Air Canada says it’s been forced to cut summer flights by about 15% to accommodate problems in the industry.
In a letter sent to customers on June 29, the company said it apologizes for the inconveniences.
“At Air Canada, we know how important travel plans are,” President and CEO Michael Rousseau said in a statement. “This is even more the case today when many are taking their first trip in years following the pandemic.”
Air Canada officials said in statements to the media that roughly 154 flights will be cut per day, which is roughly 15% of their daily routes. Most of the cancelled flights will be in or out of Toronto and Montreal and will mostly be evening routes with smaller aircraft. Overseas flights will not be affected.
The Toronto Star reports that several routes are being cancelled outright for July and August, including Montreal-Pittsburgh, Montreal-Kelowna, and Toronto-Fort MacMurray. A Charlottetown airport official told the CBC that one morning flight from PEI to Montreal and another from Charlottetown to Toronto were being cancelled.
“It’s certainly not the news we want to hear as recovery comes back, but it’s better than, I think, putting a schedule on that they can’t operate reliably,” said airport CEO Doug Newson.
The Globe and Mail says Air Canada cancelled some 350 flights out of Toronto Pearson in the first week of June.
An Air Canada spokesman told me customers who had their flights cancelled will be eligible for full refunds.
It also wasn’t clear if other airlines will follow suit.
“Air Transat has not received any requests to reduce flights and does not anticipate any cancellations at the moment,” a spokesperson told me in an email this morning (June 30).
Delays and cancellations have been a major issue for airlines across Canada and around the world as travel rebounds to pre-pandemic levels.
“Whether for long‑anticipated vacations, visits with relatives and friends, or for business, we are grateful and recognize our responsibility when people like you entrust your travel to our airline,” Rousseau said in his letter. “Regrettably, things are not business as usual in our industry globally, and this is affecting our operations and our ability to serve you with our normal standards of care. The COVID‑19 pandemic brought the world air transport system to a halt in early 2020. Now, after more than two years, global travel is resurgent, and people are returning to flying at a rate never seen in our industry.
“This surge in travel has created unprecedented and unforeseen strains on all aspects of the global aviation system,” Rosseau said. “Around the world, there are recurring incidents of flight delays and airport congestion, resulting from a complex array of persistent factors impacting airlines and our partners in the aviation ecosystem. Similar effects are being seen in other industries too, where companies and suppliers are struggling to restart, unclog supply chains and meet pent‑up demand.
“At Air Canada, we anticipated many of these factors and began taking tangible action during the depth of the pandemic to be ready for a rapid restart. Yet, despite detailed and careful planning, the largest and fastest scale of hiring in our history, as well as investments in aircraft and equipment, it is now clear that Air Canada’s operations too have been disrupted by the industry’s complex and unavoidable challenges.
“The result has been flight cancellations and customer service shortfalls on our part that we would never have intended for our customers or for our employees, and for which we sincerely apologize,” Rousseau said.
“In response, we took a number of important steps, including introducing flexible ticket policies, new travel self-management tools, improvements to airport operations, as well adjustments to our schedule ‑ all to strengthen operational resiliency and to give customers more options. However, to bring about the level of operational stability we need, with reluctance, we are now making meaningful reductions to our schedule in July and August in order to reduce passenger volumes and flows to a level we believe the air transport system can accommodate.
“This was not an easy decision, as it will result in additional flight cancellations that will have a negative impact on some customers. But doing this in advance allows affected customers to take time to make other arrangements in an orderly manner, rather than have their travel disrupted shortly before or during their journey, with few alternatives available. It will also enable us to more reliably serve all customers.
“I can assure you Air Canada is also working in close cooperation with airports, government, and its third‑party service providers, who all are striving to return our industry to pre‑pandemic standards of operation,” he said.
“We are convinced these changes will bring about the improvements we have targeted. But to set expectations, it should also be understood the real benefits of this action will take time and be felt only gradually as the industry regains the reliability and robustness it had attained prior to the pandemic.
“On behalf of all of us at Air Canada, please accept my sincere apologies for any disruption you have experienced or may experience with your travel plans during this unprecedented period. I also assure you that we very clearly see the challenges at hand, that we are taking action, and that we are confident we have the strategy to address them. This is our company’s chief focus at every level,” Rousseau said.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding. We certainly look forward to future opportunities to serve you and regain your loyalty at a time when we can better demonstrate our commitment to taking good care of customers such as yourself.”
Former Toronto Mayor David Miller said on his Twitter feed (@iamdavidmiller) that it’s clear that airline problems “are nothing to do with vaccine mandates, testing or the ArriveCAN App. Logistical and staffing issues are the admitted problem. Not health measures, the Government or the PM.
“Good to see Air Canada acknowledge the facts,” he said.
