Mitigation Pass

The Retirement Incentive Program is being provided to employees who agree to leave Air Canada as a means to mitigate layoffs resulting from the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on Air Canada’s business.

Scope & Eligibility

Applies to employees of Air Canada who are members of CALDA, CUPE, IAMAW and/or UNIFOR and are both eligible for retiree travel privileges and elect to retire effective June 1, 2020.

Applies to employees of Air Canada who are members of CALDA, CUPE, IAMAW and/or UNIFOR and are both eligible for retiree travel privileges and elect to retire effective June 1, July 1 or August 1, 2021 under the ERIP program.

In order to be eligible for full retiree travel privileges and participate in this program, any one of following service criteria must be met:

25 years of continuous or qualifying service
Factor 80 (age + continuous or qualifying service = 80)
Age 65 with a minimum of 10 years of continuous service

Rules & Limitations

Permission to carry into retirement all previously granted and unused C1/J passes issued as a result of “Thank You”, “Appreciation” or “Unique” events. These passes must be used no later than December 31, 2023
Permission to carry into retirement C1/J “Holiday” passes. These passes must be used no later than December 31, 2023

Exceptionally, employees will be granted a one-time “Mitigation Retirement Pass” subject to the following:

valid for the employee and a companion of their choice. Full details highlighted in box below
Eligible to access GO AC suite of products
Service charges may apply and can vary

The information provided below is pass-specific and complements the rules outlined in the Employee Travel Policy. In other words, the ETP rules still apply unless otherwise stated below.

Rules

Valid for travel on AC, AC Express carriers, AC Rouge.

Valid for travel with one companion of the retiree’s choosing.

Travel companion must be accompanied by the retiree on all legs/segments of the trip

Bookings must be made within 21 days of the outbound travel date.

This pass must be used no later than December 31, 2023.

Valid for booking in executive class, pending availability (seasonality, route performance)

Blackout dates may apply
If there is no space in executive cabin, booking will be made in economy class with executive class waitlisted
If there is no space in executive or economy class, another flight must be selected

Valid for a boarding priority of PJ5/J00.
Valid for Maple Leaf Lounge access upon presentation of an employee ID and boarding pass.

Subject to applicable taxes and service charges which may vary.

Limitations

Not valid for travel on AC Vacations, Star Alliance, or other airlines.

Not valid for open segments.

Not valid for access to lounges not operated by Air Canada, including contract companies and Star Alliance carriers.

Exceptions & Unique Situations

Trips longer than 30 days and shorter than 90: The trip must be booked including a return flight at the time of the initial booking. Once the trip has started, please contact the Travel Care Team (TCT) toll free in North America at 1-833-847- EMPL (3675) to modify the date of your return flight. When this happens, your billing will occur in two parts:

Your departure flight will be billed about 30 days after your departure date
Your return flight will be billed upon completion of your trip

Oversell situations: It is possible that positive-space pass holders be denied boarding in the event of an oversell situation. If this occurs, Retiree Incentive pass holders are eligible for:

Protection on the next available flight
Compensation for hotel accommodation, meal(s), ground transportation
NOTE: this an any other Air Canada travel pass privilege is NOT eligible for APPR

Billing

Trips may or may not happen as planned, which is why you are only charged for trips taken (not for booked PNRs). As you board a flight (planned or unplanned), a “record” of travel is automatically generated and billing will be for the flights actually flown even if they are not those you intended for travel.

Regardless of the boarding priority you booked or used, billing will occur upon completion of one of the following, whichever comes first:

You have returned to your point of origin, or;
30 days have elapsed since the travel began, or;
You have completed eight segments of travel

This policy is subject to change without notice.
Last update: Jun 1, 2021