After initially announcing a gradual suspension of flights, Air Transat says flights scheduled for Monday will “operate as planned.”
The airline is also launching a “special program” to bring back passengers who might be stranded because of a possible strike later this week.
The statement comes as a strike, led by the Air Lines Pilots Association (ALPA), could hit the airline as soon as Wednesday.
“Air Transat wishes to inform its customers and the public that negotiations with the union representing our pilots continued throughout the night and we have made progress,” spokesperson for the airline told Global News in a statement.
Negotiations continued Monday, the airline said.
“We are working tirelessly and still hope to reach an agreement during the day to minimize disruptions to operations,” the statement added.
The union told Global News on Monday that negotiations with the airline “extended into the early morning hours and resumed later this morning.”
On Sunday, the airline said it would start cancelling flights as early as Monday, with a “complete suspension” of operations expected by Tuesday – ahead of a strike Wednesday.
Get daily National news
On Monday, it said, “For now, flights scheduled for December 8 operate as planned.”
Air Transat said it is also “are launching a special program to bring back as many travelers as possible.”
The program will see passengers who had return flights scheduled for Wednesday return on Monday.
“We are communicating directly with affected passengers to provide all necessary information and facilitate their return. These measures could change quickly if a tentative agreement is reached with the union,” Air Transat said.
Pilots working for Air Transat had voted overwhelmingly to give their union a strike mandate last week.
On Sunday, the union gave the company a 72-hour strike notice.
Pilots could walk off the job as soon as 3 a.m. Eastern standard time on Wednesday.
As a result, Air Transat says it “must immediately begin planning for the cancellation of its flights and the repatriation of passengers, crews, and aircraft to prevent them from being stranded abroad if the strike occurs.”
“The goal is to bring back everyone to their point of origin,” the airline said in a statement Sunday.
The company said it is instituting a “flexibility policy” for customers travelling over the next five days, “allowing them to change or postpone their travels at no additional cost.”
The airline said customers whose flights are cancelled will receive a new ticket on the next available flight within 48 hours of their original departure time, if that option exists.
Failing that, the airline said it will issue a refund for the unused portion of the trip.
Customers can refuse the alternative offered by Air Transat and will be entitled to a refund for the unused ticket.
Passengers are encouraged to check the status of their flight before leaving for the airport.
In its strike notice on Sunday, the Air Line Pilots Association said the “unproductive bargaining” process and Air Transat management would be responsible for “every canceled flight and stranded passenger.”
“There is still time to avoid a strike but unless significant progress is made at the bargaining table, we will strike if that’s what it takes to achieve a modern contract,” said Bradley Small, chair of ALPA’s Air Transat Master Executive Council.
The previous collective bargaining agreement, which had been in place for a decade, expired in April this year. The union says wages at the airline have suffered due to the lack of a new collective agreement.
The current contract “lags significantly behind industry standards in Canada and North America,” the union said.
Air Transat called the strike notice “premature.”
“This strike notice is premature given the progress made at the bargaining table and the generous offers made by Air Transat. We have demonstrated a serious commitment throughout the process and a sincere willingness to reach an agreement by proposing several compromises and improvements that address the pilots’ demands,” the airline said in a statement Sunday.
Comments