TORONTO — Unpaid ground time for flight attendants could be on the way out as Air Canada looks to be joining a growing number of airlines that have agreed to move away from the widespread practice.
In announcing a tentative deal with the airline, the Canadian Union of Public Employees said "unpaid work is over" after making it a central issue in its push for a new contract.
The deal comes more than two years after the union that represents flight attendants launched a campaign against the industry norm, where flight attendants aren't paid their regular hourly wage during boarding, pre-flight safety checks and other delays.
CUPE's "unpaid work won't fly" campaign claims that the roughly 18,500 flight attendants it represents at Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat and elsewhere end up working an average of 35 hours a month during these unpaid times.
Air Canada has said the time on the ground is covered as part of a formula in the collective agreement, while there is additional compensation if flight attendants are asked to work outside of a set window.
The practice of providing little or no pay while on the ground stems from a time when flight attendants had much less leverage, said York University labour professor Steven Tufts.
"It goes back to before flight attendants had any power, before they were unionized, and when they were simply just, you know, young women who worked in pretty exploitative working conditions in the industry."
The system made it easier for airlines to contain and anticipate costs, since workers bore the brunt of delays, said Tufts. As flight attendants unionized, they pushed for higher wages to compensate for the time, but didn't make gains on disrupting the system itself until recently.
The widespread delays and travel chaos during the pandemic, combined with high inflation, threw off what balance there was, and unions started to push to end it, including CUPE's campaign that started in April 2023.
Politicians have also been raising the issue, including a proposal from Conservative MP Lianne Rood in June last year to require hours worked include all pre- and post-flight duties and during delays, as well as one later in the year from NDP MP Bonita Zarrillo that would require their full rate of pay for all hours worked.
On Monday, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said the federal government is launching a probe into allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector. She said claims by the union about the pay system are "deeply disturbing," and that if the probe determines those allegations are well-founded, she is prepared to introduce legislation that would close any such loopholes.
The industry itself is already starting to move away from the practice, at least partially.
Delta Air Lines, whose flight attendants aren't unionized, in 2022 started paying for a limited amount of ground time at half the hourly rate. Last year, American Airlines flight attendants also secured pay for boarding time through a union contract.
Air Transat flight attendants tried but were unable to get it established during contract talks early last year, said Tufts, but with the Air Canada precedent being established it's likely to come to WestJet flight attendants whose contract ends at the end of 2025.
"Now the pattern's set, because they got ground time in this round of bargaining. It's going to go to Air Transat and it's going to go to WestJet and every other smaller carrier that hasn't got it."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)
Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
