I can go 1 hour 8 minutes without peanuts if I have to.

September 20, 2011 6:30 AM

I have a flight from Toronto to Montreal (YYZ-YUL) at noon on Thursday. Air Canada flight attendants are expected to strike at midnight on Wednesday. What should I do/expect?

Flying to Montreal on Thursday and I just found out about the strike. It's not clear what effect this might have on my flight - I went to the AC rebooking tool, and they have a "Travel Advisory" icon on my flight, but the link goes to a page that warns about a typhoon in Tokyo.

What should I expect if the flight attendants go on strike? Should I be planning on getting to the airport extra early or just write the whole trip off? We have some nonrefundable hotel bookings and tickets for Pop Montreal shows on the weekend. Changing the dates is not an option since we're going for the festival and this is about as late in the year as I want to go to Montreal.

posted by Gortuk to travel & transportation (7 answers total)

actually the latest expectation is that they will reach a deal today.
posted by modernnomad at 6:52 AM on September 20, 2011

It's only a 6-7 hour drive if you have to go for a plan B.
posted by COD at 6:54 AM on September 20, 2011

If they cancel, you'll get a full refund, and then you can take the bus or train or go via Porter. (Or try, they might be booked up.) But given that the flight attendants are sure to be forced back to work within a day or two, they'll be working very hard to reach a deal.
posted by jeather at 6:55 AM on September 20, 2011

Thanks for the responses - unfortunately I don't drive, and I'm not located in Toronto so Porter is less convenient. Train would be my best bet but so far, from what I've seen AC is only offering rebooking, not refunds. I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens tomorrow.

I'm hopeful they will reach an agreement today but I need to figure out what to expect if they do not.
posted by Gortuk at 7:09 AM on September 20, 2011

actually the latest expectation is that they will reach a deal today.

No, the Labour Minister says she expects them to reach a deal today. They're not actually in talks at the moment.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 7:28 AM on September 20, 2011

I'd suggest calling them directly. I know one person who was able to rebook a flight scheduled for tomorrow morning (strike's supposed to start at 12:00AM Wednesday) for a flight tonight, for no charge. The booking tool didn't work for the person I know, either.

I don't know how flexible your plans are, but if they allow for this, go for it!

Good luck.
posted by xiaolongbao at 12:25 PM on September 20, 2011

Looks like they just reached a tentative agreement - I was almost about to book some refundable VIA tickets (takes only a few hours longer to get from my home to Montreal by train than air once you count mandatory waiting time).
posted by Gortuk at 12:42 PM on September 20, 2011