Thousands of WestJet customers are scrambling after the airline cancelled more than 30 flights ahead of a possible strike by its plane mechanics this Thursday.
In an update Wednesday afternoon, the airline said about 6,500 travellers were booked on the cancelled trips, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. WestJet said the move reduces the potential for stranded passengers and ensures the carrier can avoid abandoning aircraft in far-flung locations.
Some 670 WestJet mechanics, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, are poised to walk off the job as early as Thursday evening after serving the airline with a strike notice earlier this week following months of negotiations.
The Calgary-based company has requested that the Canada Industrial Relations Board intervene with binding arbitration, which would see the labour tribunal hammer out a contract between the two sides — their first collective agreement. In the meantime, the board could bar a work stoppage, a measure WestJet is counting on as the cancellations rack up.
Union members voted overwhelmingly to reject a tentative deal last week and opposed the airline’s request for arbitration this week.
Passenger protection regulations entitle customers to a full refund in the original form of payment for the cancelled trips, said Gabor Lukacs, president of the Air Passenger Rights advocacy group.
If the strike goes ahead and WestJet cannot rebook passengers within 48 hours of the original departure time, the airline must “buy passengers seats on competitor airlines — at WestJet’s expense,” Lukacs said, citing the Air Passenger Protection Regulations.
For trips cancelled before the possible work stoppage, he argued that the carrier must rebook customers on competitors’ flights if they cannot get them on board WestJet planes within nine hours of the slated departure. The airline would also be on the hook for meals and accommodations as well as compensation — distinct from a refund — of between $400 and $1,000, depending on the length of the delay.
“If I were an affected passenger, I would give WestJet one chance to rebook me on a competitor. I would record the call/interaction. If ignored or refused, I would buy a ticket on a competitor, and then make WestJet pay for all the expenses plus the standard (passenger rights) compensation,” Lukacs said.
The airline said Wednesday it will make “every effort to re-accommodate disrupted guests.”
In response to a potential strike from its mechanics, WestJet has cancelled dozens of flights. The airline said the move reduces the potential for stranded passengers and ensures the carrier can avoid abandoning aircraft in far-flung locations.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the 31 cancellations comprised 18 for that day and 13 on Thursday. They touched cities ranging from Toronto and Vancouver to Regina and Grande Prairie, Alta.
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