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Air Canada’s Lockheed 10A vintage aircraft will touch down in Winnipeg this week in honour of the airline’s 80th anniversary.
The L-10A will be on public display at the Royal Aviation Museum from September 13-14.
WINNIPEG — A Princess Street eatery has been shortlisted as a nominee in Air Canada’s enRoute magazine.
Clementine Cafe is among 30 restaurant nominees for Canada’s Best New Restaurants.
By The Canadian Press
WINNIPEG – An Air Canada flight made an unscheduled landing in Winnipeg after the airline says the cabin became too warm.
Airline spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick says in an email that the Airbus A321 was on its way from Toronto to Calgary on Monday night when it experienced trouble with the heating and air-conditioning system.
An unruly passenger forced a Toronto-bound plane to Winnipeg on Wednesday night.
At around 10:30 p.m., Air Canada flight 154 from Edmonton was diverted to James Richardson International Airport after a passenger became agitated and combative.
Flight staff, passengers and an off-duty RCMP officer were able to restrain the passenger until the flight landed.
By The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Passengers who were aboard an Air Canada plane that slammed to the ground at the Halifax airport last Sunday are receiving some financial assistance from the airline.
Air Canada has not divulged the amount, but various media reports say each of the 133 passengers on Flight AC624 are receiving $5,000.
The airline says the funds are meant to cover immediate and interim expenses, adding there is no requirement for passengers to sign any commitment to receive the money.
By Sarah Klein
Air Canada is increasing the capacity on some Western Canadian regional routes early next year, including an Edmonton-Winnipeg leg.
The airline announced Thursday the gradual introduction of new state-of-the-art Bombardier Q-400 Next Gen aircraft operated by Air Canada Jazz under the Air Canada Express brand on key markets from Calgary and Edmonton beginning next year.
The new ultra-quiet Q-400s will begin service in February to replace smaller Bombardier 50-seat CRJ aircraft. The planes will also include 74 all-leather seats with roomy overhead bins.
The upgraded Edmonton-Winnipeg route will begin service in May 2013.
A wildcat strike by Air Canada ground workers at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport Friday morning had minimal impact on flight operations in Winnipeg.
The workers walked off the job early Friday in solidarity after three of their co-workers were suspended for heckling federal labour minister Lisa Raitt at Pearson Airport on Thursday. The strike later spread to Montreal and Vancouver.
Numerous flights in and out of Pearson were either delayed or cancelled, according to its website.
The airline was said to have terminated a total of 37 employees in Toronto, but reinstated them after they returned to work.
In Winnipeg, only a handful of flights were affected by the strike. The Winnipeg Airports Authority website listed a travel advisory, which read, “Due to work action by Air Canada ground handling employees in Toronto and Montreal, Air Canada is experiencing delays and some cancellations of flights departing Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Montreal Trudeau Airport (YUL) this morning.”
Some connecting flights for travellers in Winnipeg had passengers expressing their frustration with the airline, which included an organized school group trying to depart. They were told to return home due to their flight’s cancellation.
Air Canada has been making headlines for several weeks due to union tensions and the recent closure of Aveos Fleet Performance plants across the country, which services their aircraft. Winnipeg’s own Aveos plant ceased operations earlier this week, which prompted Mayor Sam Katz and his counterparts in Mississauga and Montreal to write a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Friday to intervene in the plant closures. Workers staged a demonstration at the Manitoba legislature earlier today to express their plight with the company.
— With files from ChrisD.ca’s Sarah Klein
Air Canada flight attendants will take part in a pre-strike solidarity rally at Winnipeg’s James Richardson International Airport this afternoon.
The airline is currently in the middle of negotiations with the union representing its roughly 6,800 flight attendants. If a deal cannot be reached, staff will walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday morning.
If a strike does end up going ahead, it will likely be short-lived. A similar walkout in June resulted in swift back to work legislation by the federal government. The strike lasted only three days.
Today, local members of CUPE will rally in front of Winnipeg’s airport at 12:30 p.m.
Similar rallies are planned in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, where flight attendants will be present with purple banners, flags and ribbons.
An Air Canada flight carrying 152 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing at Winnipeg’s James Richardson International Airport on Wednesday.
The aircraft was travelling from Toronto to Vancouver when the pilot noticed a crack in the plane’s windshield.
Flight 169 landed at 2:21 p.m. — less than 15 minutes after the airport was notified that the flight needed to make an emergency landing.
Passengers were told to expect about a 7-hour delay while another aircraft from Toronto was flown to Winnipeg.
ChrisD.ca photo/Marc Evans
The International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers claimed Friday morning that Air Canada was temporarily laying off about 255 workers in Winnipeg.
The airline later shot down that claim, saying that its maintenance requirements would be cut back, but denied any job losses.
Union employees working for Aveos Fleet Performance Inc. — the independent company that handles maintenance for the airline — says jobs could be lost by April and into June 2010.
An airline spokesperson said any reduction in maintenance would occur at the Montreal-based Aveos facility, and not in Winnipeg.
Aveos said that despite the union’s claims, no decisions on layoffs has been made.
UPDATED: 3:30 p.m. — Corrects previous version of this story, which the union claimed Air Canada was laying off 255 people in Winnipeg.
— With files from Brian Schultz
