Upstart Canadian discount air carrier WestJet promises to fly to the rescue if flight attendants for Air Canada go on strike Wednesday.
The Calgary, Alberta-based airline announced Sunday that it would add extra flights to accommodate Air Canada passengers stranded by a potential strike.
Air Canada and WestJet have several daily international flights between Canadian cities and Las Vegas.
“Based on available aircraft and crew, we will be adding extra flights in domestic and trans-border markets as demand warrants,” Cam Kenyon, WestJet executive vice president, operations, said in a news release. “As events unfold, we will begin to add flights so that impact to the traveling public is minimized.”
Canadian Labor Minister Lisa Raitt is expected to meet today with representatives of Air Canada’s management and leaders of the airline’s flight attendant union to build an agreement before a Wednesday strike deadline. The Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees gave notice Friday of flight attendants’ intent to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Contract disputes include wage, work rule and pension issues. The flight attendants have appealed for public support in advertisements. Air Canada says it has a contingency plan in place to use management and replacement workers if the flight attendants walk out.
Air Canada has daily flights between Las Vegas and Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia, all markets also served by WestJet.
“Flight schedules are being prepared initially from Sept. 21 to Sept. 25, and will be updated as required,” Kenyon said. “In addition, September is a shoulder season in the travel industry when typically there are fewer people flying. In fact, based on current flight loads, there are more than 20,000 empty seats available every day on WestJet aircraft right now. If their plans are impacted by potential strike action, travelers will have choices.”