Air Canada Offering 25 Percent New Booking Discount, Extra Aeroplan Points After Dodging Strike

Air Canada logos are seen on the tails of planes at the airport in Montreal on June 26, 2023. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Air Canada is working to win back customers after an anticipated pilot strike was averted, offering travellers flight discounts, free re-booking, and bonus Aeroplan points.

The airline is offering a 25 percent discount on worldwide Standard, Premium Economy Low, and Business Class Low fares. The discounts are available until Sept. 18 and apply to travel through May 31, 2025. The offer also includes a bonus of 2,500 Aeroplan points.

“The reason we are making these offers available is that we realize the negotiations were attended by a degree of uncertainty for customers, some of whom may have deferred booking in recent weeks,” an Air Canada spokesperson told The Epoch Times in a Sept. 16 email. “The sale is our way of thanking customers for their patience and understanding.”

The offer follows Air Canada avoiding a potential pilot strike. On Sept. 15, the airline announced a tentative four-year collective agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents over 5,200 pilots at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge. Pilots have been advocating for higher pay, saying that flight crews at major U.S. airlines earn about double what those at Air Canada receive.

Before the agreement was reached, Air Canada implemented a goodwill policy allowing customers to change their flights at no cost due to the uncertainty surrounding the negotiations. The airline now says travellers can revert to their original travel plans, also without any charges, provided the flights are between Sept. 24 and Nov. 30.

The Epoch Times requested additional comment from Air Canada on the number of travellers who changed their flights due to the anticipated disruption but did not receive a response by publication time.

Disruption

The potential strike had raised concerns among travellers about the reliability of upcoming flights, causing uncertainty and anxiety as customers reconsidered their travel plans.

Reena Walia from Toronto said she lost sleep when the potential strike threatened to disrupt her annual vacation with her husband.

Walia said her brother-in-law was scheduled to travel from France to care for her 93-year-old mother-in-law during their absence. The plan was at risk if his Air Canada flight from Paris to Toronto, scheduled for Sept. 20, was affected.

“We are in a conundrum now; we cannot travel unless he is able to travel here. We have no family here, so we are unable to make alternate arrangements for my mother-in-law unless we spend a lot of money to leave her in a retirement home,” she told The Epoch Times on Sept. 13.

Walia expressed understanding for the pilots but also found their wage expectations “a little unfair,” asking, “Do doctors, engineers, and other professionals make as much as their U.S. counterparts?”

Chandra Philip and Tara MacIsaac contributed to this report.