things such as using our self-serve check-in and baggage-tagging kiosks," said a letter posted Saturday on the airline's website by Susan Welscheid, Air Canada's senior vice-president of customer service.
"Kiosks are available at the nine Canadian airports that will be affected in the event of a labour disruption (St. John's, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver)," she wrote.
The CAW issued strike notice against Air Canada late Friday, clearing the way for a walkout by 3,800 sales and service agents next week.
"We are determined to reach a fair and equitable collective agreement that will reflect the contributions our members have made to bring Air Canada back to prosperity," CAW Local 2002 president Jamie Ross said in a statement.
In an interview, Ms. Ross said union members are especially concerned about management's plans to slash defined-benefit pension payments to new retirees by roughly 40 per cent.
The CAW also opposes management's proposal to place new hires on defined-contribution pensions, which don't provide a guaranteed level of payout upon retirement.
As well, the union is balking at management's bid to make it tougher to attain early retirement - staff in existing defined-benefit pension plans would have to work 30 years to qualify, instead of the current 25 years.
But Air Canada argues that its existing defined-benefit plans are in jeopardy because of the heavy burden of pension funding.
The Montreal-based airline recently resumed making regular payments to its pension plans, after a 21-month moratorium on past service contributions expired at the end of 2010.
Air Canada estimates that it will be on the hook for $1.6-billion in pension-funding contributions over the next four years. Company payments are forecast to soar in 2014 because a cap on pension contributions previously negotiated with unions will expire at the end of 2013.
The airline stressed that it will strive to minimize the impact on travellers, if there is a strike.
However, the carrier added that it's still focused achieving a settlement. "Air Canada is firmly committed to negotiating a new contract with the CAW and avoiding strike action," Air Canada chief operating officer Duncan Dee said in a statement. "We appreciate this situation may cause uncertainty for our customers and we thank them for their patience and understanding."
Air Canada placed full-page advertisements Saturday in newspapers across the country, saying: "Arrivals. Departures. You can count on us."
In issuing 72-hour strike notice after 10 weeks of contract talks, union leaders hope to pressure management to withdraw the pension proposals and also exclude the CAW from any concessions sought for launching a low-cost carrier.
Brent Jang