Air Canada strike possibility - ticket question

What a stresser!

I can't answer your question, but when I've had to contact Air Canada they offered the call back service instead of holding. Was that an option? Sure better than an endless hold.

Wow, that's a great question, and an answer that would be so helpful for lots of people.
I know it's different, but our son was flying 3 days after the recent West Jet strike ended, but luckily his flight went on as scheduled. It does take a while to get all the planes back to the proper location and get the crews rescheduled.
Hedging your bets with a different flight to your destination is a good idea. At least you won't be scrambling to get there.

So I do have an answer to my own question. I was able to reach an Air Canada agent, and I am posting this in case anyone else is in a similar situation and is wondering.

The answer is no! If your flight is cancelled, you DO have the option to keep your return flight and only be refunded for the departing flight. However, you have to call Air Canada and get them to do it manually. You will receive a partial refund.

Hopefully, though, both AC management and the labour union will get their act together and figure this out.

That’s a very good question that I hadn’t thought of.
Perhaps look at the site called FlyerTalk…..it may give you a more definite answer.
I’m thinking if your return flight is well past the days predicted for the strike time frame, you would probably be fine.
I have a flight booked through AC on the 23rd ,but all four of my flights are Lufthansa , coded Lufthansa, and going to Germany from Canada.
I hoping the first flight is fine…after that it’s in Europe, again all on Lufthansa.

Best of luck to all who are on AC flights in the next little while.

Unfortunately, AC is notorious for this type of situation. Do more research on your remedies and be ready for anything they may throw back at you. I have not had the need to deal with AC for strikes, but I am sure the DoT should provide some form of consumer protection.

The answer is no! If your flight is cancelled, you DO have the option to keep your return flight and only be refunded for the departing flight. However, you have to call Air Canada and get them to do it manually. You will receive a partial refund.

AND I'm wondering if under EU regulations they may be required to give you Euro 650 compensation for cancelled flight? (Don't ask them, IF the flight is cancelled, you can go online under 'customer service' wayyyyy hidden somewhere at the bottom and file for it.)

"AND I'm wondering if under EU regulations they may be required to give you Euro 650 compensation for cancelled flight? (Don't ask them, IF the flight is cancelled, you can go online under 'customer service' wayyyyy hidden somewhere at the bottom and file for it.)"

This is from a news article (source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/five-things-to-know-about-a-potential-work-stoppage-at-air-canada-1.7030766):

"Am I owed compensation if my flight is cancelled?
Passengers will receive refunds for cancelled flights, but customers won't be entitled to any additional compensation. Under Canada's existing Airline Passenger Protection Regulations, labour disruptions are considered out of an airline's control and not eligible for compensation requests."

I am not sure how and if EU regulations apply in such cases.

I too am on pins and needles. I have a bit more time than you as I am not flying until Oct 9, but some speculators have said that if they do decide to walk out, they will wait until closer to thanksgiving, which is the 15th. If they do walk out, and flights begin to be cancelled it will apparently take at least ten days to reinstate them. Since the only part of my flight that is actually on Air Canada is the flight from here to Frankfurt, I have also been wondering if I should be looking at other flight options. But originally, there wasn’t anything that worked well, so I doubt there is now. I knew I should have tried harder to avoid AC!

It really is very stressful wondering if you should try something else to get your vacation started.
I sincerely hope everyone who is waiting anxiously does get on their booked flights.

If you had purchased travel insurance for your trips previous to this situation,
it would be worth checking the T&C's to see what is covered. For instance,
if the insurance policy covers various aspects of a late flight cancellation, that
is good to know.

In addition, if there is a strike, I would expect Air Canada to have some kind of
provision to rebook passengers on other Star Alliance airlines where possible.
Such a situation would be chaotic and probably involve lots of holding time on
the phone, but I cannot imagine they will simply cancel flights and leave all their
passengers hanging.

In spring 2023, I had seats on SAS in PE to London thru CPH. An impending
strike resulted in them rebooking me non-stop to London in Polaris on United
for no charge. So be alert and things may work out. It would also pay to research
how best to contact an airline in an urgent situation.

Regarding whether EU regulations would apply---I'm not sure they'd be any different. We ran into a strike situation going to Portugal on TAP Air. We did eventually get on a flight, about 8 hours after our original flight was supposed to depart, after being left hanging about the airport while the board kept pushing up the time of the flight and then changing it again at the last minute, over and over again. We tried to get compensation but were told we weren't eligible, because strike action didn't qualify.

(Air Canada is notorious for this sort of situation? Really? I am in Canada and fly Air Canada a lot and have never run into that.)

The compensation required by law goes under the regulation EC261, and applies (in different
ways) in case of delays or cancellations. It applies to all airlines departing an EU airport, but only
for EU-based airlines in the case of arrivals. So as noted, the outbound flight from Canada to
Europe is bound by Canadian regulations, and no compensation apart from a possible refund
(or partial refund, for instance, if you are downgraded) is due. Now, an airline may throw you
a voucher or something, but that is not required.

A strike can be a gray area for compensation under the premise that the issue is under the
airline's control.

In addition, for flights departing from the EU, a mandate of "duty of care" is required, which means
beverages/meals and lodging in the case of a substantial delay or delay requiring an overnight
stay.

Hopefully a strike, if it does happen, does not last long enough to also affect return flights, but
it's important to know your rights.