The legacy of Air Canada’s takeover of Canadian Airlines in 2000 continues to haunt it. A dispute over the merger of seniority lists between pilots from the two airlines boiled over recently when pilots refused to ratify a pact on terms and conditions for operating the Boeing 777s and 787s that Air Canada had ordered.
A majority of the pilots voted no because of their resentment over the seniority issue. “Nothing is going to function properly until this seniority issue is resolved fairly,” says one.
After the vote Air Canada carried through on its threat to cancel the $6 billion aircraft order. Some analysts claim it has simply suspended the order as a negotiating tactic, but the airline has already forfeited early delivery slots for some 777s. This is one of the first occasions an airline has expressly conditioned an aircraft order on advance approval of a labour contract.
Source: Airline Business
