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Air Canada strike looms in a year of transport ‘chaos’

An Air Canada plane is seen at Pearson Airport in Toronto on July 24, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

By Analysis by The Big Story podcast

Posted September 11, 2024 6:11 am.

In today’s The Big Story podcast, the deadline for the airline to reach an agreement in the labour dispute with its pilots is still a week away, but already flyers are scrambling for alternatives as Air Canada plans to start cancelling flights as soon as this weekend. Tens of thousands of passengers a day may find their flights cancelled, and some may end up stranded far from home.

John Gradek is a program coordinator in Supply Chain, Logistics and Operations Management at McGill University and an expert on the aviation industry. “Delta, American, United, signed massive wage increases over the last 18-24 months,” says Gradek, “and that has a cascading effect, and we’re seeing that cascading effect, both in the WestJet negotiations earlier this year, and very much so now with Air Canada.”

This is the latest in a series of labour disputes that have hit North American transport this year, from airlines to rail and ports. So why is this all happening now?

You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify. You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.

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