This bulletin is intended to clarify your Collective Agreement rights outlined in Letter of Understanding 61 (LOU 61), when it comes to minimum crew complement requirements on Mainline widebody flights.
Air Canada is required to award all open flights, including positions being blocked on a 1:40 passenger seat ratio on wide body aircraft, through the award sequence, up to and including draft (L60.04.01.01).
See the minimum crew complement chart below for B5, B14, LOU 18, LOU 22A and LOU22B overseas wide-body operations (L60.04.02):
Am I paid a short crewing penalty (SCP) if my flight goes short? (L60.04.04) On B14, LOU 18, LOU22A and LOU22B, a 50% premium on the regular rate of pay is paid to each operating crew member for each affected flight leg, except in the following situations:
No penalty is paid if: (L60.04.04.01)
- A change of equipment resulting in Air Canada Mainline not being able to position a Crew Member at a non-crew base;
- A mid-cycle book off at a Non-Crew Base; or
- A Cabin Crew Member no-shows for a flight at report time.
The Collective Agreement also clearly specifies the minimum crew complement requirements on Domestic widebody flights – 1 crew member for every 40 passenger seats (L60.04.01).
Although there may be no penalty outlined in the Collective Agreement when your Domestic or Overseas (B5) widebody flight goes short crewed, the company is still required to award all open flights, including positions being blocked on a 1:40 passenger seat ratio on widebody aircraft, through the award sequence, up to and including draft. If the Company fails to do so and there are available crew members who could have been called out, you may also be entitled to compensation for going short crewed.
If any of your widebody flights go short crewed, please contact your local Union office for assistance. Please always confirm your entitlement to the short crewing penalty with Crew Scheduling and also check rainmaker to ensure payment is received.
Mainline and Rouge
Please continue to report all short crewing here as well, so we can monitor the situation and additional workload being placed on you. Short Crewing Report – AC Component
Remember, your breaks are contractual, and their full entitlement is to be taken as per the collective agreement and ePub.
More information on “Crew Breaks and Onboard Crew Rest” can be found in ePub and was recently updated to include contractual changes made, as well as Canada Labour Code changes.
The below is important to note, all crew working a duty period of 5 hours or more is entitled to a break:
Crew Breaks
An onboard crew break is the time allocated to eat meals and/or relax during the flight.
As of June 4, 2024, due to changes to the Canada Labour Code, employees are entitled to a break of 30 minutes during every period of 5 consecutive hours of work. The break can be divided into two periods of 15 minutes. Existing standards regarding onboard breaks (e.g., when/where they can be taken) apply to these breaks.
Please note that this new legislative change will only apply to flights that do not have crew rest already provided for under the Collective Agreement.
The above breaks are not optional from the employer, but minimum rights afforded to you. These should be discussed at the onset of the pairing/flight, so all crew get their breaks.
If you are not afforded a break, please fill out the attached form Crew Break Concerns – AC Component and ensure the Service Director or Lead reports this so the Union can follow up and file a grievance if required.
Govern yourselves accordingly, in solidarity,
