Air Canada battles labour woes, competition and poor earnings
With pilots calling a strike vote, disappointing earnings, and a competitor launching a regional airline, Air Canada is getting battered from all directions.
As the airline reported lower than expected fourth-quarter earnings due to higher fuel and maintenance costs on Thursday, the pilots’ union asked members for a strike mandate.
It’s the latest labour uncertainty for the airline, which faced repeated strike threats last year including a brief three-day walkout by its customer-service agents.
Air Canada’s president and CEO Calin Rovinescu told analysts on a conference call Thursday that the company is prepared to negotiate beyond the 12:01 a.m. Tuesday deadline, and it won’t impose any contract in the “short term.”
The union has fired back that it offered to push back the deadline until April 2 — and not hold any strike vote until late March — but it was rejected.
