These Canadians say their major trips are in jeopardy due to possible Air Canada strike

Emine Defne Erenben, right, says she and her mother, left, have been dreaming of going to Paris for 12 years. (Emine Defne Erenben)

Emine Defne Erenben says she and her mother Lucia have been dreaming of visiting Paris together for 12 years, but the looming Air Canada strike has put their plans in jeopardy.

“Ever since she was a kid, she said that she would feel like she would have made it if she was eating a croissant in the Eiffel Tower, which is quite silly, but it’s both of our hopes and dreams to travel to Paris together,” Erenben said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Thursday.

“The consequences of calling off this trip would be immense. The looming strike is really concerning.”

Air Canada passengers shared their experiences with CTVNews.ca about how the looming strike Saturday is affecting their trips. The carrier started to cancel flights Thursday, with a possible full shutdown by the weekend if it does not reach a last-minute deal with the union.

The Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said it is trying to negotiate a new collective agreement with the airline after its 10-year contract for flight attendants expired March 31. Sticking points include unpaid work, such as during boarding, deplaning and medical emergencies on the ground, and what the union called “poverty” wages.

With the Air Canada strike on the horizon, Erenben said she’s worried she won’t be able to make it to Paris, and she’s waiting anxiously to see if the strike will happen. When she graduated from university last year with a French immersion degree, she worked and saved up money, which helped pay for the costs of the trip.

Erenben said the trip was like a gift to her mother Lucia, presently a caregiver for Erenben‘s 80-year-old father, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

A government worker in Ottawa, Erenben said Air Canada has not cancelled her Aug. 22 flight to Paris yet. Her plan was to meet her mother in Paris. Her mother would be travelling from Turkiye, where her parents vacation every summer.

Air Canada would have to rebook her flight within 48 hours if it cancelled it, based on Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations, but she would lose thousands in bookings for hotels and trips.

Even if Air Canada refunded her ticket, Erenben said if she bought a ticket with another airline, she would have to pay nearly double the cost she paid for her original Air Canada roundtrip flight, which she purchased a few months ago at about $1,000.

She said she was having trouble finding alternative flights on her own as they appeared to be fully booked, so she may just have to wait to see if the strike happens Saturday.

“I booked early to get a good deal, and now I might be spending thousands more dollars just to get to Paris,” she said.

Peixin Chen of Newmarket, Ont., said the strike has put her and her family of six “in a desperate position.” She said she has been having trouble sleeping since the union had announced a 72-hours strike notice Wednesday.

Air Canada sent her an email Thursday saying there was a “high risk” her flight could be cancelled.

She said her family, including her elderly parents, husband and two children had planned a big trip, including flying to Seattle on Aug. 17 for an Alaska cruise and visiting her uncle in San Francisco.

For her elderly parents, the trip means a lot because it may be their last chance to see her father’s brother in person.

She said her other option was flying with another airline, but she had to max out her credit card to pay six refundable one-way tickets for a total of around $9,500 as a backup plan, which was significantly more than what she had initially paid for the Air Canada fares.

She said Air Canada’s customer service told her to keep an eye out for the news and policy change.

“We saved up money for this trip for years,” Chen said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca. “My parents are getting older and older every year, and so is his brother and we don’t know when (there) will be the next chance they’re going to see each other if we cannot go this year.”