Air Transat flight attendants could strike as early as January 3, 2024, a move that would throw the winter travel season into chaos.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced that its 2,100 flight attendant members at Air Transat approved a strike mandate by a nearly unanimous vote of 99.8%, by far the highest tally in the history of the Air Transat component of CUPE.
Union officials said the vote reflects the flight attendants’ exceptionally high level of dissatisfaction with their working conditions, particularly with wages and purchasing power. Following a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall outlook for the industry is once again extremely positive. they said.
“Over the past 15 years, our members have had to make significant sacrifices during challenging times for the industry. Now, faced with the dizzying rise in the cost of living and the industry’s favourable prospects, they are ready to take action. More than 50% of them have been forced to take on a second or even a third job to make ends meet, and their starting salary is only $26,577 per year,” said Dominic Levasseur, President of the Air Transat Component of CUPE.
“The next few weeks of negotiations will be critical. It is still possible to reach a tentative agreement without resorting to a strike, but that option cannot be excluded. The ball is in the employer’s court; they should be aware that our members have high expectations and are extremely motivated,” added Levasseur.
The collective agreement for these flight attendants based at airports in Montreal (YUL) and Toronto (YYZ) expired on October 31, 2022. Negotiations began officially on April 27, 2023. To date, there have been 33 negotiation sessions. Under the Canada Labour Code, a strike relating to this matter would be legal as of January 3, 2024. In the event of a strike, it should be anticipated that all flights will be canceled.
The issue of unpaid work is also a subject of the current negotiations. For more about that, visit https://unpaidworkwontfly.ca
AMERICANS’ FAVE CRUISE LINES
A new study finds Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Disney are the40age monthly searches per 100,000. Founded in Norway in 1968, Royal Caribbean is the largest cruise line by revenue, and the line utilizes its own private island, CocoCay, in the Bahamas on some of its itineraries. Royal Caribbean offers departures from many European and North American ports such as Southampton and Miami, alongside departures from Australia and Dubai.
In second is Carnival Cruises, with an average monthly search volume of 669.77 per 100,000 residents. Carnival’s beverage package costs $59.95 per person per day, and an additional service charge of 18% is added to this. Carnival also offers transatlantic and transpacific cruises alongside ports across the globe.
Third place goes to Disney Cruises, with an average of 301.18 monthly searches per 100,000. With ports in locations such as Hawaii and Texas, Disney Cruise Line has a large selection of destinations, with many holidays taking 4-6 days.
Norwegian was fourth with 240.43 searches per 100,000, while Princess Cruises came fifth (177.01).
RECORD DAY FOR TRAVEL IN THE STATES
If you were at a U.S. airport on Sunday and thought it was crazy busy, you’re right.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that Sunday Nov. 26 set an agency-wide record for the busiest air travel day ever.
All told, more than 2.9 million people were screened at airports across the United States on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
The previous high mark was just under 2.9 million people screened on June 30 of this year.
AIR CANADA CYBER MONDAY DEAL
For today (Nov. 27) only, you can save on all Air Canada destinations worldwide, plus take advantage of vacation packages, AC Gift Cards, car rentals, and hotel offers with the airlines’ Cyber Monday deal.
You can save 25% on US and Canada travel, and 20% off Mexico and the Caribbean.
