Air Canada may have agreed a deal with striking cabin crew and resumed flights, but the dispute caused − and is still causing − major disruption to passengers' travel plans.
More than 10,000 flight attendants walked out on Saturday, triggering a standoff with the Montreal-based carrier.
A return to work order from the government on Sunday did not end the dispute over pay and conditions. However, early on Tuesday, Air Canada said it would “gradually restart” operations after reaching a mediated agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
“Our priority now is to get them moving as quickly as possible. Restarting a major carrier like Air Canada is a complex undertaking,” Air Canada president and chief executive Michael Rousseau said, acknowledging that the full restoration of operations might “require a week or more”.
From Dubai, Air Canada operates a daily flight to Toronto at 1.25am. Data from Dubai Airports shows that Wednesday's flight still marked as cancelled.
Refund rights
Grace Guino, a Dubai resident, was booked for the Tuesday flight, having purchased the ticket on June 14.
On Monday, she received an email from Air Canada at 4.34pm, which she shared with The National, informing her that her flight was cancelled due to a “labour disruption [that] is impacting our operations … outside our control”.
The airline said at the time it was searching for rebooking options on more than 120 carriers for up to three days after the cancelled flight. Ms Guino was also given the option to refund, which she took.
Affected customers should check airline policies around refunds and cancellations, as well as any attached penalties for doing so, said Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research. He added that passengers should not be penalised for seeking compensation.
“Others might elect to defer and rearrange travel – but that will be predicated on how quickly this strike is concluded. If it drags on, those wanting to travel into or out of Canada will simply rebook elsewhere,” he told The National.
Ms Guino's full ticket cost was about C$1,530 ($1,106), which included a C$300 voucher. However, Air Canada refunded her C$1,830, meaning she received both the full cost of the ticket plus the voucher.
“As soon as I saw the news [of the government intervention] over the weekend, I was hopeful the situation would be resolved immediately,” she told The National.
Ms Guino – who was travelling to attend a concert by English rock band Oasis – was forced to then find an alternative flight; she was able to book one on Emirates, but to Montreal and at a cost of about Dh8,400 ($2,290).
“It was frustrating, of course. But at least I got my refund immediately … and I was able to plan earlier,” she said.
'It was chaos'
Meanwhile, a Canadian resident who travelled to Dubai for work said he was stranded in Venice on the way to Toronto from Dubai due to the cancellation of Air Canada flights.
The passenger travelled to Venice from Dubai on an Emirates flight on Saturday morning and was supposed to take an Air Canada flight to Toronto on Sunday, after a 20-hour layover at Venice. However, that turned into a more than two-day stay amid the cancellations.
“Probably five or six hours before the departure of the flight, Air Canada announced the cancellation of flight,” he told The National.
“The first thing was how to get the luggage out and it was a hassle. We called Air Canada and their numbers were off. Finally, I called Emirates; they helped me get our luggage and what needed to be done, and then, finally, an Air Canada representative offered us a stay for a night in Venice.”
However, when they reached the airport, the flight on the following day − Monday − was also cancelled. An Air Canada representative helped him find seats on Air France to travel to Paris, and from there to Detroit on Delta Air Lines. After reaching Detroit, he planned to take a bus to travel to Windsor in Canada and drive to Toronto to reach his final destination. For all the re-bookings and extra transport, he had to shell out an additional C$2,000 to get to Toronto.
“It was chaos,” said the passenger.
Another Air Canada passenger, Zee, a Czech national who has been living in Dubai for the past 10 years, said his wife and children are stuck in Canada because of the situation.
“They were supposed to have reached Dubai on Sunday evening from Toronto but will only reach there tomorrow [Wednesday] morning on a different flight, because of the current situation with Air Canada,” Zee told The National.
“They were in limbo with the Air Canada app saying that the flight was scheduled and on time, while there's an email communication saying everything is cancelled. It was not helpful, because they were on standby waiting … overall, terrible communication from Air Canada … terrible timing,” he said.
Mr Zee said his family plans to seek a refund from Air Canada for the cancelled journey once the strike ends and the family returns.
“Overall, it is a sad situation and frustrating. My wife was supposed to have [resumed work] on Monday but will now start on Wednesday, soon after reaching Dubai.”
The strike at Air Canada, or for any other carrier that may experience the same situation, is also a lesson and opportunity for its rivals, Mr Ahmad said.
“While the strike continues and Air Canada’s reputation lies in tatters, rival airlines will do whatever they can to accommodate travellers and poach that traffic away in the short term,” he said.
“The longer this drags on, the impact on Air Canada could well result in the airline losing regular and coveted loyal business customers that often pay top dollars to fly them – given the competition across the Atlantic in particular, Air Canada isn’t the only game in town to reach Canadian cities – and they’ll be well aware of that.”
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE BIO: Mohammed Ashiq Ali
Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”
Favourite TV programme: the news
Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”
Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Kanye%20West
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Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
