Air Canada Flight Attendants Vote on Tentative Wage Agreement

Air Canada’s flight attendants are casting ballots on a tentative wage deal reached with the airline on August 19, following a four-day strike that grounded thousands of passengers and forced Canada’s largest carrier back to the negotiating table.

The vote, focused solely on the wage component of the deal, will determine whether the agreement is ratified or referred to binding arbitration. If rejected, attendants cannot launch another legal strike, potentially prolonging the standoff and weighing on Air Canada’s 2025 financial outlook. Results are expected after 3 p.m. local time on Saturday.

The strike highlighted attendants’ push for pay covering the entirety of their work hours, from check-in until duty ends, rather than only when the aircraft is in motion, as is standard under current compensation systems. The dispute has echoed across North America, with U.S. union leaders citing the Canadian strike as momentum for their own wage battles, including at United Airlines.

Under the proposed four-year contract, junior flight attendants would receive wage increases of up to 20 percent, while experienced crew members would see raises of around 16 percent. Additional provisions include pre-flight pay of 60 minutes on narrow-body aircraft and 70 minutes on wide-body jets. Compensation would start at 50 percent of an hour’s pay in the first year, rising to 70 percent by the fourth year.

Still, many attendants voiced frustration, saying the deal fails to address unpaid work and does not keep pace with surging living costs in high-expense cities like Toronto, where some crew members hold multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Union president Mark Hancock of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) noted that negotiations unfolded under legal pressure, warning that attendants risked criminal charges and financial penalties if a settlement was not reached.

Whether attendants accept or reject the deal, the outcome is expected to set a precedent for ongoing labor disputes in North America’s aviation industry.