Air Canada Announces Mass Cancellations Amid Pending Strike
On Friday, Aug. 15 Air Canada announced mass cancellations ahead of a potential strike from the airline's flight attendants, who are seeking a raise.
Earlier this week, The airline revealed it offered a 38 percent raise in compensation over four years, which the airline argued would have made them the highest paid flight attendants in Canada, with a 25 percent raise in the first year.
The flight attendants' union rebuffed the offer and gave Air Canada a 72-hour strike notice that led the airline to start canceling flights as early as Thursday, Aug. 14. On Thursday, Air Canada revealed it canceled just 34 flights.
Friday brought many more, though.
How Many Air Canada Flights Have Been Canceled?
On Friday, Aug. 15 at 12 p.m. ET, the airline announced 294 flights have been canceled so far with over 55,000 travelers impacted by the cancellations.
The cancellations come following a warning from the airline to travelers earlier in the week. "Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge carry approximately 130,000 customers a day who could be affected by a disruption, this includes the 25,000 Canadians that the airline flies home from abroad each day, who could be stranded," the airline said in a statement.
Air Canada Set to Suffer Big Financial Loss
As the cancellations continue, former Air Canada executive John Graduk revealed the airline is set to lose up "at least" $50-60 million every day of a potential strike.
"A strike will cost them $50-60 million a day in lost revenue. At least $50-60 million. So this is not trivial, this is a significant amount of revenue lost," Gradek said. "The margins in the business are not great so after a four or five day strike and the loss of that revenue and the loss of trust and reputation that Air Canada [will suffer] in the marketplace, I'm pretty sure Air Canada will come back to the table pretty quickly."
Air Canada offered information for those scheduled to fly on the airline over the next few days as the strike is planned for Aug. 16.
Related: How Much Money Will Air Canada Lose per Day if Flight Attendants Strike?