Air Canada Faces $73 Million Payout In Class-Action Suit By Former Workers

Summary

  • Air Canada faces a $73 million payout in a lawsuit over maintenance center closures a decade ago.
  • The judge ruled in favor of more than 2,000 former workers for loss of livelihood and moral damages.
  • Air Canada is reviewing the judgment and could file an appeal against it.

Air Canada is staring at a payout of more than $70 million in relation to a lawsuit filed by former workers. The carrier has been accused of violating federal law by closing its maintenance centers in Montreal, Winnipeg, and Mississauga about a decade ago due to the collapse of Aveos, its former maintenance contractor.

$73 million payout

A class-action lawsuit against Air Canada could force it to pay at least CA $100 million ($73.2 million) to more than 2,000 former workers. The decision was released by Judge Marie-Christine Hivon, who first ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in November 2022.

An Air Canada Boeing 777 landing

Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock

The amount is expected to compensate the workers for the loss of livelihood, benefits as well as moral damages when Air Canada’s former maintenance contractor, Aveos, collapsed about a decade ago.

Air Canada, however, is reviewing the judgment and is not ready to commit to a figure just yet. Bloomberg quotes Air Canada spokesperson Christophe Hennebelle as saying,

“We have appealed the first part of the judgment on the principle of liability. We are considering whether to add points to the second judgment, which will not apply anyway if our appeal in the first part is successful.

“The judgment merely sets out a calculation method and then calls for individual proof for each member. It is completely silent on the quantification of the total amount. Any assessment at this stage is therefore pure speculation.”

Federal law violation

The case dates back to a decade when Air Canada shut its maintenance centers in Montreal, Winnipeg, and Mississauga during the collapse of Aveos. In 2022, Judge Marie-Christine Hivon said that the carrier “did not take reasonably serious steps to comply with the law after the closure of Aveos.”

Air Canada A320 in Star Alliance Livery

Photo: Andrei Filippov | Shutterstock

She added that Air Canada should compensate the workers for “stress, questioning, decrease in self-esteem, insecurity, feelings of injustice and loss of enjoyment in life” and for moral damages, including psychological problems.

Back then, the judge, however, dismissed the claim of $110 million in punitive damages, saying that it was not evident that Air Canada’s bad faith or willful misconduct caused Aveos’ collapse. It remains to be seen how this plays out in the coming months.

Other Air Canada news

As far as its operations are concerned, Air Canada is going ahead with a fleet expansion program and is getting ready to welcome eight brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft following a successful contract agreement with lessor BOC Aviation.

The carrier has more than 250 planes in its fleet – a mixture of Boeing and Airbus jets – and another 90 aircraft on order. These also include 27 A220-300s, 30 A321XLRs, and 18 787-10 Dreamliners.

Air Canada Boeing 787 landing at Munich Airport MUC

Photo: Dirk Daniel Mann | Shutterstock

Air Canada is also celebrating the 40th anniversary of its Aeroplan loyalty program and is giving away 1 million points each to 40 lucky frequent fliers. The carrier’s other offerings included ten days of exclusive deals and other prizes for millions of Aeroplan members.

Air Canada had a special landing page for registration for the prize, and applicants were given until July 17 to complete the form.

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