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49 minutes ago, Maverick said:

Who could have imagined a Quebec based, dirty oil burning, carbon spewing company would receive a bailout from the federal government?

 

Tour operator Transat to get $700M loan from Canadian government | Seeking Alpha

It's not a "bailout"... the government purchased some shares in the company, and loaned them some money. Much like the deal Air Canada got. I'm sure Westjet is negotiating something similar.

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2 hours ago, Kip Powick said:

I hope Transat Vacations comes back....I have an IOU from them.

Looks like you might be lucky, at least if yours qualifies:

Transat offers refunds for travel credits issued due to COVID-19

livree2012_2-e1529022238146.jpg?w=621

MONTREAL, April 29, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ – Transat is pleased to announce that a funding agreement with the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation (CEEFC) now allows it to offer refunds to travellers who were issued a travel credit due to COVID-19 for a trip scheduled to start on or after February 1, 2020. This policy applies to flights and packages booked by April 29, 2021. Going forward, should Transat make changes to its flight program, affected customers would also be eligible for a refund.

“We’ve been impatiently waiting for this moment, and we know our customers have been, too,” says Annick Guérard, Chief Operating Officer of Transat. “Now that a funding agreement has been reached and the eligibility criteria have been established by the Government of Canada, we are delighted to be able to provide our customers with this long-awaited aid.” 

Among the parameters set by government authorities, those who have a travel credit must submit their refund request to Transat by August 26, 2021. This is why they are invited to complete the request form available at airtransat.com/refunds as soon as possible. If they originally booked with a travel agent or online travel agency, they should contact them directly.

“Travel agents have shown unwavering resilience and support since the crisis began,” adds Guérard. “That’s why we’re pleased to confirm that commissions earned by agents will not be recalled if their customers opt for a refund.”

Customers and travel agents are invited to visit airtransat.com/refunds to consult our frequently asked questions or learn about the refund eligibility criteria.

How to apply for a refund from Transat for a cancelled or changed flight

Published Thursday, April 29, 2021 1:36PM EDT

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TORONTO -- Travel company Transat AT Inc. says reimbursement for customers who have paid for flights that were scheduled to leave on or after Feb. 1, 2020 will begin immediately, following the announcement of a $700-million loan from the federal government.

Nearly half of the funding will be used to provide reimbursements to travellers, the airline said.

Transat says refund eligibility criteria is available online at airtransat.com/refunds.

Here's a look at how to request refunds.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR A REFUND?

Transat says eligible customers include those who have a travel credit, departure scheduled for February 1, 2020 or later, booking made before April 29, 2021, did not transfer their travel credit nor received transferred travel credit, did not submit a claim to insurance company and whose booking is not subject to an active chargeback claim or has not already been refunded by a credit card provider.

HOW CAN REFUNDS BE REQUESTED?

Refund requests can be submitted using Transat's online form as soon as possible. The form is available at https://www.airtransat.com/en-CA/refunds.

HOW SOON WILL REFUNDS BE RECEIVED?

Transat says processing times may take up to three months due to the high volume of requests. It says requests will be treated in the order in which they are received.

WHEN IS THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT REQUESTS?

Refund requests must be submitted using Transat's online form by August 26, 2021. Transat says customers who don't submit their request by this time will not get a refund. It says their travel credit will remain on file and will be available when making a new booking.

WHAT IF I BOOKED WITH A TRAVEL AGENCY OR THIRD PARTY?

Transat says if you originally booked with a travel agency or third party, contact them so they can submit a request on your behalf. If you can't reach your travel agency or they're closed, fill out a refund analysis form and submit it by August 26, 2021.

WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO DON'T WANT A REFUND?

Transat says if you want to keep your travel credit, no action is required. The credit will remain on your file with the same conditions and will be available when making a new booking. You cannot request a partial refund because travel credit cannot be split up.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2

About Transat

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Yup, I qualify..Had to stop diving on March 08  after only one week and come home so lost two weeks of diving.....I will go for a refund.....

.Got the same sorta thing,  keep travel voucher on file..or refund, from AC as they have a credit for me as well. Will go refund.

Not sure what DELTA will do as I have a travel voucher from them as well...Probably see what they are doing.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Air Transat extends suspension of operations

airtransatlogo.png?w=640

May 12, 2021 – Air Transat Website

Due to continued travel restrictions, both in Canada and in the destinations we serve, our operations are temporarily suspended until July 29, 2021, inclusively.

Clients affected by flight cancellations will receive a notice shortly informing them of their options.

If you have any questions, please refer to our FAQ.

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Transat provides status update regarding its discussions with Pierre Karl Péladeau for the acquisition of Transat

2016-transat_hor_rgb_1.png?w=1024

MONTRÉAL, May 14, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ – Transat A.T. Inc. (“Transat” or the “Corporation“) wishes to update the market regarding its discussions with Mr. Pierre Karl Péladeau regarding the potential acquisition of all of the shares of Transat through his holding company Gestion MTRHP inc. (“MTRHP“).

On April 7, 2021, Mr. Péladeau delivered to Transat a non-binding proposal contemplating a transaction pursuant to which MTRHP would acquire all of the shares of Transat for a consideration of $5.00 per share, payable in cash. Although this proposal required a response within two days, the parties have from that date and until May 13 continued their discussions on the basis of this proposal and it has been thoroughly reviewed by the special committee of independent directors responsible for evaluating any proposal to acquire the Transat shares with the assistance of financial and legal advisors.

Transat has taken note of Mr. Péladeau’s public statements of yesterday but has not received any formal communication on this matter.

Transat announced on April 29, 2021 that it had reached an agreement with the Government of Canada to borrow up to $700 million in additional liquidity through the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF). This additional liquidity allows the company to plan for the resumption of its operations and the implementation of its strategic plan for the coming years.

 

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I'm assuming that's in relation to this.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7862576/transat-at-peladeau-takeover-talks-end/

Transat A.T. says negotiations about a takeover offer from Pierre Karl Péladeau ended Thursday, while the Quebec businessman says that he was no longer interested in acquiring the tour operator.

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According to an update issued by Transat on Friday, Péladeau sent it a non-binding proposal on April 7, under which his private investment company Gestion MTRHP would acquire all of the Transat shares for $5 in cash per share.

Even though the proposal called for a response within 48 hours, the two groups continued talks until Thursday, Transat said in a statement.

The offer was also the subject of an in-depth review by a special committee, made up of independent directors who were responsible for evaluating any proposal to acquire Transat shares.

However, Péladeau said Thursday that he had “no more interest” in the tour operator, specifying that he had not been able to agree on a price with Transat’s largest shareholder, Letko, Brosseau & Associates.

Transat said it is aware of Péladeau’s public statements, but added that it had not received any formal communication on this subject.

Talks between the two sides followed an aborted transaction with Air Canada. The country’s largest airline pulled the plug on its $190-million deal last month over Europe’s unwillingness to approve the transaction.

Transat reached an agreement with Ottawa to borrow up to $700 million to reimburse its customers whose flights were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and help support its business.

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Transat unveils new refund tracking tool

From Travelweek Group – link to source story

Transat unveils new refund tracking tool
Quote

 

MONTREAL, 21 May 2021 — Transat has launched a new online tool to help travel agents and travellers track their refund requests.

Transat first announced last month that it will now be offering refunds to travellers who were issued a travel credit due to COVID-19, while at the same time protecting agent commissions.

With the new tracker tool, users simply enter the Transat booking number and full name to check the status of their request. Refund requests will have one of the following statuses: Received, Processing, or Review has been completed.

Here is the link to their new tool

 

Track your refund request | Air Transat

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Kinda weird .. I submitted a request on April 30th and got an acknowledgement of the submission yet the TRACK................. says no record under my name......so I submitted another one today and got another acknowledgement of the submission..........

hey !!!! maybe double refund      ScreenShot006.jpg.689034b1e9f65087de39b0cc5ba58240.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Transat, majority shareholder of TraficTours Canada Inc. since 2007, acquires the remaining 30% of the incoming tour operator

2016-transat_hor_rgb_1.png?w=1024

MONTREAL, June 1, 2021 /CNW/ – Transat A.T. Inc. (“Transat” or the “Corporation”), 70% shareholder of TraficTours Canada Inc. (“TraficTours”), announced today that it has acquired on May 31, 2021 the 30% minority interest in the incoming tour operator held by the minority shareholder, following a mutual agreement between the two parties. The purchase price is for an amount lower than the amount booked in Transat’s financial statements on account of the option to purchase such minority interest. The minority shareholder had the option to require Transat to purchase the minority interest since 2019. The manager of TraficTours and its subsidiaries remains in place to ensure the operations run regularly.

TraficTours offers excursions and other services to vacationers in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. By becoming sole shareholder, Transat is strengthening its inbound services in three of these key markets.

About Transat
Transat A.T. Inc. is a leading integrated international tourism company specializing in holiday travel. Under the Transat and Air Transat banners, the Corporation offers vacation packages, hotel stays and air travel to some 60 destinations in over 25 countries in the Americas and Europe. Transat is firmly committed to sustainable tourism development, as reflected in its multiple corporate responsibility initiatives over the past 14 years and obtained Travelife certification in 2018. The Corporation is based in Montréal (TSX : TRZ).

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Transat continues takeover talks with Pierre-Karl Peladeau as losses mount

From The Globe and Mail – link to source story

Eric Atkins, Transportation Reporter | June 10, 2021

MQJD4QLMVRGXJAXWXEHR56K6EY.jpg Transat AT Inc. said it lost $69-million in the three months ending April 30, or $1.84 a share. Bloomberg/Getty Images

Tour operator Transat AT Inc. TRZ-T +2.64%increase is pursuing takeover talks with Pierre-Karl Peladeau as the airline’s losses pile up amid a halt to operations that has reached the fifth month.

Montreal-based Transat said on Thursday morning it lost $69-million in the three months ending April 30, or $1.84 a share. For a quarter in which Transat’s planes were grounded, revenue fell by 98.7 per cent to $7.6-million.

The airline halted flights at the end of January after the federal government called for an end to service to Mexico and the Caribbean and imposed new travel restrictions.

“Following a quarter without revenues, progress made on vaccinations allows us to plan for a gradual resumption starting July 30,” said Annick Guérard, who in May replaced retiring founder Jean-Marc Eustache as Transat’s chief executive officer.

Ms. Guerard takes charge at a low point in Transat’s history. The pandemic halted its operations and sent plunging the value of Air Canada’s AC-T -1.29%decrease proposed takeover to $190-million from $720-million. The two airlines agreed in April to abandon the deal after the European regulator signalled it was unlikely to approve it.

Gestion MTRHP Inc., an investors group led by Mr. Peladeau, has made a cash offer to buy Transat for $5 a share. The talks are continuing, Transat said on Thursday, and might not lead to a deal.

Mr. Peladeau on May 13 said he had ended talks to buy Transat after his offer was dismissed by shareholder Letko Brosseau and Associates as too low. A spokeswoman for Mr. Peladeau declined to comment on Thursday.

Transat shares traded at about $5.70 on Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, the company said it has secured enough financing to restart its operations, but will take steps to slash costs, including terminating its hotel division and ending leases on three aircraft.

On a conference call with analysts on Thursday, Ms. Gerard laid out Transat’s “prudent” restart for the airline, adding routes gradually to capitalize on demand from travellers visiting families and friends.

She said shedding planes and the expected sale of the Mexican hotel property will leave Transat a simpler company focused on leisure air travel that enable it to be profitable with less revenue.

She said Air Transat will focus on Eastern Canada – Montreal in particular – and flights to the United States, as it builds a network fed by domestic connections to the western provinces while maintaining international destinations and alliances with other carriers. The airline has pared its fleet to two models from four, the Airbus A330 and A321, simplifying operations and reducing costs.

Transat will no longer lease seasonal planes in the winter, and will make more use of the aircraft it owns.

“It’s an exciting time for me to take over at Air Transat,” Ms. Guerard said.  “We have a solid plan for that. We have the team for it. And now we have the financing.”

Ms. Guerard expressed optimism demand for air travel will recover to 2019 levels more quickly than the industry forecast of 2024 or 2025. But 2022 will be another difficult year for Transat, Ms. Guerard said. “After that, we will be able to come back … and look for profitability.”

Benoit Poirier, a stock analyst at Desjardins Financial, said Transat’s slow restart means it will not benefit from any recovery in demand for air travel until late in 2021.

Transat has accepted a taxpayer bailout worth as much as $700-million, a deal that lets it refund $310-million in airfares for flights cancelled in the pandemic while allowing the federal government to own as much as 20 per cent of the company. Transat said it has drawn $220-million of a total available $820-million financing, and has $346-million in cash and equivalents.

Transat has idled more than 4,000 of its 5,000 employees and said it will continue to collect federal wage subsidies.

Porter Airlines and Sunwing Airlines have also grounded their planes in the pandemic, which caused the global industry to post deep losses amid travel bans and closed borders.

Peter Letko, vice-president of Letko Brosseau and Associates, Transat’s largest shareholder, said restarting an airline is an expensive, time-consuming venture that must be done carefully to ensure profitability.

“I think the challenge for all airline executives now is moving back toward some normalcy as people get vaccinated and they start to reactivate their business,” Mr. Letko said by phone. “My hat’s off to them – this is a big challenge. Get your pilots ready, the equipment, all the support staff including those on board and the whole chain of people that supply an airline. It’s a huge job.”

Mr. Letko has for years pushed underperforming Transat to boost profits by charging more for airfares, while urging management to turn away takeover offers he sees as too cheap. In April, he dismissed as too cheap the takeover from Mr. Péladeau.

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Seems that TRZ is taking a different strategic direction than the one espoused under JME (pre-COVID).

Smaller company. Smaller fleet. Smaller profile. Based on an airline rather than a tour operator.

Will be interesting to see how this turns out. TRZ still needs to recapitalize the balance sheet. If not PKP then who?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Seems that they intend to go ahead with their July return to business. 

End of the discussions for the acquisition of Transat

2016-transat_hor_rgb_1.png?w=1024 MONTRÉAL, June 21, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ – Transat A.T. Inc. (“Transat” or the “Corporation”) announces today that the ongoing discussions with Mr. Pierre Karl Péladeau concerning the potential acquisition of all of the shares of Transat through his company Gestion MTRHP inc. (“MTRHP”) have ended.

On April 7, 2021, Mr. Péladeau delivered to Transat a non-binding proposal contemplating a transaction pursuant to which MTRHP would acquire all of the shares of Transat for a consideration of $5.00 per share, payable in cash. Considering the current share price, the price offered no longer provides a reasonable basis to envision receiving the level of shareholder approval required in order to allow the transaction to proceed. Accordingly, MTRHP confirmed to the Corporation that it was withdrawing from the discussions.

In light of the foregoing, the work of the special committee charged of reviewing strategic alternatives will cease, and Transat intends to focus its efforts on the implementation of its strategic plan and on the upcoming restart of its operations and flights, on July 30.

As contemplated in its strategic plan, the outline of which was revealed publicly on June 10, Transat also intends to examine possibilities to optimize its financing structure, which could include the issuance of shares of its capital or bond financing on more favorable terms than those attached to a portion of the liquidities made available to Transat under the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF).
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  • 2 months later...
“We got through it”: Transat sums up past challenges and future growth plans
Joe Adamo addresses VIPs

“We got through it”: Transat sums up past challenges and future growth plans 

Date: Oct 20 2022

 

By: Cindy Sosroutomo

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MISSISSAUGA — Transat rolled out the red carpet for VIP guests and its partners yesterday to celebrate the launch of its 2022-2023 winter program and its new Airbus A321neoLR aircraft.

Taking place at its hangar in Mississauga on Oct. 19, the VIP event included early morning mimosas, breakfast hors d’oeuvres and tours of the aircraft, which Transat first introduced in summer 2019 but, due to the global pandemic, was unable to celebrate as planned with a big reveal in spring 2020.

“It’s not every day that we have an A321neo Long Range sitting in the hangar so we thought we’d take advantage of it being here and plan an event around it,” Nicole Bursey, Transat’s Commercial Director told Travelweek. “This type of aircraft is the future for Transat. We feel that it’s the right size aircraft for our market, it’s got great range capabilities and it’s a very green aircraft so it goes along with our sustainability initiatives.”

The Airbus A321neoLR is the culmination of Air Transat’s massive fleet transformation, which included the retirement of its A310s and a few older A330s. The airline currently has 12 A321LRs, with an additional five to come, making its current fleet on average 40% younger than it was prior to the pandemic.

“We got through it”: Transat sums up past challenges and future growth plans

Transat’s Lindsay Merrill (left) and Nicole Bursey

Showing it off yesterday, said Bursey, came perfectly timed with Air Transat’s new bilateral codeshare with Porter Airlines, which launched earlier this week.

“We want to increase the footprint of Transat but we don’t necessarily have all the aircraft to do it. So we’re looking for great partnerships, like our codeshare with Porter and our partnership with WestJet, which we introduced last year. We’re really looking for strategic growth in a very methodical way. It’s not necessarily about adding new destinations for Air Transat but rather building out our network,” she added.

The new codeshares will certainly help position Transat for a good winter season, with a program that includes 26 destinations and over 300 hotels in the Caribbean, Mexico’s Pacific Coast, the Antilles, Latin America and Florida, plus the resumption of direct flights to Havana from Montreal. And with the removal of Canada’s final COVID-19 border measures on Oct. 1, winter sales, said Bursey, are looking good.

“It’s still a little bit ‘close in’ than pre-COVID, meaning people aren’t necessarily planning six months out. But I think this is an optimistic thing for travel agents, that they have the opportunity to still sell now for travel in November and December. Christmas is quickly filling up but there’s still some space available,” she added.

Bursey also noted that following the removal of border measures, family bookings and groups have seen an immediate uptick.

Removing the measures is making families, particularly those with younger children, more comfortable with travelling,” she said. “Plus, prior to Covid, gathering 30 people to go on a group wasn’t necessary that difficult. But after Covid, people had different statuses and different levels of concern. Now, as things have opened up, we’re getting back to those larger groups.”

 


“We’re still here, we’re still standing”

Though it’s been two and a half years since the start of the global pandemic, Transat has been experiencing uncertainties for much longer – three and a half years to be exact, said Joe Adamo, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer. Recalling the airline’s attempted merger with Air Canada, which was first announced in May 2019 and later fell through in April 2021 after it failed to get approval from the European Commission, Adamo said the non-deal “unleashed a sense of questioning” about what the future would hold for the airline.

“But I’m here to tell you that we’re still here, we’re still standing and the most important thing is we got through it,” he said.

“We got through it”: Transat sums up past challenges and future growth plans

The Transat team in front of the Airbus A321neoLR aircraft

Though Transat has endured, Adamo also noted that it is a “very different company” now than it was before the pandemic. The team currently sits at 4,300 strong, down from 5,000, with Adamo adding that numbers won’t likely return to pre-pandemic levels.

From a financial point of view, the airline is certainly in a different position now than prior to the pandemic, when it had “an excess of half a billion dollars with exactly zero debt,” said Adamo. Where did all that money go? Towards getting through the crisis.

“We’re burning through an awful lot of money but have shorn up our liquidity with loans – and they are loans, not gifts. We’re grateful for what we got, but these are interest-bearing loans, and they do  make for a very different company,” he added.

This past July, Transat secured $100 million in liquidity from the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation (CEEFC), on top of its initial Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) loan back in April 2021. Now with the burden of having to repay these loans, the company was forced to discontinue its hotel division last year, an ambitious venture that Adamo said was central to its future. Instead, it is now focusing solely on its three core lines of business: the airline, the tour operator, and the retailer.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, as Adamo was quick to note. Following a rather difficult summer in 2022, which was plagued by flight delays, cancellations and baggage issues at Canada’s major airports, Air Transat is now seeing “a successful restart and recovery,” spearheaded by ongoing pent-up demand and the “smattering” of travel vouchers still left from 2020. In fact, in the previous seven days, Adamo said Air Transat recorded its best-selling booking week for winter 2022-2023.

 


Will Air Transat return to Western Canada?

Cancelling all flights from Western Canada to south and USA destinations at the height of the pandemic, in winter 2020-2021, was a “wildly difficult choice,” said Adamo, but “absolutely the right thing for us to do.” Following a near shutdown of the global travel industry, “we simply could not – and still cannot – operate meaningfully out of Western Canada at the right scale,” he added. “You need to have scale to be efficient, to be profitable. And given how we had to downsize and then rebuild, it was absolutely the right choice to make.”

The question remains, however, whether Air Transat will return to the West. According to Adamo, other than “small service” feeding into Toronto and Montreal, flights from the West seem unlikely for now.

“We have no immediate plans to go back at scale in Western Canada, for 2023-24 probably not likely. Beyond that, who knows? As we rebuild the fleet, we may be able to go back there,” he said.

For now, Air Transat’s focus remains on the East, which Adamo said allows the airline to densify its offerings where it operates – from Canada to Sun markets, and from Canada to Europe.

“We’ve taken aircraft that we used to have in the West and put them in Eastern Canada. We are growing, particularly this winter, we will have an abundant and compelling offer in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes,” said Adamo.

“We got through it”: Transat sums up past challenges and future growth plans
Onboard Air Transat’s A321neoLR aircraft
“We got through it”: Transat sums up past challenges and future growth plans
Air Transat currently has 12 A321neoLR aircraft in its fleet

Call centre hold times: “We will get better”

Not shying from the elephant in the room, Adamo highlighted Transat’s “obvious shortcomings” in recent months, namely its long call centre hold times. As previously reported by Travelweek, travel agents have been put on hold for upwards of five hours, an issue compounded by Transat’s staffing shortages. Describing it as “completely unacceptable,” Adamo apologized for the poor customer service and doubled down on the company’s commitment to do better – and soon.

“We had hoped to have been in better shape by this point, but we are not. It’s not my fault but it is my responsibility and I take it seriously, and you have my commitment that we will get better,” he said, adding that the company has deployed budgets, increased salaries, recruited new team members and invested heavily in self-serve capabilities in recent months to help remedy the situation. As a result, Adamo said minutes continue to be shaved off of wait times week after week.

“We all share some of these challenges but we’ve had a tougher time getting back to appropriate staff levels. But I want to reassure you, this is not cost cutting or penny pinching. We are deploying every resource necessary to get our heads above water so that we can have a peak season that is bearable,” he added.

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  • 1 year later...

Air Transat faces strike as soon as January after 2,100 workers overwhelmingly vote in favour of walkout

Compensation issues the major sticking point for flight attendants

pete-evans.jpg
Pete Evans · CBC News · Posted: Nov 27, 2023 7:30 AM MST | Last Updated: 2 hours ago
An large aircraft with the words Air Transat on the side is parked on a tarmac.
Air Transat's 2,100 unionized staff are in a legal strike position as soon as January after voting to give their union a strike mandate. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

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Air Transat flight attendants are in a position to strike as soon as Jan. 3 after an overwhelming majority voted to give their union a mandate to walk off the job if a new labour deal can't be reached.

A unit of The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents more than 2,100 Air Transat workers, says 99.8 per cent of them voted to go on strike if necessary if their union can't hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement with the Montreal-based airline.

Air Transat's current labour deal expired in October 2022 and the union has been trying to negotiate a new pact with the airline since April. More than 33 different issues are on the table but compensation is a major one.

"The vote reflects the flight attendants' exceptionally high level of dissatisfaction with their working conditions, particularly with wages and purchasing power," the union said in a release. "Following a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall outlook for the industry is once again extremely positive."

Dominic Levasseur, president of the Air Transat Component of CUPE, says there's still plenty of time to get a deal done without disruption to passengers, but in the event of a strike, all of the airline's flights would be cancelled starting at the tail end of the critical holiday flying season.

"Faced with the dizzying rise in the cost of living and the industry's favourable prospects, they are ready to take action," Levasseur said. "More than 50 per cent of them have been forced to take on a second or even a third job to make ends meet, and their starting salary is only $26,577 per year."

Andréan Gagné, a spokesperson for the Montreal-based airline, said that a strike mandate for a union is a normal part of negotiations and said the airline is "confident we will find an agreement."

"The tone at the bargaining table remains cordial and respectful, and discussions are progressing well on both parties' respective demands," Gagné told CBC News in a statement. "Transat maintains excellent working relations with its employees and CUPE, and intends to make every effort to find an agreement that will satisfy both parties."

If a labour disruption does happen, it will be one of many to bubble up in Canada's aviation sector recently.

WestJet and its major union faced a strike last May before the two sides hammered out a deal to avert major disruptions at the 11th hour of negotiations. And Air Canada is in the midst of its own labour talks right now with its pilots' union after the latter group pulled out of its existing deal earlier than planned.

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34 minutes ago, neverminds said:

The shortage is with pilots, not FAs. Not sure how much leverage they have

If the liberal bill / ndp bill re replacement workers is in play when action is taken, the 
FAs will have a lot of leverage.

On Nov. 9, federal Liberal labour minister Seamus O'Regan introduced Bill C-58, which would ban the use of replacement workers, also known as “scabs,” during a strike or lockout in a federally regulated workplace.5 days ago

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1 hour ago, neverminds said:

Apparently there is an up to 18 month implementation timeframe for that bill

We will only find out if and when is passed and invoked. 😀

What is C-58, the government's new anti-replacement-worker legislation?

Bill is called 'anti-scab' legislation by labour movement, which hails it as major victory

Minister of Labour and Seniors Seamus O'Regan speaks Thursday during a news conference in the foyer of the House of Commons, announcing new anti replacement worker legislation. (The Canadian Press)

 

Last week the federal government introduced a new piece of legislation, C-58, which is aimed at banning the practice of employers bringing in replacement workers during a contract dispute.

Experts say the legislation is the culmination of decades of work by the labour movement in Canada, while it also represents the fulfilment of a key demand in the Liberal-NDP confidence and supply agreement. Here's what you need to know about the new piece of legislation.

What does the bill do?

The bill has two main components. The first makes it illegal for employers in federally regulated industries to bring in replacement workers to continue operations previously executed by unionized employees during a legal strike or lockout.

Federally regulated industries include sectors like banking and telecommunications, totalling over one million employees. Around a third of those employees are unionized, according to the federal government. The legislation does not, however, apply to the federal public service.

The bill also sets out penalties for breaking the rules — $100,000 per day for employers — as well as some exceptions, such as for non-unionized contractors hired before notice of a lockout or strike, or in cases where there could be a threat to health and safety, property or the environment.

A second part of the bill details new processes for what are called maintenance of activities agreements. These new rules force unions and employers to negotiate early in the bargaining process (within 15 days of a notice of strike or lockout) which services would continue in the event of a dispute. If they can't agree, the matter gets referred to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for a decision within 90 days.

"It's a good bill [from the perspective of] what organized labour has been arguing for with regards to anti-scab legislation, as it's called by unions and working people, versus the management term, which is replacement worker," said Charles Smith, an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan specializing in labour politics.

"This has been one of labour's key legislative demands for the last 50 years. And I think on that level the labour movement is going to be celebrating today," he said.

From Hollywood to the Port of Vancouver, thousands have hit picket lines across North America this year to demand change. CBC’s Anya Zoledsiowski breaks down why workers are so emboldened at this moment and how long it could last.

Smith said the bill could reduce large-scale disruptions by forcing more deals to be made at the bargaining table.

Larry Savage, a professor of labour studies at Brock University, also noted that the bill could reduce potential violence on picket lines and mitigate the damage to workplace cultures following a contract dispute.

"At some point all work stoppages end and workers have to return to their jobs. But the resentment that's caused by the use of scab labour, that lingers. It poisons labour relations and it inevitably leads to lower workplace morale," he said.

What are people saying about it?

As Smith noted, the bill is being hailed as a major victory by the labour movement.

"This legislation is a step toward levelling the playing field. It will be good for the economy and good for labour relations, it encourages unions and employers to resolve their differences in the very place designed for that to happen, the bargaining table," said Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, Canada's largest private sector union, last week.

"Workers have called for anti-scab legislation for decades, as it has been a missing piece of Canada's federal labour law," said Bea Bruske, head of the Canadian Labour Congress.

"I think the anti-scab law was pretty high on the labour movement's wish list," Savage said.

Federally regulated

If you are employed by one of the following businesses and industries, you are more than likely working in a federally regulated sector:

  • banks
  • marine shipping, ferry and port services
  • air transportation, including airports, aerodromes and airlines
  • railway and road transportation that involves crossing provincial or international borders
  • canals, pipelines, tunnels and bridges (crossing provincial borders)
  • telephone, telegraph and cable systems
  • radio and television broadcasting
  • grain elevators, feed and seed mills
  • uranium mining and processing
  • businesses dealing with the protection of fisheries as a natural resource
  • many First Nation activities
  • most federal Crown corporations
  • private businesses necessary to the operation of a federal act

Check with the Government of Canada to determine if you are in a federally regulated industry and to learn more about the rules that apply.

Disclaimer: In the event of any discrepancy between this information and Alberta Employment Standards legislation, the legislation is considered correct.

 

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Putting replacement FA's into their program would take a lot more than just a snap of the finger. IOW, new legislation or not, it simply can't happen. No operator with a modicum of brain cells would think it was a good idea to put an entire crew of newbies on board their flights, and they don't have nearly enough managers on staff to take the lead FA role.

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