Air Canada is offering a “temporary” leave of absence program to employees in Calgary after axing some regional routes.
In a Dec. 10 email to staff obtained by Global News, the airline said it will be offering a voluntary leave of absence (VLOA) program for employees.
The program allows employees to select a leave of absence between Jan. 22 to April 16 this year. The program aims to give them “more flexibility” about taking time off, the email read.
“Air Canada is offering temporary leaves to employees who are looking for some additional flexibility,” an airline spokesperson told Global News in an emailed statement.
“These programs are not new and are offered from time to time as our operations can accommodate.”
This comes after Air Canada suspended non-stop routes from Calgary to Saskatoon, Regina, Yellowknife, Kamloops, Victoria and Nanaimo. The airline did not comment further about the VLOA program because the routes were operated by Jazz Aviation L.P., a separate company from Air Canada.
The loss of the regional routes is already causing headaches for travelers.
Deanna Barlow, a Regina resident, said she travels to Calgary a lot because she often travels overseas. She said there aren’t a lot of direct flights from Regina and Air Canada’s move means she has to pay more to travel longer.
“It makes travel extremely more difficult. There’s no bus service nor train service (to Calgary). Our only travel is through air,” she told Global News.
‘It is extremely more difficult and more time-consuming.”
Barlow also said it will cost her more to fly to her destination because there aren’t a lot of choices for air travel.
“There seems to be some competition but it seems like the competition isn’t any better than the others,” she said.
“Hopefully the country decides to have some kind of alternate way to travel.
“I’m getting older, maybe I’ll just stay home.”
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