Ben Smith

A little bit ago, I was on a redeye cross country Air Canada flight as I have done countless times before. There’s something about the routine in flying that brings me comfort – the getting to the airport at a certain time of day, settling in at the lounge, the journey along the way, and the excitement of arriving to your destination. Yes, it may be a little strange, but for myself and countless other road warriors, it’s the ritual in flying that I look forward to.

As George Clooney in Up in the Air puts it “all the things you probably hate about travelling are warm reminders that I’m home.”

You see, this flight was different, though. I was feeling well throughout the day, but by the time we were up in the air I was shaking with a terrible fever and nausea. At countless times throughout the flight, the Service Director (in-charge flight attendant) on the flight came to check in on me, to bring me extra blankets, Tylenol and gingerale. He didn’t have to, but he went the extra mile for a passenger he could see wasn’t doing well, which I appreciated.

But that wasn’t what made this flight different.

No, what made it different was another passenger, sitting in seat 18D, who started experiencing chest pains before the situation escalated into a mid-air medical emergency. With the blink of an eye, the cabin crew team leapt into action, began unpacking medical equipment and working with doctors who were luckily on board to assist the passenger before an emergency landing.

It was a well-oiled machine, everyone did their part. It was a firsthand testament to the mantra flight attendants often use “safety first and last.”

It was a powerful reminder that they aren’t just there to bring us our can of Coke and Pringles. They’re there for a much more important reason – to be the onboard doctor, firefighter and police officer when the unthinkable happens at 30,000 feet. Trained to handle medical emergencies, de-escalate unruly passenger situations, and coordinate evacuations in life-or-death scenarios, they work irregular hours, cross time zones in rapid succession, and are often away from their families for days on end.

The whole experience gave me pause in the midst of Air Canada and CUPE’s ongoing bargaining dispute. I realized that for all the time in between when the main cabin door opened to allow paramedics onboard the flight after we landed, to the time when the flight attendants assisted that passenger off and we were all free to leave, they were not getting paid for it.

You see, Air Canada flight attendants are only paid from the moment the cabin door closes for pushback to the moment the cabin door opens after landing. Everything before and after is not compensated.

It seems absurd that flight attendants are only paid for their time in the sky. No other job I can think of wouldn’t pay their workers while they are actively performing their duties.

See, flight attendants don’t just begin their duties once the main cabin door closes for pushback. From crew briefings with the pilots and dispatchers well before heading to the gate, to the extensive safety checks that must be completed before a single passenger boards, and turning over the aircraft upon landing for the next flight – there’s a great deal of work flight attendants take part in outside of flight time.

And as someone who flies over 100,000 miles a year with Air Canada and their Star Alliance partners – the tasks I just mentioned are all things that I really like the idea of my flight attendants being paid for, because they’re all duties that are crucially important to be done and done well.

Frankly, I believe that a well-rested, fairly compensated crew isn’t a luxury—it’s a safety necessity. Fatigue and burnout don’t just harm workers; they can compromise the rapid, decisive action needed in an emergency like the one my flight experienced.

Air Canada continues to report strong income and assets, and continues to create shareholder value. I understand the airline needs to maintain a healthy margin, and I have no issue with Executives being paid exceptionally well. But I also believe there’s no reason why Canada’s flag carrier shouldn’t be investing in their frontline staff who make or break a customer’s flying experience. Not to mention that there’s absolutely no excuse as to why in today’s tough economy, flight attendant wages have only risen by 3% since 2000.

That’s why I’m glad to see a cross-country, pan-partisan consensus emerging on this issue. I never thought I’d see an issue where Bonita Zarrillo, one of the NDP’s most far-left MPs, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre agree.

But on this, they, and what seems like the majority of Canadians know what flight attendants have been saying for years: it’s time these crucial components of Canada’s transportation system are paid for the vital role they play.

And if Air Canada is going to talk a good game about safety and professionalism, then they also ought to pay the people who deliver that standard customers have come to expect – from check-in to sign-off.

Ben Smith is a Partner at Dominion Strategies, a federally focused boutique government relations firm, and President of Altitude Public Affairs