MONTREAL- Air Canada (AC) flight attendants have ended their three-day strike, which grounded flights at Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and other airports, but dissatisfaction lingers as many crew members argue the tentative agreement fails to address unpaid work.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will now begin a ratification vote on August 27, where over 10,000 flight attendants from Air Canada and its leisure subsidiary Air Canada Rouge must decide whether the deal truly delivers meaningful change.
Photo: Air Canada (Representative Image)Air Canada Attendants Can Challenge New Deal
The central issue for cabin crew is unpaid labor, a practice long embedded in North American aviation. Flight attendants at most airlines are only compensated from the moment an aircraft pushes back from the gate until it arrives at its destination.
All other time spent on duty — including pre-boarding checks, assisting passengers during boarding, waiting for delays, and post-flight responsibilities — is unpaid.
Air Canada’s strike forced management back to the negotiating table after crews defied government back-to-work orders. The resulting tentative agreement includes boarding pay, initially set at 50% of regular hourly flying pay. That rate is scheduled to rise to 60% in 2026, 65% in 2027, and 70% in 2028.
While this marks an improvement, many flight attendants feel the proposal falls short. Their demand is clear: compensation for all ground duty time, not just boarding. Critics argue that boarding pay alone still leaves significant amounts of mandatory work unpaid, PYOK reported.
Photo: Air CanadaComparisons Across North America
The issue of unpaid ground time is not unique to Air Canada. Delta Air Lines (DL), a non-union carrier, was the first in North America to introduce boarding pay.
Delta pays flight attendants half of their standard hourly rate for boarding, a model quickly adopted at American Airlines (AA), Alaska Airlines (AS), and SkyWest (OO).
United Airlines (UA) flight attendants recently rejected a similar tentative agreement because it offered only boarding pay at half rate, without addressing broader ground duty compensation. That rejection has added pressure across the industry, highlighting growing frustration with the limited scope of current contracts.
Air Canada’s deal, though more progressive than some competitors’, risks rejection for the same reason: flight attendants want full recognition for every hour they are on duty, not just when the aircraft is airborne.
Photo: Air CanadaThe Stakes for Air Canada and Its Workforce
The strike demonstrated the significant leverage flight attendants hold. Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded across Canadian hubs, including Vancouver International (YVR), Toronto Pearson (YYZ), and Montréal-Trudeau (YUL). The disruption underscored how essential cabin crew are to airline operations.
If CUPE members reject the tentative deal, Air Canada could face renewed unrest and the possibility of further strikes. More importantly, it may trigger a wider shift in the North American airline industry toward comprehensive duty-based pay models rather than the traditional flight-time-only system.
Such a change would likely benefit junior flight attendants, who typically work multiple short-haul flights each day.
For them, ground duties and repeated boarding processes make up a large share of their working hours. Paying for all duty time would create a more equitable pay structure.
Photo: Air CanadaWhat Comes Next?
Voting results will determine whether Air Canada moves forward with this contract or returns to the bargaining table under pressure from its workforce.
Either way, the strike has spotlighted an outdated pay system that leaves crew members working many hours unpaid.
The outcome could set a precedent not just in Canada but across North America, shaping how airlines approach compensation for one of the most visible — yet often undervalued — groups of employees in the industry.
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