Air Canada said it is preparing to suspend flight operations as early as Sunday to mitigate the impact of a potential strike, as talks with its pilots hit a wall.

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Canada’s largest airline said unless an agreement is reached with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents its 5,200 pilots, the carrier’s three-day wind down plan will begin. By midnight on Sept. 15, either party may issue a 72-hour strike or lockout notice.

Once a notice is issued, flights throughout the system would be gradually cancelled over three days, with a complete shutdown as early as midnight on Sept. 18.

Air Canada chief executive Michael Rousseau called the decision “extremely difficult.”

“We understand and apologize for the inconvenience this would cause our customers. However, a managed shutdown is the only responsible course available to us,” said Rousseau in a press release.

The carrier said some activities would need to start as early as Sept. 13, including the cancellation of some holiday packages and the grounding of some aircraft.

It said Air Canada Express flights would continue to operate, as third-party carriers Jazz and PAL Airlines provide these services. However, the regional partners only carry about 20 per cent of Air Canada’s daily customers, many of whom ultimately connect with Air Canada flights.

Talks between the company and the ALPA “continue, but the parties remain far apart,” Air Canada said, adding that they were nearing a deadlock due to what it called the union’s “excessive wage demands.”

On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Air Canada had offered to boost pilot pay by about 30 per cent within the next three years to prevent a strike.

Rousseau said there’s still time to reach an agreement with the pilots, provided the ALPA moderates its wage demands, “which far exceed average Canadian wage increases.”

Bargaining talks started in June 2023 as aviators all over North America began seeking new contracts.

The ALPA has said its Air Canada members are falling behind other North American pilot groups and aims to close its wage gap with U.S. pilots.

Charlene Hudy, the ALPA’s Air Canada chair, said members are looking for a comparable contract to those at competitors, including United Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines.

“Air Canada has the power to avert a strike and the significant air travel disruptions that flow from it, but first they have to get serious at the bargaining table and recognize the value our pilots bring to the airline,” Hudy said in a press release on Monday.

In March 2023, pilots at Delta negotiated a 34 per cent wage increase over the next four years. In contrast, their counterparts at Air Canada have received a two per cent yearly increase on average since 2014, lagging the rate of inflation.

In May last year, Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. was able to avert a work stoppage by its pilots after reaching a last-minute agreement following eight months of negotiations. WestJet had to cancel 105 flights as a precaution prior to the deal.

“Canadians have recently seen the chaos abrupt airline shutdowns cause for travellers, which obliges us to do everything we can to protect our customers from an increasingly likely work stoppage,” said Air Canada’s chief executive.

Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operate close to 670 daily flights on average carrying more than 110,000 passengers within Canada or internationally.

The company projects that unless a settlement is achieved within the 72-hour notice period, the number of passengers affected by the suspension plan will progressively increase before all of its daily customers are affected.

It said its fleet of 252 aircraft will need to be repositioned or repatriated along with their crews ahead of a possible disruption in order to more quickly restore regular service.

Customers whose flights are cancelled by Air Canada will be notified and be eligible for a full refund online.

Air Canada said it has also been trying to secure space on other carriers for customers in the event of flight cancellations. Travellers will be notified if alternative travel options on another carrier are identified, however, seats are limited.

For other customers, refunds or travel credits, or agreeing to fly on Air Canada at a later date may be the only options available, the company said.

• Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com

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