MONTREAL, Sept. 16, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada has received a strike notice from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the airline's 6,800 flight attendants, confirming the union's intention to begin a strike at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, September 21, 2011.

Talks between the parties are ongoing and will continue prior to the strike deadline, assisted by federally-appointed mediators. However, in recognition of the uncertainty for customers this situation may cause, Air Canada has introduced a flexible rebooking policy to enable customers booked for travel over the next six days on a rolling window basis (September 16-21, 17-22, etc.) to change flights free of charge to a later date until December 9, 2011, subject to seat availability.

Customers wishing to change flights purchased directly through Air Canada are requested to use the on-line Self Service Rebooking Tool available at www.aircanada.com.  Customers can also contact the Air Canada call centre, however wait times are longer than usual due to increased call volumes. Customers who booked travel through a travel agent must contact their agent directly.

In the event of a work disruption, Air Canada will implement a partial schedule including codeshare flights operated by its partner airlines.

The airline will provide further updates as developments warrant.

For more details and information updates please consult aircanada.com and follow @AirCanada on Twitter and Facebook.

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