MONTREAL, Nov. 17, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ – Air Canada welcomes today’s confirmation by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) representing approximately 6,500 flight attendants at Air Canada and 700 at Air Canada rouge, that its members have ratified an agreement on collective agreement terms for ten years.
“This ten-year landmark agreement with CUPE is a historic development which will help Air Canada achieve its global ambitions while acknowledging the important contribution of our flight attendants,” said Benjamin Smith, President, Passenger Airlines. “In addition, the agreement recognizes that our flight attendants play an integral role in delivering our award-winning customer service and enhancing our brand while ensuring the safety of our customers. With this agreement now in place we can focus on long term profitable growth for the benefit of all of our stakeholders.”
Added Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer, “I thank Michel Cournoyer and the CUPE Executive Committee for their leadership and the teams representing both CUPE and management for their hard work in reaching this agreement. In particular, I would like to thank Ben Smith whose leadership, energy and commitment has led to forging a new relationship with our flight attendants. This landmark agreement follows the milestone ten-year agreement reached with our pilots last October and is the fifth collective agreement reached with unions representing our employees over the past year. It is yet a further indication of the collaborative partnership that is building Air Canada into a Global Champion.”
The agreement is subject to certain openers over the ten year period. The agreement has been approved by the Air Canada Board of Directors.
This agreement with CUPE follows on the conclusion in October 2014 of a new agreement with Air Canada’s 3,000 pilots on collective agreement terms for ten years. It is the fifth collective agreement reached by Air Canada and its unions, including those with Unifor representing the airline’s 4,000 Customer Service and Sales Agents in Canada, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) representing its U.S. unionized workforce and UNITE representing its U.K unionized workforce.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents. Canada’s flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2014 served more than 38 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 63 airports in Canada, 52 in the United States and 86 in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,321 airports in 193 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax. For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Air Canada’s public communications may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions and are subject to important risks and uncertainties, including those described in this news release. Forward-looking statements cannot be relied upon due to, amongst other things, changing external events and general uncertainties of the business. Actual results may differ materially from results indicated in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including without limitation, industry, market, credit and economic conditions, the ability to reduce operating costs and secure financing, pension issues, energy prices, employee and labour relations, currency exchange and interest rates, competition, war, terrorist acts, epidemic diseases, environmental factors (including weather systems and other natural phenomena, and factors arising from man-made sources), insurance issues and costs, changes in demand due to the seasonal nature of the business, supply issues, changes in laws, regulatory developments or proceedings, pending and future litigation and actions by third parties as well as the factors identified throughout Air Canada’s public disclosure file available at www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking statements contained in this news release represent Air Canada’s expectations as of the date of this news release and are subject to change after such date. However, Air Canada disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.
