Flight attendants at Air Canada are protesting the Montreal-based carrier’s plans to improve service, including an enhanced experience with upgraded cabins, better in-flight entertainment, free Wi-Fi, and improved food and beverages, at its leisure subsidiary Air Canada Rouge.
Earlier this month, Air Canada Rouge took delivery of its first Boeing 737MAX airplane with Premium Economy seating at the front, seatback entertainment throughout, and fast, free Wi-Fi sponsored by Bell.
Along with the new plane, Air Canada Rouge is now also offering free beverages, including wine and beer, and premium snacks on all North American and Caribbean flights.
But the CUPE union, which represents flight attendants at the mainline carrier, is now warning that the passenger-pleasing improvements could actually be breaching their collective bargaining agreement.
Air Canada Rouge was created in 2013 as a lower-cost airline to compete with discounters like Air Transat and Sunwing on leisure-oriented and sun routes, but its formation wasn’t without controversy.
At the time, flight attendants were concerned that Air Canada Rouge would be used to take over more and more mainline routes, resulting in lost jobs, while Air Canada employed crew members on reduced pay and conditions at its Rouge subsidiary.
As a result, the union got Air Canada to write clauses into the mainline flight attendant contract about what Rouge was and how it would differ from the mainline brand.
Air Canada Rouge was limited to the low-cost leisure market and was never intended to take over mainline flights. The union says this means that Air Canada Rouge was meant to have “clear and defined differences in service, configuration, and branding.”
“We are increasingly concerned that these distinctions are being blurred,” the union said on Thursday. “If Rouge and Air Canada Mainline are intended to be separate products, why are the differences becoming harder to distinguish?” the union asked.
The CUPE union has already filed formal grievances alleging breaches of two of the Air Canada Rouge clauses written into their contract:
- Clause 2.04.02.01: “The forward cabin of Air Canada Rouge narrow body aircraft will not include premium seats that are wider, of greater pitch, or which recline further than those in the Air Canada Business Class cabin on Mainline narrow body aircraft.”
- Clause 2.04.02.02: “On North American and Overseas Routes, the forward cabin of Air Canada Rouge will not offer a more enhanced onboard service than the Air Canada Mainline International Premium Economy onboard service.”
The grievances demand that Air Canada cease and desist from violations of the collective agreement and provide redress to flight attendants who have been affected by the alleged violations.
“This is not simply about onboard service or aircraft interiors. This is about protecting the integrity of our Collective Agreement, the clear and defined roles of rouge and Air Canada Mainline and the long-term job security and working conditions of our members,” the union noted.
“It is indeed a slippery slope and the salary differential along with the inferior work rules between Rouge and Air Canada Mainline will be a huge factor in the company’s planning. It is our job to be vigilant and protect the jobs at Mainline.”
Flight attendants effectively shut down Air Canada last August in a heated dispute over pay and conditions when crew members took part in an unprecedented three-day walkout that grounded airplanes across the airline’s network.
In the end, the union reached a secret pact with Air Canada that stopped flight attendants from staging any further walkouts while the dispute was settled through mediation.
